Death Drop

Every so often while I'm traveling I feel the need to safely cheat death. Walking face first off of a cliff and dropping into a 175-foot free-fall is a pretty good way to do that.Victoria Falls is the adreneline sports capital of Africa and there is no shortage of activities available that are designed to intimidate the mind and the body. When I booked a few things for the duration of my stay here the “Gorge Swing” looked intriguing. After giving it some thought I made it a serious priority. A truck pulled up to the Zambezi Waterfront this morning to pick me up and after throwing my back inside and taking a seat I was off to visit Livingstone's long rocky gorge that is home to the death-defying rope toy.

On the way to the gorge I chatted with a family of four in the truck named the Lund's who also had booked a day there. Amazingly enough the family was also from Utah and lives in Provo less than a mile from where my apartment will be next school year. Meeting someone from home was actually really comforting. I love traveling and I love spending time in exotic destinations half-way around the world, but I'd be lying if I said that I never miss home. It felt so good just to sit back and talk with people who I really see eye to eye with. The family had a son and a daughter about my age named Ryan and Kelsey and I hung around with them for most of the day as we did the activities. I loved talking about everything to do with Utah. I loved talking about Lagoon, Rock Canyon, boating in Utah Lake, skiing and snowboarding, St. George, missionary stories, and even Provo. Even though I'll be back in less than two weeks and conversations like the ones I had today will be commonplace, right now they feel like a very rare luxury.

The five of us warmed up by rappelling down a 200-foot rock face, then it was on to the “high wire”. The high wire is a long zip-line stretched across the width of the gorge, but instead of hanging on to a clip and dropping into it, riders run at full speed off the edge of the cliff and the wire catches them by a harness and shoots them across the gorge. I watched the Lund's try the high wire once each, then I gave it a go. A Zambian man named Dominique secured a harness around my body then counted down as I ran off the edge. It was a lot of fun to shoot over the gorge and watch the rocks and trees go by 200 feet below, but to be honest it really wasn't that intimidating. I tried it a second time and ran off the cliff at the angle so that I swung from side to side in the air as I cruised along.My heart really got beating today when I finally tried the gorge swing. I watched a few people go before me and with each drop off the edge of the cliff mind-numbing screams echoed from below. I told myself that I've done similar things before and that helped loosen me up until I actually realized what I was doing. Fortunately that didn't happen until I had already done it the first time. I suited up in the harness and stepped to the edge as a tall, muscular Zambian instructed me on how to safely fall off the cliff. After a quick countdown I stepped off into the air, determined to keep my eyes open the entire way down and preserve as much dignity as possible by not screaming. Before today I thought that the 500-foot bungee jump I did in Nepal last year was frightening. In Nepal the cord slowed me gradually, long before I saw the rocky canyon floor below me rush upwards until it nearly met my face. I can now say from experience that swinging away from death only fifty feet from the bottom of a gorge is much more frightening than a high bungee jump. During my second fall I tried the “Death Drop” - falling backwards and watching the top of the cliff and the Zambian man disappear into the distance above me. A knot formed in my stomach and grew tighter as I fell, and my legs shook for a solid five minutes afterwards... just like the first time.My helicopter flight that was rescheduled for today was very enjoyable and was a nice contrast to the Death Drop - I knew that even though I was high in the air there was very little chance that I would be dropping. I rode with four others as the pilot flew in circles directly above Victoria Falls. Watching the falls from above was a great way to get a feel for what's down there. From the air it's easy to see that the Zimbabwe side of the falls is much longer than the Zambian side. Also, seeing the Zambezi River re-form below the falls and wind through a series of gorges was something I didn't know much about before seeing it for myself.

After two and a half days here I really feel like I've experienced the falls well. Between watching the sun set with a few pleasant ladies from my tour group, then defying death the next morning, I've made some pretty good memories. My flight to South Africa leaves at noon tomorrow, but with any luck I'll be able to get one or two more worthwhile experiences in beforehand.