one, two, three, BUNGI
on June 7, 2010
On Saturday I had spent the morning going through heaps of documents in my office; and I needed some fresh air, otherwise I was going to fall asleep at my desk. I decided to take a walk to the Victoria Falls – that was a way to really get the wind in my hair and blow away the cobwebs!
I wandered across the Sun International grounds to the entrance to the Park around the Falls; it is just a short walk. The Falls were ‘pumping’, as I knew they would be; the river is still high. The spray bouncing up from the gorge below was covering the Falls in mist – I could only see about a hundred yards, the rest was shrouded.
I looked at all the people who were coming back from their walk along the footpath by the Falls and they were soaked to the skin. They were all laughing and having a great time in the spray. I decided to take the back route, the route to see the gorges; I really didn’t want to get wet. I reached the viewing point for the gorges and looked through the bushes to the Victoria Falls bridge.
The bridge is a marvel of engineering from the Victorian era. It was built in 1905 for the railway to cross the Zambezi River. It is said that Cecil Rhodes, the man who gave his name to the Rhodesias, insisted that the bridge be built across the gorge, not across the main river which would have been much easier and cheaper.
As I looked I could see the bungi jumping which operates from the bridge. And then I watched someone jump. It was too far for me to hear them shout ‘one, two, three, BUNGI …’ but I knew how it goes. I haven’t tried the bungi myself, but have watched the adrenalin seekers as they throw themselves off. I know that it is extremely popular with many of our guests. I expect you could call it one of our ‘million thrills’, but it is not my cup of tea as I am a little timid at heart!
I headed back to my office; I had to do at least another couple of hours work. The walk to the Victoria Falls had done me the world of good; I felt refreshed and ready to tackle more documents. How lucky am I to go for a 30-minute break from the office to visit one of the Seven Wonders of the World?
