Go white water rafting. Check. Go scuba diving at the great
barrier reef. Check. Go bungee jumping…. Well, we all have our limits.
There’s something to be said about spending every blessed second
of every day with the same people. I thought the Great Ocean Road and the
outback made our group become a family, but there’s a certain type of bond
people develop when they’re experiencing things together that not only excite them
but also terrify the living daylights out of them at the same time. One Fish Two Fish is
booked through “Extreme Adventures” where they want to make sure your trips are
not just vacations and a constant party, but also that you’re really getting
your money's worth and are stepping out of your comfort zone and taking the trip
from merely being a vacation to being a full blown adventurous experience.
The real adventures began at our final destination in Cairns
where we stayed for three nights at Gilligan’s, one of the world’s most famous
hostels. The first escapade thrown our way was white water rafting. I had never
gone before, though I had always wanted the opportunity. The morning we were
driving to go rafting I was much more nervous than I was anticipating which I
realized was solely focused around the fear of the unknown – I had no idea what
to expect.
Luckily I wasn’t alone. Our boats were made up of groups of
seven plus the guide and one of my very good friends Jen, who was ready to jump out of a plane skydiving in two days, was so nervous to go white
water rafting that she was actually in tears. We walked to our boat like we were walking to our funeral, hand
in hand.
White water rafting was a blast and absolutely exhilarating,
however, although I was fully enjoying it I never completely relaxed or felt
entirely at ease. The biggest fear didn’t have to do with the rapids
themselves, per say, but more the possibility of falling out and getting
seriously hurt on the rocks. At one point when I finally decided to take charge
and sit up front our boat almost immediately slammed into and got trapped between two rocks. Mase
and I immediately lurched backwards onto everyone else in the boat. Our boat
began to fill with rushing water as I floundered around in the middle trying to
regain a stable seat. As our boat began to fold in half like a taco
from the rapids pouring into our boat I went into full blown panic
mode thinking I was trapped and drowning. Immediately I found a rock and began
clinging to it and trying to pull myself on to it. That’s when I heard the
angry shouts from our guide,
“For Fuck’s sake Missy, get back in the fucking boat!” I
suddenly snapped out of my crazed survival mode instincts and regained my
composure as we worked together to dislodge our boat from between the rocks.
The next night was the infamous “bungee jumping party.” Let
me begin with the disclaimer that I would do a lot of horrible, unspeakable
things before I’d ever want to inch up to a ledge, look down, then swan dive
off of said ledge, falling to my death, only to be ripped back up into the air to
repeat the whole process several times. I would go as far as to say bungee
jumping sounds like my hell and I’m almost certain I’d black out from fear if
someone forced me off that ledge. I walked into it knowing firmly I wasn’t
going to jump, and there were about six of us that decided not to, meaning that
we watched 54 of our good friends plunge 140 feet head first.
I wish that it’s something I could do. It looked absolutely
terrifying and made me sick to my stomach to watch, but every single person
came out of it with such different reactions, but they all had several things
in common. Everyone was completely overwhelmed with so many emotions; shaking,
often crying, smiling from ear to ear, and absolutely pumped out of their mind.
The energy of the party was unlike anything I had ever experienced. As the
night went on everyone just kept getting more and more supportive and excited
for each other. If there’s one reason I regret not jumping it’s because I feel
like I missed out on the bungee jumpers club and I wanted to be apart of that common bond.
After everyone that wanted to had jumped, we all had one of the most amazing nights out together because
everyone earlier was completely terrified and thrilled together and the after result was everyone collectively being completely
high on life.
After an insane theme night spent on a double decker
bus taking us around Cairns on a pub crawl, we woke up bright and early to head out to the
Great Barrier Reef with reassurance from our guide, Chappy, that we’d be able
to just pass out on the boat ride out to the reef. Oh, were we ever misled.
I’ve grown up on boats and have always felt the happiest and
most at ease on, in or by the water. The deep ocean and I, though, have a shaky
history. It’s not so much that I get seasick, it’s more of an uneasiness and a
fear of the huge waves and flying airborn over them. I guess it comes back to
hating the feeling of my stomach dropping.
The 60 of us walked onto the boat extremely exhausted and
hungover and were immediately handed ginger tablets by the crew to help with
nausea and were told it was mandatory to take them because the water was so
rough today. I immediately became uncomfortable.
The water being “rough” was the understatement of the
century. We were speeding through some Perfect Storm-style waves in a two
story, rocky motorboat. Needless to say, I sat there for the two hour ride
bracing myself by gripping a table, while 20 of my friends sat off the back of the
boat with barf bags. We had quite the showing that morning.
Upon arrival we were assigned a number in which there would
be four of us in a group and a guide for our dive. We all had to link arms, repel down an
underwater ladder to where our guide would be waiting for us. Once at the
bottom of the ladder under the boat we had to perform a series of tests to show
we were ready to fully dive. The problem was, we were only about three feet
under the water’s surface to do the tests and were therefore in the throws of
the waves and strong current. We all had to grip the ladder with both hands in
order to stay together.
This part of the dive was terrifying. I consider myself a good
swimmer and I felt like I was drowning. I am grateful that I have scuba dived
before this experience because I was able to talk myself through it. About one
person in every group went right back up the ladder back to the safety of the boat. Scuba diving
can make you feel claustrophobic and hanging out under the boat definitely did
not help. Also, your breathing is so odd that if you begin thinking about
it too much you can really freak yourself out. All of this coupled with the
fact that you could hardly control your body in the current, I’m surprised more
people didn’t head back.
The Great Barrier Reef was such an experience because
together we shared great agony, fear, and then the memories of the truly awesome and
beautiful reef. I saw so many exotic fish, a sea turtle up close, and a clam
that had to be about four feet big that would close when you stuck your hand
inside of it.
We look back on that day and laugh because of its extreme
ups and downs, but it’s an experience I’ll cherish forever. All of these
“extreme adventures” are things I will hold onto and tell my grandchildren
someday. To be able to say I did the things that I did, all within a ten-day
span is absolutely incredible. To push yourself and each other in a group and
experience such fear and adrenaline rushes really brings you together. We
all became so supportive and encouraging and really fed off of each other. I
don’t regret my decision to not bungee jumping because I know I would’ve hated
every second of it, but I do recognize that I often live my life a little too
cautiously. It’s something I’m working on because I never want to feel like I’m
missing out, so we can consider One Fish Two Fish the first step.
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