PAW MarchIssue - Flipbook - Page 98
I WOULD HAVE
HAD WINE FIRST
Facing my Fear in South Africa
B E T H A N Y P L ATA N E L L A
D
o you know what
you’re scared of?
Because for most of my adult life,
I thought the only things that really
freaked me out were financial instability, horseback riding and the speed
at which life is racing by. But now
that I’m standing on a small wooden
zipline platform in Western Cape,
South Africa, I am quickly understanding that heights make me very
uncomfortable. Surrounding me are
immense, slate gray mountains peppered with vast swaths of verdant
foliage. Below me are, well, I don’t
really know. Since I’m currently sitting at an altitude of more than 3,000
ft, anything at ground level appears
nothing short of a pinhead. The air is
crisp and chilled Chenin Blanc fresh
out of the bottle, but it’s not nearly
as appealing at this moment in time.
I’m absolutely terrified. Shaking
from the inside out. My body is
wholly unable to step off the platform into the abyss, to slide down
this heavy, thick silver wire. However it is the only transportation option available to get me to the mountain on the other side. The rest of my
group waits for me on the opposite
platform, as each of the 6 women I
am traveling through South Africa
with have successfully conquered
their trepidation and ziplined with
fervor over these sticky pine trees
and gushing rivers.
Why didn’t anyone mention
how intense this would be? Had I
known I’d be leaping across terrain
that dwarfed any skyscraper I’d ever
seen, I would have had wine first.
I turn to the guide, who is so
patiently waiting for me to make
98 THE PRO-AGE WOMAN March Issue
