Victoria Falls isn’t just a town with a gigantic, magnificent waterfall, it is a town with many surrounding activities. You can go to a crocodile farm. You can go ride on elephants. You can go on a boat cruise on the Zambezi river. You can go bungee jumping.
I chose the Gorge Swing.
Victoria Falls is obviously located on a immense chasm in the Earth’s crust, which gives the falls it’s steep, dramatic characteristics. As you follow the path of the chasm, you will find that it twists and turns, making some stunning gorges along the way. One of these gorges is home to the gorge swing.
It is what it sounds like, a giant swing that takes you into the gorge. The Gorge itself looks like this:
I saw the swing a few months ago on youtube and decided I had to do it.
It was 95 US dollars (you wouldn’t want to pay less probably) and the measurements of the swing was basically this:
Gorge: 120 m high, 360 m wide
Swing: 95m long with a 70m free fall.
Let me tell you, it is freaking scary. I have never bungee jumped before, but basically you get strapped into a harness and the guide tells you about all the different backup ropes that are attached to you in case the first rope breaks. Then after that, they just expect you to step off the ledge into a very deep gorge. As I stood there delaying the inevitable, the guard basically told me “It only gets harder the longer you wait”. Truer words have never been spoken.
Walking off a ledge while strapped to some ropes basically goes against every instinct your body has developed in your life.
That’s also what makes it great.
You don’t really get “extreme” sports until you do it. Then you kind of get it. It’s exhilarating. When I stepped off that ledge, the first half millisecond I was terrified. Then the next few seconds I thought “this is fuckin awesome”. Then it was over. There was something liberating about a free fall. You basically give up all form of control and place your trust in three ropes. As someone who generally likes to have control in his life, it was different and rewarding all together. Plus, it got me a lot of likes on facebook which always feels good.
After the swing, is complete, you are left hanging there for awhile. You then get pulled up the same way you get down. Luckily, there is a bar right beside the jump and you can enjoy one of the best beers you will have in your life after.
Highly recommended.
Instagramibility: 5/5
