As the day approached I kept expecting the nerves to kick in. I didn't help myself by watching videos on YouTube of other people doing bungee jumps - not a good way to reassure myself.On some of the videos of Killiecrankie Bungee it shows people making their way along the platform beneath the bridge. Just watching that was enough to stir the butterflies.
The jump was booked at 11:00am. So Jane and set off around 8am, picking up my grandson, Jordan, and his friend Joab, on the way. Beautiful blue skies and not a breath of wind, so I was beginning to think I should perhaps have worn shorts, rather than jeans. As we drove south, the clouds appeared, the temperature dropped and, by the time we reached the Cairngorms, there was more snow than I have seen all winter.
We arrived at Killicrankie around 10am and, when I went to the reception, I was told that they may be able to fit me in early. 'No rush' was my first thought!I was weighed and was told that I would be joining a group of three friends who were doing a jump as a birthday present. Then, the next thing I know, we are being ushered into a minibus and driven to the bridge.
My daughters, Rachel and Anna, plus their partners and children, had all followed us down to add their support (or perhaps to laugh at me). They were just arriving as I was being whisked away, so they jumped back in their cars and followed the minibus.
At the bridge, the three other jumpers and I were introduced to the Highland Fling Bungee instructors, who were all excellent. They managed to strike a careful balance between being professional, but also enthusiastic, relaxed and light-hearted. They ensued that we were always clipped on even climbing up short ladders. I'm not sure how they decided who was going to go first, but the other man was to go first, then the woman in his group, then me, then the young girl, whose birthday it was.
We had to walk along a platform just beneath the bridge, which took us to the jump platform. We were all harnessed and individually talked through what would happen. I then had to sit and wait while I watched the two before me..jpg)
The man was clearly very anxious, to say the least. He was led to the edge of the platform and encouraged to spread his arms out wide and, on the count of three, leap forward. But he kept backing up and leaning back on the instructor. On two occasions the instructor counted down, but he didn't jump.Finally, on the third count, his knees buckled slightly, and he fell forward towards the River Garry. If anything, that stopped me from getting nervous. I had kept expecting the nerves to hit, but, when I saw his jump I just thought 'I'm up here now, so I either fall or I dive.' The instructor then came and had a few words, which emphasised what I had just decided, explaining that I would get more out of the jump if I tried to dive out away from the bridge.
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By now, the man was being winched back up. His faced had changed completely and he was beaming. It was now time for the eldest girl to go, and she threw herself off the platform very confidently, with a loud WHOOP! My turn next....."Any words for the camera?" He asked...
"Erm..." What do you say? "Help"? I mumbled a slightly unconvincing "Let's go for it".
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My ankles were bound together, so I had to waddle forward onto the platform."Keep going. Your toes need to be over the edge" said the instructor. As you can see, he had hold of my harness, but it still felt very uncomfortable, inching forward like this.
I'm now standing, with my toes over the edge, looking down at the drop. He decides that now would be a good time to smile for the camera. Actually, I can smile. A huge surge of adrenaline floods any fears and I can't wait.
"Right. Arms out wide. I'm going to count down from three, then I want you to go big."
For half a nanosecond there is a doubt. This is NOT a natural thing to do - jump 132' down towards a very shallow river (too shallow to make any difference). Too late.
"3... 2... 1..." and I launched myself as far away from the platform as I could......
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My view changed slowly from the sky, down down down towards the water. Then, just as it felt like I was heading straight towards the river, a gentle pull began to increase as the bungee chord did its job..jpg)
Jane had earlier suggested that the worst part might be when you bounce back up again, then are left dangling, but I barely noticed that bit. I tried to quickly get my bearings so that I could find where the family were and wave to them. Then they lowered a cable which I had to clip to a loop on my waist, before they hoisted me back up to the terra firma of the platform. More words required for the camera.... "Fantastic. Amazing." Hardly original, but what else can you say?"Would I recommend it?" Without doubt..
It may have been something that tempted me when I was a teenager. But, after freefall parachuting, I lost any inclination to do a bungee jump. If you only do one, I would say do a parachute jump. But I would certainly do another bungee. And I cannot recommend the staff at Highland Fling highly enough.
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