South Africa!!

Wow! Hey everybody, sorry it has taken me so long to write another blog. Time flies though when you're having fun! So, I have a lot to write and hopefully I will remember everything I did.

So, after the full day of ostrich riding and the day at the zoo, we spent the next day walking around George waiting for our bus to pick us up. We saw some interesting things. First, we saw a guy stumbing around town bleeding from his head. Not really sure what happened to him, but this was not cool to see. Then like 5-10 minutes later, we saw a dead dog just lying on the sidewalk. Nobody was around and I have no idea where he came from. Just thought these things were interesting. Otherwise, George was a very nice town! After George we went to Storms River which is where the real excitement happened!

Storms River is a very small town and only had one paved road which was the main drag. But, we had a very adrenaline packed day. First we went on a canopy tour through the Tsitsikamma Forest. This is when you are hooked up to the zip line thing and zip from tree to tree. It was awesome. Some of the runs were running down hill and you could really catch some good speed. And the view was awesome. We got to learn a little about the trees in the forest. Unfortunately, we didn't really see any animals. Sometimes it is possible to see cheetahs or jaguars. They said most of them are nocturnal. The zip line is actually very safe and there were two guides with us. You are hooked up to the lines three times for triple the safety! One of the lines could hold up to 10 tons and the safety one could hold up to 7.5 tons. Something that I found really cool was that the whole system was supported through tension. That means that there was no harm done to the trees by nailing the support into the trees. One tree was about 600 years old (giant Outeniqua Yellowwood trees) and some other ones were several hundred years old. The highest point was about 90 m high and the longest zip line was about 100m. There was a total of 10 slides.

After the canopy tour we did the World's Tallest Bungee! It is 216 m long and is in the Guiness Book of World Records! This was the coolest, craziest, scariest thing we have done. It was AMAZING! The rush you get is unbelievable. They take you out on this rickety walkway out to the middle of the bridge. We were actually under the Bloukrans bridge. The walk was about 100 feet to even get out there and we had a large group, so we had to wait a long time to actually do it. They turn up the music to get everyone pumped up. The guys working there were awesome. I think they try hard to talk to you to make you feel comfortable. So, when I finally got up there, they strap pads around your ankles (which only have velcro on!) and then tie straps around that can take up to 8 tons of resistance. Then there is a safety strap that is hooked on to your harness. Then you hop up to the edge (with the guys hanging onto you of course). You put your arms out and your head up, and they yell 5-4-3-2-1-BUNGEE. After that there is no turning back and you pretty much have to jump or fall. It is about a 8 second free fall. It was so amazing. The ocean was on one side of the bridge and mountains on the other side. When you went down, you could see the mountains and when they came down to get you and pulled you up, you could see the ocean. It was an experience I will never forget. The feeling afterwards was pure excitement. After you jump, you bounce back about 4 times before the guy comes down to get you. Then he comes down and hooks you up so you are in a sitting position. Sometimes it is still hard to believe I actually did it. At the end they even give you little certificates that says you did the worlds largest bungee. Kind of dorky, yet cool. If anyone has the chance to bungee I HIGHLY suggest doing it! I figured I would start with the largest because I didn't know any better.

Overall, a very fun and exciting and adrenaline packed day. It is kind of hard to explain how cool the bungee was and the feeling you get when you jump.