For anyone who doesn't know, Kloofing, also known as canyoning, is a mixture of hiking / climbing / jumping off rocks into rivers. Our first jump was right at the beginning of the hike, at about 2 feet above the water. Luckily, I jumped in first with another girl, because we didn't know the water was going to be ice cold. The rest of the group had to jump in knowing they were going to freeze. We swam a little ways to the river bed, and continued on our hike along one of the rivers in the canyon. We were able to observe the wildlife around us, and walk under one of the many waterfalls. The second jump was 10 feet, and definitely a bit more scary. The water was so blue, and clear that it made jumping in a little more appealing. (The water was still really cold) Not long after the second jump came the third, which was a daunting 14 foot drop into the water. This is when we really had to start cheering for people to jump off. I'm not going to lie, the guide had to count to three for me to go, because the drop was that far. I sucked it up and jumped, and I don't regret it! Emily took a little more convincing, but after we chanted her name enough she made the leap.
Then we hiked for awhile before the last jump. We took a trail up the side of a nearby mountain, and had to take a rickety ladder down one of the ledges. I didn't enjoy that very much, but we were strapped to a line by the ladder. We dropped into a sand stone cave for a quick look around, and made our way to the last jump. We made a quick stop at another waterfall for some pictures, and met some locals who were doing religious rituals by the river. One man thought that all the girls in our group were married to our leader Graeme (we all lol'd), and when he said no, he thought that I was the only good choice (I told him he had good taste). Then we continued on.
Our last jump was....... A 33 foot drop into a clear blue pool of water attached to a waterfall. I honestly looked at the jump and said hell no, but continued to give Emily a pep talk to do it. She stepped up to the ledge, swore a lot, and made the leap! That's when I knew I had to do it, or I would never live it down. So I stepped up to the ledge, knees shaking, and the guide counted to three. When he got to three, I may have told Emily that I hated her, but I made the jump. It was a crazy fall down, but it didn't hurt when I hit the water! We cheered everyone on in our group to go, and a majority of the group decided to jump again (including me and Emily!) Emily and I were going to jump off together to get a cute picture for our mothers, but when the guide said three, I jumped and she didn't. Tyler got an awesome picture of me falling with a pissed off look on my face.
After we all finished the fun of the last jump, we had a 30 minute hike back to the trucks to take us home. Walking along the river was a beautiful way to see all the wild life up close, and see a few animals along the way. I got a few bumps and bruises from climbing (and maybe slipping) on some rocks, but overall it was an amazing, action filled day!
(Unfortunately I didnt have a waterproof camera, but I'm waiting for the people with go pros to post their photos)
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