As my friend prepared to plunge off South Africa’s Bloukrans Bridge, she asked the equipment guy who was strapping her into her harness whether he had ever attempted the world’s highest “natural commercial’’ bungee jump.
“No way,’’ he emphatically answered. “It’s too dangerous.’’
Not exactly what you want to hear moments before you dive off a 709-foot high bridge, tethered to an elastic cord that is the only thing preventing you from crashing headfirst into a narrow river or the jagged rocks in the valley below.
Despite the ominous warning, my friend survived the jump and so did I. It was one of several adrenaline-fueled adventures I experienced during my month-long stint as a volunteer teacher in South Africa, where I also cage-dived with white sharks near Gansbaai, climbed up Cape Town’s Lion’s Head mountain during a full moon, and walked with lions and elephants along the country’s scenic Garden Route.
Not as hazardous but just as rewarding were hanging out with the adorable African penguins at Boulders Beach, watching spectacular sunsets during the weekly food market at Cape Point Vineyards, and gazing out at the swirling waters at the Cape of Good Hope. Not to mention taking a bumpy ferry ride to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years in prison, and pigging out on succulent barbecue at Mzoli’s, a ramshackle joint in Gugulethu township where hundreds line up for a chance to dance, drink and eat like cavemen with no plates, no utensils and no napkins.
I went to South Africa to volunteer in a program called Dreams to Reality, which helps children from the desperately poor townships near Muizenberg, a quaint beach town about 16 miles from Cape Town that is a mecca for surfers from all over the world. The program provides teachers, day-care workers and sports instructors for kids from black and mixed-race families who live in violent, drug-infested communities where many live in jerry-built homes without adequate running water or toilets.
Volunteers pay a fee based on how long they will be staying in South Africa – mine was about $1,000 — and they’re also responsible for covering their travel costs. In exchange they get free food and lodging in communal homes, which are like college dorms without the wall posters and class schedules. During my first night, my top bunk bed collapsed while I was sleeping. Fortunately, no one was in the bottom bunk at the time or else we would have been short one volunteer.
Most volunteers were between 18 and 22 years old – about a third my age — and taking a semester off from college or a gap year before entering a university. I met volunteers from the U.S., Canada, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, England, Denmark, Sweden, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, Israel, Hong Kong and Reunion Island, a veritable United Nations of young people with good hearts and nimble minds.
With weekends and holidays off, we had plenty of time to explore the country’s beautiful Western Cape province. Among the highlights:
Bungee jumping: The Bloukrans Bridge spans a river that divides the Western and Eastern Capes. To bungee jump, you traverse a walkway that runs under the bridge and stop at the midway point, where you are strapped into a harness and leg straps before taking a leap of faith. Workers on the platform try to keep everyone loose by dancing to piped-in music, but some people make it all the way to the edge before chickening out.
Shark cage diving: Gansbaai is called the Great White Shark Capital of the World because the waters off its coast are packed with the deadly predators. Cage diving is a big business there. You don a wetsuit, get lowered into a cage that’s attached to a boat and stand chest high in the water until a white shark, lured by tuna bait, comes close. Then you quickly submerge for a few seconds to get a close-up view of the giant fish that terrified millions in “Jaws.’’
Walking with lions and elephants: Zorgfontein Eco & Wildlife Reserve and the Elephant Sanctuary at Plettenberg Bay allow you to get up close and personal with two of nature’s most magnificent animals. At Zorgfontein, you can walk with trained lions who are also pros when it comes to posing for pictures. (You used to be able to pet them, but that stopped when a careless tourist was bitten.) At the Elephant Sanctuary, you can actually touch the animals and learn the sad fact that elephants usually starve to death when they get older and lose their last set of teeth.
African penguins: We generally associate penguins with colder climes, but one type of the flightless bird lives on the southern coast of Africa. I visited a major colony near Simon’s Town, about 25 miles south of Cape Town. They are also known as jackass penguins because they make a donkey-like braying sound. I learned firsthand that they have a powerful bite if you try to touch them.
Robben Island: A half-hour ferry ride from the Cape Town waterfront takes you to the desolate island (now a museum) where Mandela spent almost two decades sleeping on a mat in a closet-size prison cell. Knowing what he endured, it’s hard to believe that Mandela didn’t become a bitter man after his release and instead tried to unify the country that treated him so inhumanely.
Cape of Good Hope: After a 30-minute hike up to the red-roofed lighthouse, you get a spectacular view of the surrounding ocean, cliffs and beaches. You also learn that, contrary to common belief, the Cape is not the southernmost point of the continent and not where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. That’s actually at Cape Agulhas, about 90 miles to the southeast.
