WAITOMO, NEW ZEALAND – my life in their hands

Guide Jimmy promised me I wouldn't die.

It seemed so ridiculously life-threatening, I wasn’t even scared. There I was, a man who gets vertigo if his bike saddle is too high, dangling from a single rope a hundred metres above the rocky bottom of a limestone cave.

The publicity for the Lost World Adventure told me Tom Cruise had done this three times. Well, we’ve seen him do all kinds of weird stuff, and we know he has special effects people to make it look death-defying.

I was doing all my own stunts here, with only guide Anna above me giving instructions and guide Jimmy attached to me by a bit of blue ribbon which he promised would break my fall if necessary.

WAITOMO CAVES, NEW ZEALAND – my life in their hands

My life hung by a thread...

If you’ve read other RT’s LOTR posts, you may already know about my fear of heights. You will understand that dangling on a rope 100metres above rocks is not my favourite place to be.

However, today I’ve learned to trust gear and trust guides.