In 2018 I came up with a bucket list and Bungee Jumping was one of the items in it. That Year I went ahead to do lots of items on the list. I tried Paint balling, GP Karting, and as I went through my list I realized I do much more and I came across things that were not on the list and did them anyway. The most daring thing back then was when my 2 friends and I attended the ASK(Agricultural Society of Kenya) Show and approached a stand that was not attracting as many people as it should. I cannot remember who suggested it but we found ourselves on the stage dancing to attract people. Dancing is not our forte but we did it anyway. As the crowd was coming in slowly, the emcee picked up the cue and asked the crowd who the best entertainer was. He started having dance battles from the crowd and awarding the winners with samples of their products. I remember getting hair food but most of all its the memory that I will treasure forever and I am sure my dance mates do.
As I worked through my list, I really wanted to get bungee jumping ticked off before the adrenaline rush waned. I saw a travel group that had planned to do bungee jumping later in the year. I quickly paid for reservation much as it would later conflict with the 1st hiking my classmates had planned. I convinced myself that bungee jumping was a worthy trade off and made peace with it. On the day we were to set off bunging, the organizer went kaput; completely out of radar. zero communication, phone calls not going through and I knew I was conned.
Lucky enough, the organizer also went to my University and I would see him laughing with his classmates wondering whether they know what a con he is. I followed him on Instagram and watched him go to all the nice places blowing off our hard earned cash. I shared the story with a couple of my friends and even pointed him out to them. They encouraged me to walk up to him and demand my money back because he clearly had a reputation to maintain around his peers and that is exactly what I did. I walked up to him, introduced myself and demanded my money. Right there and then he counted the six thousand shillings I had paid and gave it back. This was a whole one year later.
In 2020 I tried yet again with an unknown travel company. You must be wondering hadn’t I learnt my lesson. The thing is, I thought this was the most convenient way because I did not know how to get to Sagana and whether I could book to bungee alone; rather this is what I told myself. This time, the travel company had organized an overnight hotel booking so that after the activities we retire to a comfortable place. The difference was that we pay 3000Ksh for bed and breakfast but you only pay for the activities you engage in while we are there. I thought the deal was a steal because the picture of the hotel was serene and much as my gut told me that could not be in Kenya I decided to give benefit of doubt.
The activities listed on their Instagram advertisement included waterfall challenge, kayaking, bungee jumping, cycling, white water rafting among others. I was ready to break the bank holding my priced 40 bob coins because again this was a worthy cause. We get to Sagana, we stop at rapids camp but only two of us in the group were willing to part with more money and engage in the activities. the organizer said we cannot break the group because it will be difficult to manage and thus we were driven to the hotel where we were to spend the night and told that we could swim. I was already raging mad because nothing in this trip had gone according to plan. we were to leave Nairobi at 6am but we ended up leaving at 10am because people could not keep time and majority if not all of them were friends, my friend and I being the outsiders. The hotel of course looked nothing like the picture and now on top of that no Bungee Jumping. At least this time I actually got to Sagana but never to the Spot where Bungee Jumping was being done.
Third time must really be a charm. In July 2021, one of my friend’s friend that I follow on Instagram went Bungee Jumping for her birthday. It was also about that time that she decided to start her own travel and tours company. The minute she posted that she will be taking people for bungee jumping, I knew I was in. I immediately made payments and patiently waited for the day. This time things went smoothly and we got to our destination. We were 7 in number and a couple had arrived ahead of us so we were told to let them go first.
Julius the instructor was the icing on the cake. He read out instructions and informed us that each person has 5 minutes while up there. Once the gates are open, you have a minute to do the jump. If courage has not kicked in and you fail to take your leap of faith, you will be escorted down the stairs. He went ahead to say that he is not professionally trained but he has watched a couple of you tube videos thus he is good to go. While up there he holds a conversation with you. He asks you your name and what you do and if you would be comfortable that being your last conversation in case something goes wrong. I asked him have you done this before and he said I’m not crazy enough to jump from a 60m tower with feeble ropes attached to me. I assist the crazy people do it as I perfect my youtube earned skills.
My heart was thumping and I asked myself what in the world got me there. The view was spectacular and I wished I could just stand and watch but this was not an option at least not for long. Everyone else had already done their stunt and I was the last person up. I heard all the narration of their experiences but that did not prepare me. The girl in the couple was first and she freaked out. Her time lapsed and true to his word Julius had her esorted down. After seeing people do it, she became resilient and paid to have a second chance. I was proud of her because I knew she would feel bad if she never gets to do it.
While up there my trust issues resurfaced. I douted that Julius had properly tied the ropes that were to hold me. He fastened, I confirmed. I took the liberty of informing him how my parents just have 2 children and it would be prudent if I got back to them in one piece as they were not aware I was engaging in such a risky activity. My ‘friends’ down there started a countdown 10, 9, 8 and I knew I had to jump when they got to 1. Nothing prepared me for that moment. I was not ready when I made the jump but I did it anyway. I normally turn to yoga to empty my thoughts but bungee jumping does that too. The free fall was alarming, I screamt my lungs out. Then suddenly the rope remembers its function and holds you suspended; before you recover there is a recoil and you go back up. There is a time you even stand on air and you know this is it. I had several twists and turns and even forgot that I was to have my hands together after making the jump.
As you wait for the tow kayak to bring the rope that will be used to safely move you to the shore, you realize that Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the feeling that something else is more important than fear. People just do things scared but they do it anyway.
Dimples Migraines and Aahs 