Ayoba!

I caught the fever. It’s the reason I haven’t been in touch for a few weeks. It happened on 11th of June, I’d been waiting for 2 weeks for it but even so I was unprepared. Sitting in a street bar in Umhlanga Rocks just north of Durban this young kid Tshabalala took on the Mexican defence down the left flank then let rip with a left foot rocket that I’m still recovering from.
From that moment I knew it would be big and I chased the Socceroos around the country to make sure I didn’t miss a minute. From the nightclubs of Durban to the lowveld of Mpumalanga, myself and about 15,000 other Aussies did our best to make some noise for the land downunder.

As you’ll know we didn’t quite get over the line, the lads none the less showed plenty of outback grit. That last up cracker against Serbia giving us some fond memories to take away - Bret Holman’s jaffa locking him a permanent place in the hearts of all Australian football fans.
Now the tents of Kingsmead are starting to vacate as the long term contenders of Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Spain prepare to blow their Vuvuzela at the pointy end of the tournament. I’m not sure who it will be, but who ever gets there, fair play.

The Safa’s have put on a great show here, I haven’t had a moment of insecurity for the duration of my stay. Now if the success of this WC could bring some change to the skewed view world media portrays of this continent, well that would be something to blow your horn about.
In twelve years time, the vuvuzela will be replaced with a pair of thongs and a stubby cooler, handed out to every foreign visitor during the month of June. At that WC I’m sure the Socceroos will go one step further and hopefully the Safa’s and Kiwi’s will again be along for the ride.

How not to cure a hangover

I weigh 74kg's. How do I know this? Because it's written on the back of my hand - B5/74 it reads.
The B5 relates to the order you jump in. They use the weight to know what type of cord to use. When we got out to the jump point I found out B5 goes first. I had been trying to remind myself for the walk out there why I was actually there, but I was struggling to reconile a response. I was there because, well I was just there. The Bloukrans bridge jump is the highest bridge bungy in the world and if I didn't have a crack, well I'd be asking myself the 'what if' for the rest of my life.
My timing however could have been a little better, as the numerous shots of Nyati - Chilli Mampoer the night before were still thumping away at my forehead. The bottle is wrapped in barb wire, nasty stuff.

I sat down and let the guide wrap my ankles.
'A little tight thanks'. I didn't want my first bungy to be my last. He helped me to my feet. Cue the music, hip hop.... horribly loud hip hop, unfortunately they don't take requests.
He clipped me in and I hopped to the edge. It was a 216mtr drop to the river below, but there was no way I was taking a look.
'This cures a hangover right?'
'Best thing'. He laughed back.
I gazed out at the mountain skyline. Look after me, I said to myself.
'5 4 3 2........ jump'