African bungee??

My first and only bungee jump at Victoria falls, Zambia, Africa
by John Volkman
May 19, 1995
"We’re not doing any commercial bungee jumps today”. The chief of the village is jumping and were doing some stunt stuff ". From the first moment I laid my eyes on that sign that said "Worlds highest commercial bungee jump. The Zambezi River: 335 feet below the bridge." That one had my name all over it.
The day before we were to put on the river our group decided to take a stroll over the bridge, heading into Zambia to check out drums for Val and hook up with the Sobek boys for a tour and preview of their operation. En route we stopped and watched the Kiwis (New Zealanders) hook up and launch visiting tourists off of the bridge for this spectacular ride. The first guy I watched sat through the ritual of getting hooked up and prepared for his jump got to the rail only to balk 3 times, finally climbing down, not jumping. Right then I decided if I ever got to the rail, nothing short of a cut cord would keep me from jumping. Hell, if you’re not going to jump don't go through the setup and fizzle. Nope, make up your mind and execute. Did I really say that?
At the first night camp on the river, after a pint of Yeager, Greg promised when he hiked out the following morning that he would book me a jump for the day of our takeout. That gave me the next 4 days on the river to salivate and torment over my first expected jump. I've wanted to participate in this sport for a while now. No aspirations to be a macho jumper or go on to be the champ, just to experience the ride and compare to other adrenaline rushes offered up in this 20th century.
I had plenty of time to think about it. At the takeout, the shuttle driver hands me a note written by Greg saying "your all set up”. I got a deal on it for $80 US. In town the sign said $100 so were off to the right start. Discount bungee jumping. Now it’s in my mind. It was a two hour ride back from the river celebrating, having beers, the river furthest from my mind. Yah, I'm finally going to get to bungee after all of the talk and scuttlebutt. Now I'm committed. Is this what I really want?
Time is going to be tight. We're booked on a 4 pm flight out of Kariba to Cape town and you don't dare miss a flight around here since it’s all overbooked and we have further connections to make. We arrive at the bridge with plenty of time but they see a different operation than a few days before. A smaller crowd and several cameras set up.
The chief of the Zambia village is going to bungee today and its going to be quite a social affair. When I approach the operator about my reservation, he tells me that today is reserved for this VIP affair and I couldn't jump today. I repeated the story about Greg and his reservation for me but it didn't seem to matter. Finally I told him "look. I'm from the US, had my heart set on this, and am flying out just as soon as he would throw me off the bridge. He looked at me and said "If you really want to go run over to the check-in area, get weighed, and report back here. When we get a break you can go.
Now my heart is pounding. I've always heard "be careful for what you ask for. You might get it. While the rest of my group of river runners waits on the bridge, I jog on over to the Zambian side of the canyon and a bit down the trail to an overlook where the cameras set up for action shots. Under an awning they have a matched pair of bathroom scales ready. I mount the first and then the second under a watchful eye of one of the workers. "81 kilos" he says and writes it on the back of my hand with a magic marker. I jog on back to the bridge where I find a third and final scale. I check it against the weight written on my hand and verify the third reading.
The Kiwis have a set of metal stairs set up with rollers on the bottom of tubing handrails on the side leading to the guard rail of the bridge, four feet of off of the bridge deck. It’s further down to the Zambian side today, closer to the center. One of the Kiwi workers is being hooked up by the ankles, preparing to perform one of the exhibition freestyle jumps. Meanwhile, the other workers seem to be engrossed in reading some calibrations on the rope, reeling it in to what seems like a previously determined mark.
Hooked up and ready to go, a second worker verifies that the locking carabineers are tightened and opposing. "Check". He bunny hops up, turns and positions himself on the top of the rail with his back to the river. He says he's ready and the bridge spectators begin the countdown. '"Five, four, three, two, one, Bungeeeeeeeeee". At bungee he jumps up in the air spinning backwards completing about 4 full flips, avoiding getting tangled in the rope, and completes his final flip just as he strikes the river, 350 feet below. His body gets dunked head first up to his waist and in a split second is ripped from the river and launched skyward looking like he was shot out ofa cannon. He takes several bounces spinning whenever he can to get full value out of his jump. Never a dull moment.
The next stunt guy stands on the rail and at the final countdown he gracefully falls backward doing a slow gainer. The ones in the know say it’s a great ride and a skillful move. Just falling off of the bridge?
As these guys finish several workers operating from the lower trellis of the bridge use a winch to lower the jumpers down to a Avon pro raft (like we use) with and oar frame and additional hands to help lower you into the boat rather than winch you all of the way back up.
Without delay the main dude says "OK let’s move the stairs down to the other location". When I ask why I won't be using the bungee that I just witnessed operating successfully he tells me that I wouldn't want to use that one, It's all worn out. From the looks of it I believe him. The cord is about 2 1/2 inches in diameter and appears to be rubber bands laid the long way and cross wrapped with rubbery tape to hold it together. The entire length has pieces of broken rubber poking out making the cord look like its 3 inches bigger around than it actually is.
With the steps in position Mike the operator, sits me down and in a calming voice, describes each and every step of the attachment to my legs. "The first towel I wrap is to keep from chafing your legs. The second wraps around the first." He holds up a nylon sling, connected at both ends making a hoop. He says that this sling will hold a bazillion kilos and has been used a quintillion times and has one or two jumps left in it. With utmost confidence he makes a loop and places both of my feet through it. He pulls it tight, aligning it straight in the center then passes the end between my legs two times. Mike says the more it pulls the tighter it gets. He hopes. These guy like to put a little fun into it if they think you can handle it.
As he puts on the final touches, clips the carabineers, licked and checked by another, he begins to brief me on the jump. "Now John, I want you to remember three things for me. First, when you get to the top of the rail and count down from five, when we reach one I want you to bend your knees. When we say bungee I want you to leap out like your trying to touch those mountains swan diving and getting the furthest you can from the bridge. This will give you an arch so when you bounce back up you won't hit the bridge with your head.
Second. When you bounce back to the bridge although it looks like you will hit the bridge, you won't. But you will come in contact with the bungee. Don't grab the cord. It will rip all of the skin from your hands. Just push it away if you need to.
Third and most important, Have fun."
I'm wearing my shorts, a tee shirt, thongs, and a lifejacket for I guess to be the boat ride at the bottom. I can't imagine it helping you if the cord breaks. If it did the first thing you'd do is swim #2 rapid shortly downstream. Although I'm preoccupied listening to Mike and concentrating on not forgetting the ground rules Ii notice Jack pushing something in my back pocket. "It's your passport. You’ll need it to get back across the border since we will be collecting our bags preparing for our departure while you hike back up to the top."
Facing the steps he tells me to bunny hop up until I reach the bridge rail. This is where the handrails come in real handy. Standing with both feet tied together, bungee clipped to the loop, toes hanging over the rail, hands on the handrail and nothing but air between you and the river, wayyyyyyyyyy down there. I had made up my mind before I reached the bridge that no matter what I felt, I could not turn back. That’s the only reason I jumped. Nobody in their right mind can decide to jump while standing in that spot. If there was ever a doubt that you will jump, this is where it’s going to come out. There was no doubt, like it or not. I'm jumping not crawling down after 3 false starts like I witnessed several days before.
"Five, four, three, two, (my legs start to bend) one...bungeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. My legs extend while I throw my arms out in front of me, diving for the mountains like I was told to do. That is the ride. That is the whole ride. Straitening your legs, consciously jumping out off of the bridge into the abyss. I'm so caught up in the slow motion of leaping to nowhere that when I reach as far out as the weight of the bungee will allow, I feel the tremendous weight of the cord and begin a falling sensation. Like someone pulled the floor out. Something is missing and I'm falling. I begin to notice the wind building in my face. This reminds me of my first skydiving experience. Thinking I was going to be able to hold a swan dive position perfectly until I reach the end of the rope I find myself rotating my arms, trying to counteract the eventual position of diving straight down for the river.
Now we've got some speed up and with a full blast of wind in my face something tells me (probably from back in high school science class) that I'm reaching terminal velocity. I begin to wonder about how much more speed I could possibly pick up before I bore a hole through the earth because surely this cord cannot stop the enormous momentum I'm incurring. In less than the blink of an eye, I've reached the bottom and am being pulled like an enormous vacuum back up feet first. The shock from bottoming has knocked my thongs loose and I barely have them trapped with my toes crunched in the end. Skyrocketing upward I focus on the bridge and see the bungee coiling disorderly, hanging in space. As I reach the weightless position at the top of the arch, I instinctively, like a jackknife diver reach down with my fingers extended and push the thongs back on my feet. That felt really cool and I compliment myself for doing it with such grace and elegance. Shit. Here we go again, heading down toward the river. It was the same scenario with the reverse direction but not nearly as strong as the first. I notice how tight the leg wraps got and feel they couldn't get any tighter. It’s a solid unit. Towels, sling, legs, and Tight.
As I reach the top of my second bounce I remember to give the thumbs up for the picture but I'm spun around and am giving the thumbs up facing down at the river. The cord must have been wound up a little because now I'm beginning to spin a bit.
Several more bounces and now I'm swinging back and forth. I feel like they're starting to lower me down. As the swinging stops I hang relaxed with blood rushing to my head. The bridge is getting further away and the boat is coming closer. With what looks like a gaffe from a fishing boat the man in the rubber boat hooks me and guides my body into the boat, landing me like a fish. Totally exhilarated I rip at the leg ties feeling like I need to be freed, ready to run a race. I guess the adrenaline buildup is just looking for a place to vent. There is nothing to do but wait for the oarsman to land me on the side of the rocky canyon.
I'm met by a guide that leads the way up a rocky trail to the base of the bridge. We must travel the entire distance climbing and walking along the catwalks and superstructures of the lower arch. A tour of the bridge for no extra cast. What a deal. This was a good way to spend all of that pent up energy, running the entire way up the trail and under the steel girder bridge. Back at the top I thank Mike and continue on to the border crossing remembering what Greg had told me about crossing through customs. Smile no matter how much they screw with you, they will only slow you for a while.