I think they were still using the same bungee cord...

This video [LINK] is getting lot of play on the news and tubes. On this last New Year's Eve, the bungee cord snaps as a young Aussie takes the 111 meter drop off the Victoria Falls bridge. The cord is still tied around her ankles as she is swept over the rapids. She has to swim underwater to free the cord so she can get to shore. Did I mention the Zambezi is full of crocodiles? Big ones. She survives with bruises and cuts. Un-friggin-believable.

The jump went better for me when I took the same leap of faith from the same bridge in September 1995:


Looking at this video now, that cord does look a little frayed.

They probably should have changed it in the last 17 years.

Africa Journal - The Falls and the Fall

Africa Journal

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September 22, 1995

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The Falls and The Fall

We spend the morning touring Victoria Falls. First we take a spectacular tour by helicopter, then crossed the Victoria Falls bridge to see it from the Zambian side of the river. This is the end of the dry season, and after many years of drought, the water flow on the Zambian side is very low. The canyons and rock formations are impressive, and make up for the disappointing flow of water. From the bridge we can watch the whitewater rafts traversing the rapids hundreds of meters below us. The heat beats us down, and we retreat to the lodge to recover.

That afternoon we tour the Zimbabwe side with Jim and Julia from England. The water flow on this side is still very strong, and the lighting dramatic as the sun goes down. Sigrid takes too many pictures.

The view from the bridge.

You can walk from Zimbabwe to Zambia by crossing the Victoria Falls Bridge. At the center of the bridge is the "Africa Extreme" bungee jump operation. They claim to be the world’s highest commercial bungee jump at 111 meters... and yes, I did it.

I get strapped in by new best friend, Darrel.

Note the Excellent Form

Special Note to Chris Arisian - Thanks for the lucky t-shirt.

This is an AVI file of the jump. I can assure you the few seconds of postage-stamp video are not worth the 742K of download time, but hey ... knock yourself out:

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NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: This is a back-post / cross-post from my first on-line effort - a Journal of our Southern Africa Tour in 1995. Originally posted on an abandoned domain (netsnake.com), the term "blog" had not yet entered the parlance. I cut and pasted the original entry for this post, keeping the original low-rez screencaps for historical integrity, and  substituting an updated YouTube upload of the videotape they made of my jump and a few of Sigrid's photos.