Bungy jumping is something that has caught on in the last 15 years or so especially in the backpacking scene.Like many people I’ve never jumped before and thought of it and some kind of activity for people with nothing better to do. Being a budget traveler myself parting with $30-$50 for something that last 20 seconds always seemed something that would stay on the bottom of my To Do list.
Meeting Adam from
AJ Hackett bungy (Cairns Australia ) last week here in Kuta was the start of the process for me. He invited me to come down to the site next to Double Six nightclub on Jalan Double Six ( Jl.Arjuna ).
AJ Hackett is the world’s premier bungy jumping company and they really set the standards as far as safety, inovation, size of jumps and spreading the word.
AJ was in Bali himself and I wanted to meet him. After some missed opportunites I managed to hook up with AJ at 5.30pm and hook up for a sundown jump.
The site is located next to the beach and the landing pool is actually in Double Six nightclub. This makes for a really cool atmosphere. You can do jumps and go to the beach, or night time jumps. AJ Hackett also does jumps from 2am-5am on Friday and Saturday nights.
Looking up at the huge white tower I thought ?okay its high, but big deal I’m on a rubber band’. The office is set right next to the tower and the local staff are efficient and friendly. As I arrived and waited for AJ there were 3 nervous looking French guys walking around doing stretches and deep breathing exercises.
AJ showed up after a while with his young daughter Margot. He was very busy and slightly frazzled after dealing with business and taking care of the family. I wanted to do an interview and taking a jump was secondary. ?Have you jumped yet?? said AJ. ?I never jumped before? I replied. ?Alright we’ll get you weighed up and ready to take a jump, you’ll really get an idea of what its all about.?
The counter staff whipped out a set of bathroom scales and I jumped on, 73kg (163lb ). AJ took a marker pen and wrote the number on
my left hand, don’t want the guys who fix the bungy getting that one wrong.
The lady
behind the desk was 8 months pregnant and I asked her if she had ever jumped, ?Yes? she said, ?very lovely.?
I had to sign one page of details and waivers, basic health stuff about my blood pressure and heart and agreeing not to sure AJ if my head gets bounced off the bottom of the pool.
That done I was handed my boarding pass and went through to the back of the office to get into
my harness?.the journey had begun.AJ, Margot and I boarded the small elevator which ground its way to the top. As we ascended the thoughts going though my mind were similar to other first timers I’m sure. Rising above the tree line and seeing people on the beach the ?vertigo feeling’ started to kick in a bit. I’m just not used to being high up and looking down plays havoc with my sense of dimension.
AJ was chatting away in his super relaxed style and I was still feeling ?no worries’ about the jump. The swimming pool was getting smaller and a slight knot was in my stomach, still AJ Hackett’s have the best safety record in the world and the Man was right there next to me.
A couple of minutes later we’re
still going up and the
view was amazing. The tree line and beach look way below and I could see all of Kuta, Legian and Seminyak, this is the best view in Kuta.
The swimming pool now is tiny comparison to the one I was standing next to when I was getting to my harness, it almost seemed possible to miss the pool if I wasn’t careful.
The light was
just lovely, ?magic hour’ for photos. The
French guys were
pretty jazzed to be jumping first and AJ’s other kids were up top jumping around and getting ready for a jump later. They were past masters at aged 10 and had less nerves than anyone else.
I snapped a few shots of the scenery and of the first guy getting ready to take off. He had his leg attachments on already and was saying his last goodbye’s to his comrades.
AJ told him to look up on the rebound so we could get a face shot. I went to the rear of the platform and took a shot of him swinging around.
The second French guy sat on the bungy-attachment area and got ready to go. His friends were giving him the ?bravo, un, deax, trois’ routine but he wanted to
take his time. He looked fine but very concentrated. Looking back to his friends he smiled and made a comment, ?Just take your time? said AJ. After another 5 minutes he still hadn’t gone and AJ went and
sat next to him. Living in France for many years AJ speaks French and the guy was lucky to have him there.
He wanted to take a breather for a while and I jumped the queue in to poll position?.next to go!
I must admit there is a kind of dentist’s waiting room atmosphere associated with this whole thing. You know you want to do it, but you’re not to upset when someone is still in front of you.
I sat on the bungee attachment area and the staff carefully
wrapped a towel around my ankles
and lower leg, before wrapping the bindings and attaching the rope itself. I handed AJ my camera and glasses and he asked ?
how are you feeling?? as he snapped the thumbs up shot. I said ?pretty good but the heart is ticking over a bit faster?. ?You wouldn’t be normal if it wasn’t? he said.
To be honest I was fine. I had already made my mind up that when I came to the drop zone I was going off head first no matter what. ?Don’t worry about what’s going on down below, just look at the horizon, lean forward and take a little jump?
AJ advised.With the bungy attached I stood up and the staff said ?Okay go.? I was surprised it was that quick, I mean I was going to chuck myself off a tower and go head first and touch a swimming pool way below in less than 3 seconds, I hope that thing they put on my ankles is going to work.
I
hopped to the edge and let me tell you I felt like a little naked human standing there, wind blowing, up in the air, ground way below. Still I was going and with the creator of bungy at my side felt good about it. The guys did another ?one, two, three GO!!!!’ and I leaned forward and
pushed off. The picture looks like I’m getting ready to sit on the toilet but I straightened out very quickly and was flying down head-first before I knew it. The feeling was amazing. It’s the biggest leap of faith most people will ever do. My palms are sweaty just thinking about the moment I cast off into thin air with that tiny little swimming pool way below. The first half second of pushing off into open air is intense! I heard a little cheer as I pushed off, then felt gravity take hold and the wind rip by as I accelerated. A splash of water over my head and shoulders told me we’d hit the pool and not the concrete. Its an amazing feeling and when the bungy takes hold and I felt another blast of air and acceleration in the opposite direction. The first bounce is strong, but the whole motion is smooth and in no way jerky or painful.
I did about 4 large bounces with the sky and scenery coming in and out of view, I looked up and gave the thumbs up sign to the guys on the tower. Adrenaline and the pleasant after effects (seratonin?) were flooding through me. They talk about ?adrenaline junky’s and I can vouch for the fact that this activity steam-cleans your nervous system.
The staff on the ground used a bamboo pole to help me get onto a poolside platform they had. The guys on top had lowered me slightly using a ?figure 8′ type attachment.
I was like a side of pork hanging there waiting to be rescued. When the guys fished me in I was all smiles and there is a certain ?after stress rush’ that one experiences.
In front of the swimming pool a small crowd had gathered. The French guys and other assorted people. They were waiting for their buddy who was giving it another shot and everyone was cheering and encouraging him. He appeared and for about 10 minutes teetered on the edge. It was dark by now and he finally quit without jumping. The waiver you sign says quite clearly that no refund will be given for non-jumpers ( they actually take up more resources than jumpers because they slow the line-up).
I waited for AJ in the office and the failed jumper walked through. We chatted briefly and I said I could fully understand how he felt and it was nothing to worry about. We all get scared of things and it could have been me on another occasion.
AJ and Margot descended in the elevator and AJ quickly ordered a pizza as he hadn’t eaten all day. I ran over to the bar and grabbed us a couple of Carlsbergs. I was feeling so good I would of bought anyone a Carlsberg at that point. When he finished eating we sat on the steps on the office and chatted about bungy and how he got started. All the while his phone was ringing and Margot asked me ?when will you be going home’. I could see this was going to be a quick chat so I kept my questions short.
AJ told me that he got the idea for bungy jumping when a friend asked him to make a bungy over 20 years ago. The origins go back to the Pacific island of
Vanuatu, where islanders build tall bamboo structures and dive off with vines attached to theirs ankles.
The Oxford University
Dangerous Sports Club started doing something with a type of bungy and AJ’s mate wanted to try it out.
They did a lot of research at the local university on types of bungy’s, length and mainly focused on how to gauge the bounce. He told me having the ability to replicate a jump and have a scale whereby they could do the same jump for people of different weights was crucial. When they found they could do this AJ was excited. He said they did all this work because they enjoyed it wanted to push the limits of what was possible, not for commercial purposes. In fact AJ didn’t want everyone and their brother doing bungy.
He said as word spread he got more and more requests to let other people jump and realized that this kind of excitement wasn’t going to fade overnight.
I asked him if he considers himself the founder of bungy jumping and what effect bungy has had on world tourism. He said he was the one who brought bungy jumping into the mainstream and was responsible for developing the systems that other people have copied. From researching the types of rubber, bungy chord construction and durability ( 400 jumps depending on UV exposure ), to the type of structures that were specially built for bungy, to the harnesses, lowering mechanism, retrieving mechanism and safety proceedures. AJ said when bungy became popular most backpacker venues around the world wanted an outfit. This gave rise to many independent companies, some with little of no safety training or safety margins in mind. I remember guys in my home town who owned cranes doing bungy jumping on the weekends. When AJ explained the exhaustive research and development he put in to preserve customers safety one shudders to think of those other guys who do bungy as a side gig.
Another question I posed to AJ was why a visitor to Bali should do a bungy jump with AJ Hackett. He said that for many people taking a bungy jump rates very highly on their list of ?best things ever done’. He said a high proportion of women put it as #1, while most men put sex as #1, with bungy #2.
The site is right next to the beach so is very handy. For
night jumps (2am-5am Fri-Sat) it is next to Double Six nightclub so after a few Jim Beam’s you might be in the mood. Also the views are incredible and the safety record is impeccable. Basically if you’ve ever thought of doing a bungy jump here is where you want to do it.
AJ Hackett had jumped men, women, kids, quadraplegics and paralysed people ( they jump 160,000 people a year ). If you had the urge you can do it. You don’t have to be fit or athletic. He also said that the majority of no-jumps were men. Regarding the French guy who didn’t jump AJ said his guys could of given him a little nudge over the edge very easily, but that’s not what its about. There’s something integral to the whole experience about taking that step yourself.
As we wrapped thing up AJ asked me how I was getting home. I said my bike was parked in the street and I could give him a ride if he wanted. He said he’d like a ride and so AJ, Margot and myself climbed aboard my Honda Supra and rode up Jalan Double Six, across Jalan Legian to his hotel. What a
cool dude, world famous but still hangs out and has no bullshit about him.
He told me that for some people bungy can be life-changing. My attitude had certainly changed from thinking about it as frivolous thing to a real experience and I know I’ll be doing another jump sometime with good friends??..hear that Sean, Chris and Barrie? (baliblog.com)
