Storms River

Storms River South Africa River Mouth 4.jpg

Another impromptu stop for me along the Garden Route was Storms River. I had originally planned on going to nearby Plettenberg Bay, but my local ‘tour guide’ aka Mark, persuaded me otherwise and I of course went along with it. As an expert on South Africa, he knows best right? Turns out, he does know best. 

Storms River was another beautiful spot with some amazing hiking, plus a great bridge to jump off of. It is located next to the Tsitsikamma National Park, and so the area has a ton of bush to explore. A few of us rented bikes one afternoon and ended up on quite the adventure. We were heading to the mouth of the Storms River where they have suspension bridges and kayaking through the Gorge. To avoid paying the toll to get into the National Park, we went through a back way before dropping our bikes off at the top of the hill, hiking down into the gorge and getting in the back way. Was it cheaper? Absolutely. Was it easier? God no. We didn’t realize that by the end of the day we would have biked over 25 km, biked through a township (we got lost a few times) and hiked up a whole mountain.

You can stop around the park at many different places, including the Storms River suspension bridges where we went, go kayaking through the gorge, hike to some waterfalls, stop at the ‘Big Tree’, or head to Bloukrans Bridge for a whole other adventure that is in more detail below!

Depending on how many days you want to relax in nature will dictate how long you will want to spend in the Storms area. Ideally, I would want to spend 3-4 days here to see and do everything, while not feeling too rushed!

Bloukrans Bridge & Bungee Jump

If someone told you to jump off a bridge, would you? Well, I’ve done it twice now, and I’ve been the one telling myself both times.

Storms River area is known for Bloukrans Bridge, but more specifically for its Bungee jump. Bloukrans Bridge Bungee jump is the highest commercial bridge bungee jump in the world, with a bridge height of 216 m. As this was not my first time throwing myself off a bridge, I wasn’t nearly as nervous as the first time, or as I probably should have been given its height, and I was super excited to do it again. You will start by zip-lining onto the centre of the bridge, just below the deck, before getting all geared up and ready to go. You will be in a group of anywhere around 15 people, and will be assigned a random number so that you will never know when you will be next up! The staff are very well versed, in a groove to get you all off of there safely, and back up again to the same spot to watch the rest of your fellow jumpers!

After harnessing you up and getting your ankle holds on, they give you the 3-2-1 and you’re off. And believe me, if you don’t jump yourself – they’ll give you the ‘push’ that you need – literally. I remember as I was falling the feeling of ‘oh shit, I actually just did that again’, and before I knew it I had already reached the bottom. The free fall for bungee is quite short considering it’s not THAT far that you’re falling, so it goes by super fast. The difference in this jump and my last (aside from the bridge height) was what I was harnessed by. My first jump I was attached by a harness at the hips, so once I landed, I was upright. This time was by the ankles, and bobbing up and down upside down after the initial jump was just as much of a rush. There are moments when you’re suspended in mid air and feel as if you’re floating into nothingness except for the gorge below you and view of the ocean in the background. This was a weird sensation, but an amazing moment to look back on. Would I do another jump? 100% (sorry family). After you have settled, someone will come down to meet you at the bottom, turn you upright again, and hoist you back up to the top. To get back to the land, you will walk across the bridge walk (sky-walk) with the view of the gorge underneath you.

The company who looks after you is called Face Adrenalin, and you can check out their website or book your jump here. Jumping off the bridge will cost you 1400 Rand to jump (~$110 CAD), and they book time slots for every hour. If you want photo and videos of your jump, you’ll have to pay an additional fee (~$30), but in my opinion its well worth the $$!