h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Thought it would be pretty silly to put this reply on the "Vegas" discussion thread.

I once went rafting in Alaska in April (does the Eagle River sound right?) and nearly got creamed. At one point the water was so shallow that we had to get out and walk the raft. The the bottom dropped out and a bunch of us got dragged. They almost forgot to pull me back in and I almost got squished between raft and rock. Didn't deter me none. I still try to go rafting at least once a year.

You are lucky! Whereabouts do you live?

How can I equal that? Except I did a bungy jump near Queenstown, New Zealand, I was probably the most scared and cowardly person they ever had jumping but I'm so glad I did it - and have the photos to prove it!

I live in Southern California, which is great because I'm driving distance from mountains, ocean, desert, rivers. A perfect day for me is going hiking in the mountains during the day, driving to a beach-side restaurant for dinner and then hanging out with friends in someone's hottub.

I've never gone bungee jumping. Too chicken and too much money for me. Where you went, is that that really, really high bridge that's in the news all the time? What did it feel like? Did you get a big adrenaline rush? How did your fear affect how you reacted? Did you get sick? I'm afraid I'd throw up while bouncing around. Yuk!

I think the bridge you mean is Skippers Canyon Bridge, its 71 meters. the one I did was Kawarau Bridge and was "only" 43 meters.

We just went one afternoon to watch, I was horrified when I watched people queuing up like lemmings to jump off. I said "I wouldn't be able to do that if you paid me a million pounds" then found myself going back there the next day to do one. I was just so terrified I couldn't have left the place without doing one, I would always have regretted it and felt a total coward.
First they weigh you and write your weight on your hand. Then you have to sit down and they tie a sort of towel round your ankles, and the bungee just clips to it. I was convinced my ankles were going to slip through it and not hold me. The platform was about half way over the bridge and there were 2 kiwi guys on the platform, I was lucky because there was no queue at that time and they had some time to persuade me to actually stand up! I was shaking and felt really sick like you said, but the 2 guys were very clever and kept saying, ok you don't have to do this, you can go! In the end I stood up and he coaxed me right to the edge, I had to look ahead and not down - then he said "just say the word yes" and finally I managed to say yes, and after that I really knew I was going to do it. So far as I was concerned,once I jumped I was really going to fall and be killed. I finally jumped after they counted me down 3-2-1 go and I went, I had my eyes open and it seemed to take for ages and ages, I had plenty of time to think, I could hear people shouting and I was thinking, wow I'm never going to bounce, then there was quite a gentle jerk and I started bouncing, which was a really funny and quite nice experience, not scary at all, then they lowered me into the boat on the river, it was really low because there was a drought, I just couldn't stop laughing, I felt absolutely euphoric and the feeling lasted for about 2 days, I went back to the bridge to speak to the kiwis and they said I was about as scared as it was possible to be so I was quite pleased with myself. Now I believe if there is a queue and you dither about as much as I did they have to go on to the next person.
You are right, its expensive, I think about £60, however someone gave it to me as a "present"!
Equally as scary to me, because I had never done it before, was making myself fall backwards off a boat into the sea when I went diving for the first time - same trip to NZ, but i was in Fiji, en route, went to watch someone have a diving lesson who didn't turn up (at the swimming pool)and ended up doing it myself. If they had told me I'd have to go backwards off the boat I wouldn't have gone out! But once I hit the water and realised I was ok and breathing I was totally fine and loved every minute.
Now I'm introducing my daughter to all these exciting things, she did a diving course in Phuket age 10 and wanted to walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge (not me, thanks) but she was too young when we were there!