Fear of heights

My daughter Isabella and her friends Rob and Lorissa went off to Ratanga Junction this weekend, and brought back this fantastic photo of sheer fear, taken as they launched on the SlingShot (‘the human catapult’).

I laughed my arse off when I saw it, and also felt just a titchy bit vindicated, because 10 years ago (when, apparently, my kids had less fear than they do now), I went with them to Ratanga Junction and, for reasons that escape me to this day (I have a morbid fear of heights), agreed to ride the Cobra with them. It was by far the most terrifying experience of my life, as this pic taken as we got back to ground level shows – I was so scared that I cried. The fear stayed with me, and even when they finally persuaded me to go on the baby ferris wheel with them that day, I cried again and begged the operator to stop the ride. (He laughed at me.)

Incidentally, for those with a fear of heights, the three-storey, super-fast, super-long escalator at the Gautrain station is quite a challenge – it’s a real don’t-look-down trip.