If there's a heaven, I hope I can bungy jump from it

By Bobbi Lee Hitchon // 17 May 2010 // Comments: 1 // Related Categories: adventure, bars, bungee, bungy, cairns, rainforest, Review

It didn't hit me till I was on the edge.

I'm jumping off a platform 50 meters from the ground in three seconds.

Driving to the center I was fine. Walking up the stairs I kept my cool. Waiting for my turn at the top I even felt impatient .

But there I was, tip-toeing my strapped-together-feet to the edge, hands shaking and eyes wide, staring at the view below.

The crew members at the top were fun to be around and as supportive as possible, but at that moment it was just me. No tandem master to push me out of a plane and no divemaster to lead me around a reef.

Just me, myself and I jumping in three, two...

Photo taken by Bobbi-Jo O'Gilvie, edited by Bobbi Lee Hitchon.

Advised to jump before the countdown finished, at two, I plunged.

I knew I was screaming, but I didn't care who heard.

For a moment I felt nothing-no push, no pull. Just my body there in the air. Then a dip-the impact of what I just did traveled from my gut to my heart.

Photo taken by Bobbi-Jo O'Gilvie, edited by Bobbi Lee Hitchon.

I'm going to die. I'm going to die of shock.

Finally, my fingers hovered over the water and I felt nothing but euphoria. My whole body was tingling and my mouth was dry.

I survived my first bungy jump and it was blissful.

Photo taken by Bobbi-Jo O'Gilvie, edited by Bobbi Lee Hitchon.

Unlike people said, there was no jerking or pain. In fact, I felt incredible afterwards. If I could be addicted to anything it would be that rush of adrenaline after jumping.

Laid out on a raft being shuttled back to land, I couldn't stop smiling. It wasn't until looking at pictures hours later that I realized my shirt was hanging a little top low for a PG rating.

Photo taken by Bobbi-Jo O'Gilvie, edited by Bobbi Lee Hitchon.

The rush lasted for a good hour after touching ground. Then I actually felt a withdrawal. I wanted to do it again to keep feeling this spectacular.

It was just another Sol of Sundays, a Sunday session, at AJ Hackett in Cairns and I had experienced the biggest thrill of my life yet.

Traveling around Australia, bungy jumping seems to be the activity that people are most apprehensive about doing. It is a bit insane to imagine yourself jumping off a platform 50 meters above ground connected to nothing but a chord. Plus out of all the adventure activities, bungy jumping seems to have the shakiest reputation.

The fall was wilder than I imagined, but also safer than I thought it would be. Inside I felt like I was going to die for a moment, but everything that could be controlled on the outside was. The staff at AJ Hackett were highly professional and extremely friendly. I felt as locked in as I was going to get and didn't feel any kind of jerk or pull at the end.

But then again, I was jumping with AJ Hackett. An extreme sports legend, Hackett was the first to commercialize bungy jumping. Hackett and friend Chris Sigglekow started testing the activity in New Zealand, their home country, in 1986. Their vision was inspired by the naghol (land diving) ritual performed by a small group of men on Petecost Island, Vanuatu in the South Pacific, which Hackett witnessed in 1986.

Hackett's vision became known world-wide when he illegally, but successfully jumped from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France in 1987.

In 1988 Hackett and his friend Henry van Asch opened the first commercial bungy site in the world on the Kawarau Bridge in New Zealand. He opened a site in Cairns in 1990 and today his company operates out of five countries around the world.

While the New Zealand location is the first, the site in Cairns is really something special. It's not just a bungy site, it's an oasis in the city.

To get there, people must drive through the woods, then walk up hill to reach the Gravity Bar and lounge area, which surrounds a pond with waterfall. Patrons sit around, sipping cocktails and watching other people fall from the sky.

You know, just another day at the bar.

Non-jumpers can walk to the top of the bungy site and check out breathtaking views of the Wet Tropics Rainforest, city and ocean.

Even if you're not keen on jumping, visit for Sol of Sundays featuring local bands, a barbecue and more. It's a great place to party with people from all over the world as well as locals. Have a few drinks at their bar, test out your beer muscles on their Minjin Jungle Swing, a three-person swing with a 45-meter drop that is a bit less intense then bungy jumping, then consider going all the way.

Photo by Bobbi Lee Hitchon.

Inside the company's brochures is a quote by Hackett:

"Every day you should do something that scares you. It reminds you you're still alive."

I never felt life as strongly as I did in those first few seconds of falling at AJ Hackett, Cairns.

AJ Hackett Cairns, QLD

http://cairns.ajhackett.com/

1 800 622 888

Bungy jump, $A139 (includes levy, jump shirt and certificate) and Minjin Jungle Swing, $A89 (includes levy, photos and certificate).

Check the website for deals on AJ Hackett activities and well as packages including other local activities.
The Sol of Sunday starts at 1 p.m.

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Many special thanks to VIP Backpackers and All Seasons for being our gracious hosts throughout this trip!