cliff jumping and other everyday things

A week ago, my fellow abroaders and I decided on a semi-whim to take a day trip to Oribi Gorge near Port Shepstone. We were fortunate to have a friend, Thabiso, who was equipped with a car and willing to take us on the two hour journey down the coast of South Africa.

We weren't sure exactly where we were going, since not even Thabiso had been there. That made it more interesting. I looked it up, and all the websites said we should take the N2 all the way and then told me things like "go through 5 robots (traffic lights) and turn right" or "turn just before Paddock." Armed with these super clear directions, we embarked early Saturday morning. I figured we probably couldn't miss a giant hole in the ground.

The drive was gorgeous, but we were all a little groggy. We gambled on which turn to take, but ended up in the right spot because suddenly the road went downhill very quickly. This part of the journey definitely woke us up as we were driving on a winding road barely wide enough to fit two cars, declining quickly, eyeing a steep cliff to our left, and realizing that there were absolutely no barriers. We all stared at our new surroundings while trying not to freak out our already nervous driver. 

Eventually, the road began to level out and we stopped to use the restroom. We asked a park ranger  where we needed to go and she directed us to simply keep following the road. In doing this, we then climbed back out of the gorge on the other side. It was a rough and seemingly unnecessary ride for  the car's transmission, but it was a pretty striking introduction to the gorge. 

We finally arrived at someplace official-looking and a man with the thickest Afrikaans accent I've heard pointed us to the desk where we needed to pay our R14 ($2) entrance fee. The kind lady first gave Danny and Thabiso a hard time for not paying for the gals and then handed us a map of the park. We got back in the car and drove to the first point on the map, "The Wild Swing."

We got out of the car to find some scattered people peering over the edge of a waterfall. Just as we made our way to the edge we watched a guy launch himself off the cliff, swinging into the deep gorge. Our initial plan for the day was to do a zip-line across the gorge, but after watching that, my mind was instantly changed. How many other chances to you get to jump off a cliff without the chance of death? I'm actually not sure because I haven't ever tried to find the answer to that question, but I'm guessing not very many. (And did I mention it's the highest gorge swing in the world? Yeah.) 

Of course, I didn't really want to go at it alone, so I tried to convince the others in the group to join me, bringing out my top-notch peer pressuring moves. The lady at the registration desk even joined in. Did you know that a four year old jumped off the cliff? I was impressed by her effective persuasion, but I was momentarily overcome with shock that any parent would have arranged that!

Eventually Jill and Danny did decide to accompany me on the adventure. I filled out the waiver, writing down my mom's U.S. cell phone number in the emergency slot, praying they wouldn't actually have to call it. That would have been a tough one to explain, but I guess if they were having to call I probably wouldn't have the ability to explain anyway. Optimistic thoughts. I signed the waiver with a shaky hand as the lady explained that there were absolutely no refunds. I wasn't just going to just waste $60, so there was no turning back now.

We got all harnessed up, and I was the first to descend the ladder to the flat area of the falls. The guy there quickly took my hand and led me down the rocks to the jumping point. He got me latched in while asking me questions and explaining what was going to happen. I felt like of all the directions I'd ever been given in my life, these were especially important ones, so I stopped to make sure I hadn't missed anything under the South African accent when he was done. Out of all that talking, jump right and keep your eyes open were apparently the only instructions that would determine this life or death situation in the end. 

He told me he was going to unlatch the wire holding me in place and the wire pulling me forward was going to get heavy. I said ok, and then everything seemed to happen very quickly. He walked with me to the edge and before I could even think it was 1, 2, 3 and suddenly there was no ground protecting me from the frightening force called gravity. For the first few seconds, my mind had not connected that screaming might be an appropriate response to this situation, so I was wide-eyed and completely silent. Just then, my neurons began functioning again, and I let out a short scream before it was over and I was left hanging in the middle of Oribi Gorge. 

Oh, how I wish I had my camera for that moment, but it really was something that had to be experienced. Hanging in the center of the gorge, nothing but beauty surrounded me to the left, right, front, back, up, and down. My eyes never could stop looking around as the wires slowly pulled me through the mist of the waterfall back to my starting point. Almost as quickly as I had left, I was back on the rocks and walking up towards Jill and Danny to rave about the experience. I watched Jill go through the same motions and then headed up the ladder to relieve Shamique of camera duty while Danny took his turn. 

The picture below was taken after I got back up the ladder. Notice the red splotches all over my chest, a.k.a. the Emma Gray anxiety indicator. My blood was pumpin', guys.

In the end, we all loved it and would have done it again in an instant (if it was free!). The whole experience gave me so much energy for the day - way better (& healthier) than coffee! I almost wish they had season passes for jumping off cliffs because I'd seriously do it every morning if I could.

We collected our certificates and got ready for the rest of the day's adventures armed with adrenaline and a great story, but more about that later.

I don't know if you can do this, but I think I added and crossed off a bucket list item all in under an hour. I love spontaneous days like that. Ah, life.

I imagine not everyone has death-defying stunts planned for this weekend, but I hope you have some sort of adventure, even if it's just trying something new for dinner or sleeping with your head at the foot of your bed. Hey, do whatever you want.