Bungee Jumping vs Skydiving

Have you tried either or both? Which did you prefer?

Here’s what one of our Manifest chicks Frankie had to say on the subject…

People often call us asking if we offer bungee jumping as well as skydiving, unfortunately we don’t, and from what I could find searching on the net, neither does anyone else in WA.

I have no idea why this is…maybe a lack of suitable structures (manmade or natural) to jump off? Anyway, it lead me to think about the similarities (or differences!) between the two…if you’re considering leaping off a bridge, why not out of a plane?

Firstly, I completely understand that for some people the price difference is going to be the decider and bungee jumping is defintely cheaper, but for anyone else just looking for an awesome rush, think about what you’re getting for the extra money when you go skydiving!

In all honesty, I haven’t been bungee jumping, purely because I know when it came down to it there is no way I could force my feet to leave the platform and plunge me forward into the valley below. However, I am more than happy to throw myself out of a ‘perfectly good aeroplane’ at 14,000ft!

Does that make me sound a little crazy? Yes, probably, but it’s the height (or more importantly, the distance from the ground) that changes it for me, and I’m not even afraid of heights!

What I’m getting at, is with bungee jumping you are close enough that the ground is right there in front of you. You can clearly see the trees or the rocks, or whatever happens to be around you…of course this is part of the beauty of bungee jumping.

When you skydive from 14,000ft the ground is not really even relevant at the beginning (the scary part), and by the time you can see the leaves on the trees you are happily floating under a parachute with adrenaline pumping through your veins from the freefall!

The knee-knocking, toe-tingling part of bungee jumping is that you physically have to take that first step yourself, no one is allowed to push you (or shouldn’t be!). For some people, taking that step will be incredibly empowering, and an amazing way to overcome your fears! For others it will simply put them off attempting bungee jumping forever (like me).

Your first skydive will generally be with a Tandem Master attached to your back (like a very trustyworthy oversized backpack), who will not force you out of the plane if you scream and cry and threaten to punch them if they make you…however, they will do their utmost to make you feel calm and confident enough that you will let them tumble out of that plane with you attached, screaming all the way.

I do of course understand the attraction of bungee jumping, you get to experience the adrenalin pumping freefall, a short burst of zero gravity as you spring back up, then more freefall, awesome!!

But when it comes down to it, the idea of freefalling long enough to reach terminal velocity (at which point that stomach lurching feeling disappears), then flying around peacefully under a parachute all in the one experience, is the winner for me.

I am not saying that one is better than the other, as you can see they are quite different, but consider the similarities when making your choice. If you live somewhere like Western Australia, where there seems to be no option of bungee jumping at the moment, consider spending the little bit extra and give skydiving a go instead!