Bloukrans Bridge Bungee

Bloukrans Bridge is situated near Nature's Valley in the Western Cape and it is the site of the worlds highest commercial bridge bungee jump at 216m. The bridge spans an incredibly beautiful gorge which the Bloukrans river flows through not that I could appreciate the scenery too much before my jump. I had decided before I left England that I wanted to do the bungee. It is definitely up my street to be a little bit reckless and I love a good adrenaline rush. However, the closer I got to going to Storms River the more apprehensive I got. I'm not a huge fan of heights and the thoughts of what could go wrong were often running through my mind. I don't think I would have bottled it because I would regret it and be extremely annoyed with myself if I didn't do it but I definitely thought about it when I panicked myself. 

Luckily for me when I boarded the bus in Jeffreys Bay I bumped into Jakob who I had first met in Chinsta and then again in PE. We decided on a whim to do the bungee that afternoon and booked it before we could talk ourselves out of it. Plus it was a beautiful day and there was talk of rain the following day so we made the most of it. We arrived in Storm's River at 10 and the wait til that afternoon was almost excruciating. I don't think I have ever been so nervous in my life and that's including my final year exams, my degree results, my driving test etc. I'm talking sweaty palms, sweaty feet, nerves I didn't know existed. Everything else has nothing on this. My iPod didn't help the situation; when I was listening to it to try and relax it promptly played I'm Goin' Down by Bruce Springsteen followed by Falling by Haim. Not cool. 

Our jump was at 2 and we arrived at the site just before 1. This didn't help as we spent a lot of time watching other people's jumps and getting worked up about our own. As soon as one of us had calmed down the other one started panicking! In the end we had a beer in our harnesses to calm our nerves trying to ignore the guy telling us all about his jump as he was not helping. 

All too soon it was time to walk out to the jump site, situated on top of the supporting arch in the centre of the bridge. This for me was probably the worst bit. The walkway is a metal mesh so you can see the drop underneath your feet. As you move from panel to panel they give slightly with your added weight which was enough to make me question my sanity and whether this really was a good idea. No turning back though. 

When we got onto the bridge we watched the last few people from the group before us jump. At least everyone came back up smiling and saying it was amazing. That helped make me look forward to it. Additionally, when you get to the bridge there is a lot of loud party music to get you pumped up for it. We had a quick safety briefing and were advised on the best way to jump, especially for it to look good for the camera... Our main concerns at that moment obviously. 

I was first up in the group which was better than last. However, everyone was nervous or downright terrified which wasn't the best vibe. You sit by the jump point and have your legs strapped up. Firstly they put the padding around the lower half of your legs and then they put on the strap which binds your legs and is where they attach the bungee line. It is pretty tight and so you have to waddle/hop to the jump point. When they were clipping the bungee rope to me my nerves reached fever pitch, especially when I took glimpses off the bridge and into the gorge. The guys help you to the edge of the bridge and at that point there is no turning back (unless you grip onto the railings and don't let them take you to the edge as the first guy in the group after did) as you either jump or get pushed. 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1.... Bungee! 

I think my favourite bit of the jump was the point of no return. The part where the guides let go of you and your weight has passed the tipping point. All I could see was this humongous drop beneath me with the sparkling blue river flowing through the gorge and my mind completely cleared. All I could think about was how beautiful everything was.

I'm pleased to say I dove off the bridge without needing a helping shove. Years of swimming came in useful after all. In true Alicia style I wasn't quiet. I didn't scream exactly, it was some kind of crazy, hysterical laugh and cheer. The free fall was incredible. It was so liberating to throw all caution to the wind, jump off the bridge and have the wind rushing past you. Any problems or worries that you have instantly disappear and you just enjoy all the crazy sensations assaulting your senses. 

I was worried about a bungee jump being jerky but it is not at all. The only real sensation is that the connection gets tighter at your ankles but it pulls you back up incredibly smoothly. It was around here that I regained the use of my arms which after the initial dive had just been dangling above my head. 

Towards the end of the jump you are suspended in the valley, around about 180m down is where the rope extends to. It is extremely quiet at this point and all you can hear are the birds and the faint sound of the river. The adrenaline was surging round my body and the blood rushes to your head asking you feel insanely giddy. You are collected by a staff member who attaches you to some kind of safety line before removing the bungee connection and forcing you into an extremely uncomfortable sitting position. We had a quick conversation on the way up where he congratulated me and told me that all the ladies who "fly from the bridge" are know as Angels... Lolllllll. So cheesy, but I am a Bloukrans Angel. 

On the way back up, because of the pendulum jumping system, you are on the other side of the bridge and there is a beautiful view out to the coast which I enjoyed. Unfortunately there are no photos of this. When I got back up to the bridge I couldn't stop smiling. I was buzzing all day thanks to the huge adrenaline rush. I think it lasted til something like 10pm which is when I suddenly felt extremely tired and just wanted to pass out. 

Looking back on the bungee, I don't think I have ever felt more alive in one moment and yet it almost feels like it didn't exist or that I only dreamt about it. I want to do it again most definitely and I would have done if it didn't cost so much. Plus, next time I want to do it backwards. 

I only wish two things: firstly that it wasn't over so quickly and secondly that my Dad could have done it with me because he would have loved it. I definitely have his crazy gene. 

Until next time. 

A x

Jeffreys Bay

I stopped in Jeffreys Bay for one night last Saturday. The bus arrived early in the morning meaning I had the whole day to spend there before hopping on the Sunday bus. I was extremely lucky to be able to stay with family friends, Piet and Sally. Piet and my father are old friends, meeting when they were 7, and I think I gave him quite the shock when I phoned the day before and said I was going to be in the area. I did plan to stay in a hostel but I was very kindly offered a place for the night which was lovely. 

We spent the morning at Piet and Sally's catching up with everything that's happened in the last decade or so. I think the last time I saw them I was about 6 years old. It was lovely finding out about each other's families and who is doing what. We ended up having a long lunch at a lovely pizza and pasta restaurant although the portions were huge. I didn't feel like moving afterwards. We headed to one of the beaches where the professional surf competitions were held but the waves were not that big at all. 

When we got back I ended up having a nap as I was tired following my antics in PE. When I finally arose from my slumber Sally took me to many of the viewpoints of Jeffreys Bay, all of which were insanely beautiful. We spent the evening at Dyfie's house, Sally's sister in law. It began by watching the rugby but it was an extremely relaxed evening getting to know each other (crazy coincidence we share our birthday) and Piet finally got to hear Blue Laurel's (Willem's band - check them out) music and chat to my dad again after how ever many years. 

After a few glasses of wine it was time for bed. I'm so grateful for Piet and Sally letting me stay with them. It was lovely to not be in a hostel for one night and to be able to get some clothes washed! I was definitely running out of clean things. I had an absolutely wonderful time staying with them and it is always good to reconnect with people. 

I left J'Bay at 8am the next morning and headed to Storm's River for the next part of my adventure. 

Until next time. 

A x

Lungile Lodge, Port Elizabeth

It turns out the reason the bus was late to Chinsta was because it was dying and we got to East London before it finally died a long drawn out death on us. At first hills were a slight issue and then all of a sudden we had complete engine failure in the middle of East London in the pouring rain. 

We broke down outside a hostel named Sugarshack. I would say luckily if it were anything like the other hostels we had been to but unfortunately this place was a dump. It has a good review in Coast to Coast and is on the Baz Bus recommended list and I have absolutely no idea why. It was dire. I did use stronger words to describe it at the time but they probably aren't blog friendly. We went in to get a beer and the roof of the bar was leaking. Upstairs where I went to seek out the free tea the kitchen was disgustingly dirty. In the end the conditions were so appalling we took a unanimous decision to relegate ourselves back to the broken down bus. 

Eventually we got a replacement bus from someone the driver knows, not even the bus company! Although at that moment in time I didn't really care as I was having nightmare visions of having to stay in East London and the Sugarshack. No thanks, I'd rather sleep on the beach in the rain. We finally left East London at 9:30pm (we were meant to arrive in Port Elizabeth at 10pm) after stopping for a KFC dinner... Delightful. Nowhere else was open though. We arrived in PE at 2am finally and I gratefully crawled into my hostel bed, thanking everything under the sun that I was not still in East London. The only good outcome of the break down was that it meant everyone on board mingled and talked to each other. Normally on the evening buses everyone just goes to sleep so it was good to be social.

I stayed at Lungile Lodge, changing it last minute due to the bus fiasco but it was a great place to stay for two nights. I didn't want to be in PE for so long but the next bus left at 6am on Friday and I only arrived at 2am so I opted for the one the day after on Saturday. The lodge was clean, homely and the staff were friendly and helpful. I loved the large pool too but only ended up dipping my feet in it as the water was cold and the sun was once again nowhere to be seen. 

The lounge and reckon area of the lodge. The door up the stairs was the dorm where I stayed. 

The lovely pool.

After visiting the Spar with the company of Anna, a Finnish girl in my dorm, I decided to go and check out the beach front. The beaches near the hostel didn't turn out to be that fabulous. They were small and right by the main road. Nothing like the ones in Durban, another city for comparison, whose beaches and promenade were actually quite nice. Obviously both places have nothing on the Wild Coast but that is to be expected. 

One of the beaches. 

I walked down to the pier to get some photos and because it was something to do, rather than being couped up in the hostel all day. I would have had to get a taxi to the city centre and so opted for the cheaper option. It turned out that I met some Mormon missionaries at the end of the pier who kept me company for half an hour or so which was pretty crazy. They were both from Utah and we discussed travelling, where we wee from and what we were upto etc. it was nice company at any rate and they gave me a Book of Mormon to take with me after finding out I didn't know too much about it (when he asked if I'd heard of it and I gave a pretty vague answer he said he didn't mean the play... My bad). So, that's currently residing in my handbag for a rainy day. After my Mormon encounter I treated myself to lunch and a glass of wine overlooking the pier which was lovely. At least travelling has taught me one thing and that is how to enjoy your own company and not be so reliant on being around others. 

View of the pier. 

Looking back at the coast from the pier.

The city centre is towards the right and just out of sight in that direction are all the docks.

Back at the hostel we had a couple of drinks and relaxed outside by the pool with a fire. Out of some crazy coincidence the staff that I met at Buccaneers showed up at the same hostel and so we decided to go out for a couple of drinks at Barney's which is a bar on the beach. They had a live band who were pretty good and we partied to hits from bands such as ACDC and Guns and Roses which was brilliant. Been a while since I've heard that kind of music on a night out. We ended up kicking off our flip flops because they hinder dancing to no end and we partied away. 

Dirty feet after the removal of flip flops. Oh dear.

After finally going to sleep around 2 it was a bit of a mission to get up for 6:30 to pack. The bus rocked up at 7:30, 45 minutes late, but I fitted in a snooze on the sofa whilst waiting. There were some familiar faces from the last disastrous bus journey so it was nice to catch up with their activities whilst on the bus to Jeffrey's Bay. 

Until next time.

A x

Buccaneers Lodge and Backpackers, Chinsta

Chinsta is one of the last stretches of the Wild Coast and I decided to come here because I loved the stunning scenery of the Wild Coast first time round at Coffee Bay and also because a few people have said it is really not to be missed. My tight time schedule means I have had to miss out Hogsback and East London but apparently the latter is pretty grim so I am only gutted about the first. 

I arrived at Buccaneers at 6pm on Tuesday after a terribly long bus journey. Luckily for me the bus was pretty empty and for the last 3 hours I had the back 4 seats to myself so I was almost a lady of leisure. Travel style anyway. The bus driver was fairly informative pointing out interesting things along the way. Only two really stuck with me. Firstly, that the city Umthatha's name means 'to take away' and this derives from when dead bodies were placed in the river to be carried away to the sea. The second thing the driver pointed out was Nelson Mandela's house.

Mandela's house.

Once I had arrived and settled in to the hostel I booked myself onto a couple of activities and joined the communal dinner which happened to be an Indian buffett. So curry again! I met a couple of people at dinner and then spent my evening having casual drinks in the bar with them but they were all leaving the next day. I had another fairly early night but the heat made sleeping pretty difficult which was extremely frustrating. 

View from the reception area of the lodge of the bay and lagoon.

Blue dorm where I stayed. It was separated into two rooms with about 4 beds in each which was nice compared to some of the bigger dorms I've stayed in.

The next morning, after my fruit salad with a view for breakfast, I joined a group of people from the hostel to go horse riding on Chinsta beach. I was on a lovely chestnut called Frodo who was amazingly speedy which was brilliant. We rode through a tiny bit of bush land downhill to the beach, across the slightly rocky bit onto pure and pristine sandy beaches. We went quite far down the beach, passing the lagoon and part of the bay you can see from the hostel. 

Amazing view to enjoy along with my fruit salad. 

Frodo getting a lil' excited to be on the beach. 

And having a doze here when we gave the horses a break in the heat. 

There was a big group of us with eleven horses in total and it looked quite spectacular looking back from the front seeing all these horses along the beachfront. Five of the riders were beginners so they stayed with one volunteer whilst we took the other horses for a canter and gallop which was incredible. It's always enjoyable galloping a horse but getting to ride surrounded by such beautiful scenery was a real treat. Unfortunately, due to the humidity and hot weather we couldn't run the horses as much as the guide wanted to because they were sweating out. Nevertheless, it was a brilliant ride and I'm so glad I waited to do a beach ride in such a spectacular setting. 

The motley crew.

Views of the beach on the ride and the ever present mist. 

Riding back up towards the hostel. 

The afternoon was spent cooling down in the pool and meeting other guests. At 4pm each day the hostel runs a free activity which involves free wine. Obviously I signed myself up for that, free wine, who wouldn't?! The activity that day was sundowners on a sand dune and then walking back along the beach to the hostel. The weather had been misty all day so it wasn't clear for sunset but that didn't reall matter. After the trek up the sand dunes the wine and company was good enough. There was one bit of the dunes that was so steep that you end up climbing using your hands too, whilst sand is giving away underneath you meaning that you are slipping downwards too.. That was difficult work. 

About halfway through the epic sand dune trek. 

View from the top of the sand dune looking at the steepest bit of the climb. 

I was drinking a wine sundowner whilst watching the sun go down and the mist creep across the shore. 

When we left the dune and we were walking back along the beach we did see a pretty incredible sunset. It was definitely not a conventional one but the setting sun combined with the mist and the sand dunes led to one of the coolest and most ethereal, magical sunsets I've ever experienced. I don't really feel the photos below do it justice. I've thought that often about many things when writing this blog that although I've captured the image of the moment it is never complete. 

For instance, there was a slight drizzle from the mist making it a bit chilly, I had goosebumps and our clothes were pretty damp. Also a couple of minutes before this we'd gone in the sea which was freezing. The sea water was sticky on my calves and some had splashed up above my knees drenching my leggings. The smell of salty sea water was in the air and the wind was whipping my hair into some frenzied mess. The sand covered my feet, was between my toes and was the kind that you sank into. That coupled with good company and the red plastic cup in my hand with the remains of wine was the moment this photo was taken. I already write essays as it is so I can't ever describe each photo like this and it forever feels incomplete, just a snapshot. 

I love the pastel colours present in all these photos compared to the normal vivid colours of an African sunset. 

That evening I joined in with the big dinner again as I had nothing to cook and we had a delicious spaghetti. I'm sure subconsciously I never buy food as I know my cooking would never match up to what some of the hostels have to offer! After dinner we migrated to the bar and spent the evening drinking and playing pool with some of the staff members and more long term guests which was great fun. 

On Thursday my onwards bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until 5pm so I was able to spend my day at the hostel. In the morning I relaxed by the pool soaking up the sun which finally made an appearance. One of the guys who is staying in the hostel and is from around the area made me a lovely beaded bracelet in the traditional Xhosa turquoise colour. It's been made to size with fishing wire so I don't think it's coming off anytime soon, not that I'm overly bothered by that. 

What a gorgeous day.

Perfect pool weather. 

In the afternoon I joined a cultural tour of the local area which included visits to a Xhosa village, East Chinsta township and Emerald Vale micro brewery. The first stop was Ngxingxolo, the Xhosa village, where we visited Mama Tofu, a 94 year old matriarch who is working on keeping Xhosa traditions alive. We learnt many things from her although sometimes the conversation was a little bit hard to follow as wild tangents were followed and what we were originally talking about was totally forgotten until about 10 minutes later. 

Mama Tofu teaching us about Xhosa traditions and customs in a rondavel. 

Mama Tofu was extremely feisty, definitely preferring the women in our group whilst condemning the men and the Xhosa way of life which saw the women doing much of the work and not being recognised as ancestors... Or that was what she seemed to be saying. Her other advice centered around love and how to find a husband which follows four steps: 

1. Asking them what is their clan - to ensure you are not already related 

2. To ask them if they are already married 

3. Find out where they live 

4. Find out where they work

Along with this, one should never let a man try and kiss you in public as it makes people talk and implies you are not pure. Also, you are never to say you love a man before getting answers to the four questions above because if you do you may be marrying the wrong one. It was interesting if a little bit difficult to follow properly. 

Beyond giving us all lessons in love Mama Tofu valiantly tried to teach us some Xhosa (often referred to as the clicking language) with varying degrees of success. The click letters are c, x and q which each make a different sound. For those interested, the c represents dental clicks, x is lateral clicks and q is post-alveolar clicks. That means nothing to me, I was shown the sounds but had to turn to Wiki to help me describe them. Either way, it is an incredible language and extremely difficult to pick up. I can just about say Xhosa, meaning I get it right once in about every three attempts! 

Mama Tofu and I after she berated us for not asking to have a photo taken with her. What a lady. 

The rest of our time in Ngxingxolo with Mama Tofu was spent trying our hands at manual labour, grinding maize down into powder, browsing the women's craft work and watching and participating in dancing and singing with the local girls. As well as striving to keep Xhosa traditions alive and well, Mama Tofu and her daughter have provided a home for many orphans who have lost their parents due to the prevalence of Aids and HIV. They are both incredible, wonderful women and it was an experience to visit Ngxingxolo and humbling to meet everyone there. 

Having a go at grinding maize whilst the local children sang for me. This would occur to newly wedded women. 

The rondavel where woman would go if they were sick. They stay behind the screen for a month and work on their beads and crafts and the children sing to them each day. I couldn't work out if they meant sick or pregnant but either way... Maybe both.

The dancing and singing put on by the children.

Our next stop was the nearby township. I find these kind of tours quite odd as essentially we are walking past peoples houses and where they live and just taking photos of it. Despite this it is still extremely interesting as the way of life and living is completely different. 

Some houses in the township. Some are government built after apartheid ended and others were built by the people. This had led to issues of who should receive funding and help with maintenance.

A clapped out car. Thankfully we didn't ruin Matt's this badly! 

More houses sprawled across the hillside.

Pigs in the playground. All the animals wonder round and are not clearly marked which again causes problems amongst the community with accusations of theft. 

After walking through part of the township we piled back into the bus to visit the Emerald Vale micro brewery established in 2012. We had an interesting tour where we were talked through the manufacturing process, not that I remember much about what was said, and after we could try a sample of all four of the ales they produce. It was a good part of the day but definitely something my father and brother would have appreciated a lot more than me seeing as I don't actually like ale. I did try them all though which is progress. 

The awesome logo for Emerald Vale brewery. 

The four ales they produce: (from l-r) pale, gold, amber and dark. I didn't really like any of them but I think the gold would be my favourite if I had to pick! 

Upon returning to the hostel I had to sit around for the bus which turned out to be an hour late this time. The ensuing journey turned out to be a bit of a disaster but that's a story for the next blog. 

Until next time. 

A x