216-metre-tall bridge in South Africa is home to the highest commercial bungee jump in the Southern Hemisphere
The Bloukrans Bridge in South Africa is famous for having one of the highest commercial bungee jumping operations in the world.
The concrete arch bridge is located on the N2 highway and spans the Bloukrans River, which forms the border between South Africa’s Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces.
The bridge can be found just a few kilometres east of the coastal holiday resort village of Nature’s Valley, which sits along South Africa’s Garden Route.
The planning and design of the Bloukrans Bridge date back to 1971, when preliminary investigations for constructing a bridge across the river began.
These investigations concluded in February 1977, with an open-spandrel concrete arch chosen as the most site-appropriate and economically viable design.
A contract for the bridge’s construction was put out to tender and was awarded in October 1979 to M & R-Concor, a consortium of Murray & Roberts Civils and Concor Construction.
Construction began on 12 February 1980 and finished in June 1983, six months ahead of the extended contractual deadline. Actual construction time lasted 36 months.
The tender was awarded for R9.8 million, with the total construction cost of the bridge reaching R12 million by the time of completion.
To avoid the expense of temporary falsework across the Bloukrans River gorge, the concrete arch was built symmetrically from both banks using the suspended cantilever method.
Temporary towers and cables were used to support the arch sections as they were built outward from both sides of the gorge until they met in the middle.
This was done to protect the indigenous Tsitsikamma forests below the bridge, and was considered a significant industrial achievement of its time.
When the bridge opened on 10 June 1983, it became the highest concrete arch bridge in the world, sitting at a height of 216 metres above the Bloukrans River.
The bridge still holds the record as the highest bridge in Africa. The Mtentu Bridge, under construction in the Eastern Cape, is set to take this title at a height of 223 metres.
Bungee jumping at Bloukrans
Bloukrans has become a popular destination for thrill seekers over the past three decades due to the presence of bungee jumping on the bridge.
Bloukrans Bridge Bungy began commercial operations in 1997 and has been operated by Face Adrenalin since then as their second domestic bungee operation.
Face Adrenalin first brought bungee jumping to South Africa in 1989 through their operations on the 60-metre-high Gouritz River Bridge near Mossel Bay.
The first commercial bungee-jumping site in the country, Face Adrenalin operated the Gouritz River Bungy until it was shut down in 2009 due to safety concerns.
Despite the closure of the Gouritz River Bungy, Face Adrenalin has continued to operate the Bloukrans Bridge Bungy successfully with a 100% safety record.
According to Face Adrenalin’s website, the Bloukrans River Bungy has welcomed a number of high-profile figures over the years, including Prince Harry and former president Thabo Mbeki.
The operation has been awarded six Guinness World Records, including the title of “World’s Best Bungy”, and once held the record for the highest commercial bridge bungee operation in the world.
This has since been overtaken by the Balinghe Bridge bungee jump operation, which sits 370 metres above the Baling River Valley in China.
Two other Guinness World Records have been awarded to individuals for performing bungee-related stunts on the Bloukrans River Bridge.
Mohr Keet became the oldest person in the world to perform a bungee jump on 10 April 2010 when he jumped from the Bloukrans Bridge at 96 years old.
Keet, a South African citizen born on 31 August 1913, was reportedly unaware that he had broken a world record until after the jump.
Linda Potgieter broke the record for most outdoor bungee jumps using a 20+ metre cord in one hour on 15 August 2022, achieving 23 jumps in the time span.
Photos of Bloukrans Bridge
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