Gorge swinging

So Victoria Falls of course markets itself as one of those mad adventure sports places - white water rafting, bungee jumping, microlight flights, yawn, yawn... Zeria had done the bungee jump from the bridge over the gorge a couple of years ago (I think), and when we saw a new operation offering three different variations on the bungee theme Zeria was mad keen to try all three.

The three were a flying fox jump (just running off a platform and flying out over the gorge face-down), a zip-line (much faster but basically the same as the flying fox, but in a sitting position) and a gorge swing (quite like a bungee jump, but you swing out over the gorge at the end of the drop, as opposed to bouncing straight back up again - and you fall in a standing-up position, as opposed to bungee where you immediately go head-down).

I had thought originally that we'd just try one of the three things each, as I didn't think it was worth the money for any of us to do all three, and I'd already done some similar stuff before (like the bungee with Sarah in Uganda, and various zip-line things). But because Zeria was a Zimbabwean resident it meant she could do all three for just US$25, and she was mad keen to do all three of them herself. Mark had his residency ID number too, but he really didn't fancy any of the three swings. So that meant that I could use his ID number to get all three jumps for the same US$25 - so of course, just to support Zeria, I had to agree to do all three.

So first up was the flying fox, and fair play to Zeria, even though I offered to go first, she bravely stepped up and said she'd rather just go for it and do it herself. She showed no hesitation in the slightest and ran off the platform at an impressive sprint. I went next and it was a good buzz, but nothing like as scary as a bungee or anything - the fact that you run along a level platform first actually makes it relatively easy as you can't see the bottom when you start, and you have to drag a pulley behind you, which makes you feel nice and secure.

Next up was the zip-line - and this time I went first. This was a step-up in scariness, as you have to tentatively step off a short platform and dangle over the gorge first. Then they release the whole contraption and you zip off across the gorge, apparently reaching 125kph. So that was good and Zeria went next without a hitch too.

The final yoke to do was the gorge swing - and this was yet another step up the scary ladder. All very simple really - you just step up to the edge of the platform and just jump off. The harness is completely different to bungee though, it attaches to your back so your feet aren't bound in any way at all, so no waddling like a penguin to the precipice. So a big, deep breath and away you go. Straight away it felt completely different to a bungee, simply because you remain in a basically standing-up position. The free-fall lasts only a couple of seconds, but was really exhilarating, but then the terror kicks in and I noticed my legs starting to involuntarily kick like mad, as if I was trying to run like a cartoon character whose just run off the top of a cliff. But just then the swing part kicks in and you start decelerating and swinging out over the gorge, and I just immediately relaxed knowing I wasn't falling straight down anymore and that I was coming a safe halt.

Once at the bottom, which was in a really beautiful setting, I felt absolutely elated. I reckon a gorge swing is 10 times better than a bungee, since it's far less disorientating, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Zeria was up next, and her jump didn't go quite so smoothly I'm afraid. Basically she hesitated slightly when the guy shouted 'Go!', and so he needed to give her a bit of a shove (I think he had no choice really as he supports a lot of the weight of the cord, so when he says 'Go!' he needs to let go of that weight and it will drag you down whether you want to go or not!). Anyway, it meant Zeria ended up jumping head-first and I think she got a nasty shock - her scream was certainly a tad blood-curdling anyway (captured it nicely on video).

So that was it basically - although at the end Sarah wanted to have a shot at the zip-line jump. But she didn't feel up to doing it on her own, and since you have the option of a tandem, I ended up doing it a second time and 'zipping' with her. Again it's caught on video, with a nice cheeky little kiss from me just as we zip off.

That night we went to a traditional boma for dinner. It was basically a real tourist trap restaurant thing with a big buffet and traditional drumming and the like. Sarah and Zeria got some nice tribal face-painting before we realised we didn't have enough Zimbabwean money to pay the bill. But after a bit of persuasion and haggling and under-the-table money changing Mark and Zeria managed to sort out the situation.

The next day myself, Sarah and Mark bid Zeria goodbye and caught a flight to Johannesburg. It was all a bit weird saying goodbye to Zeria - even though we'd only met her less than two weeks previously, she'd done so much running around to sort out loads of bits and pieces, including driving for two days to get us all to Victoria Falls (and now she had to drive all the way back on her own). Sarah was quite touched too when Zeria gave Mark one of her bracelets for Sarah (she'd given it to Mark after myself and Sarah had gone through the airport security so that Sarah couldn't refuse to take it). She's actually wearing it now sitting beside me here in this Internet place.

So that was 'Zim' - we only had 10 days there I think, so we didn't get to see too much. All the media hype was, of course, almost total rubbish (interestingly, before we got there everyone was asking, 'why are you going there, isn't everything mental there at the moment?', but once we were there and told Zim people we were heading to South Africa they'd all ask, 'why are you going there, isn't crime mental there at the moment?' - needless to say we haven't seen nor heard any crime in over two months here).

But I certainly got a taste for the place, and got an inkling into why so many people we've met really love the country (or at least loved it before Mugabe went mad). It has fantastic potential to regain the 'power-house of Africa' status it enjoyed before, and I can certainly see why Mark loves the place so much - I'm looking froward to returning there again some day. But for now it was on to South Africa and scary Johannesburg - the crime capital of the world (or at least one of the contenders, I suppose there are a few cities vying for the privilege).