Extracts from Seeing the World My Way.
Taken from page 4
Travelling is like sex:
if you think about it too much,
you never do it!
Taken from Chapter 8
The Kiwi Experience
Taihape
Page 143-144
There was a wooden shed-like building where the bungee jump was organised and I met the instructors. It was a damp, chilly morning, but there was no wind.
I paid about $100, and they explained what would happen.They weighed me to get the length of the bungee cord correct, and then strapped my ankles together using a towel for padding. They said, “We’ll take you
to the edge of the platform and after three taps on the shoulder, you jump off.” They told me to raise my arms above my head and just fall forward.Apart from the hostel manager watching, and the three instructors, I was all alone. My adrenalin was flowing and I couldn’t wait to start. The bungee
chord was attached to my ankle strap, and I was taken to the edge by shuffling forward. I felt more like a trussed up chicken as I hopped rather than walked.
I was on the platform edge and my toes could feel air. I removed my hearing aids, something I did before most physical activities, and they tapped me three
times; without any hesitation, I fell forwards and dropped into the air!I had a two or three seconds… freefall… then bang! The bungee cord stretched out, then recoiled ― and I bounced! It was like being smacked into a brick
wall, my whole body was jerked upright. I almost became entangled in the rope and then I was spun around in the air. I bounced again ― it was a jolt each
time, and I didn’t know when it would happen; I had no anticipation and this is what made it even more fantastic. It was an unpredicted explosion, my entire
body felt the impact with air and the bounce of recoil. Electric waves of energy and adrenalin passed through me. Not knowing what would occur next was
exulting and fantastic; the danger, the fear, the madness — I loved it all and wanted more.