Bungee Jumping Over Crocodile Waters

Victoria Falls Bridge spans the Zambezi River between Zambia and Zimbabwe at a height of 111 meters. Below: a gorge, whitewater, and a population of Nile crocodiles that have never seen a bungee jumper and seemed curious about the concept. The operator's safety video mentioned water landing as "extremely unlikely." I focused on "unlikely."

The jump master — a Zimbabwean adrenaline professional named Tendai who had done four thousand jumps and still checked every knot — asked if I was nervous. I said I wrestled crocodiles in Florida. He said these were African crocodiles. I said I upgraded. He laughed despite himself and clipped me in.

I jumped. Free fall for four seconds — the longest four seconds that don't involve lava or piranhas. The cord stretched. I bounced. Below me, the Zambezi churned and something large moved in the water. Crocodile? Rock? Regret? Unclear. I bounced again, higher, and saw the gorge walls, the spray from Victoria Falls, and the absolute indifference of nature to human thrill-seeking. Beautiful.

They reeled me up. Tendai said I was the first cactus he'd ever jumped. I said I was the first cactus a lot of things. Carl bungee jumped once in New Zealand and wrote a three-part series about overcoming fear. I overcame fear by replacing it with something worse. Tendai asked what that was. I said curiosity. He nodded like he understood. The crocodile below did not.