Our first port of call for the journey was in the small farming town of Swellendam. We were staying in a stylish boutique guesthouse called the Augusta De Mist with the main draw being the traditional South African food being served by the knowledgeable and enthusiastic hosts. I was also slightly surprised by the Banana soup which was gulped down in just a few seconds - I hate normally hate Bananas! The rooms in the guesthouse are tastefully decorated when you consider the ages of the buildings you are residing in - the were even a few Springbok skins similar to the one I had picked up for myself in the Kruger park. For more info on the guesthouse have a look on their website here.
The main stop for us on this famous route was Knysna (Pronounced: Ni-z-na). We were staying in the Amanzi Lodge which faced right out into the lagoon which dominates the scenery in the area. It also provided me with plenty of fun with the kayaks and bikes that are available for guests to use. The kayaking was a bit more difficult than my previous experiences as the tide meant that the waves were crashing over me - I wasn't planning on getting wet when I got in it! Knysna itself is a relatively quiet area out of season as the majority of the properties seemed to be either guesthouses or big holiday homes. I certainly wouldn't object to getting one in the area though because both the views and some of the houses were spectacular!
The highlight of the Garden Route for me was unquestionably the Bloukrans River Bridge. It also happens to be the location for the World's Highest Bridge Bungee Jump. Now, I've never done a Bungee jump before but if you're going to do something then you might as well go as big as possible - right?! The bridge is situated in the Tsitsikamma region and has some fantastic views out onto the Indian Ocean and up the valley into the mountains behind. It is also pretty intimidating when you drive across it knowing that shortly afterwards you're planning on throwing yourself off it!
The jump is ran by a company called Face Adrenalin and also has a small restaurant with viewing platform for anyone interested in watching people throwing themselves off the massive structure. Once you are registered, weighed and kitted out you make the long walk along the underside of the bridge to the specially designed 'diving' platform. The walk itself feels like a lifetime and it doesn't help any nerves when you are walking along the grated gangway with a clear view of the 300m drop below. My stomach was doing somersaults as we finally got to the centre of the bridge - I was glad I had decided to skip lunch (I know, I know - that's not like me!).
The atmosphere on the diving platform is more like a party than anything else. Two DJ's pump out the tunes whilst the staff bounce around with big smiles on their faces to put everyone at ease. Now that we were there and ready I wasn't too nervous - it was too windy and cold to be nervous! Unfortunately I had to wait till last for my turn but when the time came it all went in a bit of a blur. One minute I was sat there getting my feet bound together then the next I'm 216m down dangling from a rope.
The experience itself is crazy. At no point in my mind did I think "What the hell am I doing?" until about half a second after I jumped and the reality had set in. By that point it was waaaay to late! The first few seconds are just pure adrenalin, everything goes into tunnel vision as you speed up to over 120km per hour, the last few seconds were a test of my trust in the Face Adrenalin team! The relief you feel when the bungee starts to pull back on your ankles is incredible - I wouldn't want to know how the girl who's rope broke in Zimbabwe felt when it snapped!!
The worst moment of the whole experience is when you are dangling upside down 216m below the platform. It feels like an eternity before they come down and get you. In reality it is probably less than a minute but when it feels like your feet are slipping out of the rope with all the blood rushing to your head I can assure you the last thing you are doing is enjoying the scenery! Once I made it safely back up to the platform I was completely buzzing and will most definitely be doing bungee jumps again in the future - the only problem is I've done the biggest so where do I go from there?!
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