I’ve been naughty’: Great grandma goes bungy jumping at 91

By Jenni Ryall From Mashable

This super granny is showing no signs of slowing down.

91-year-old Mary Manssen decided to show the young kids how it is done and bungy jump off a bridge in Queenstown on April 23. The crowd roared as the daredevil leaped into the New Zealand landscape.

”When I got out [on the jumping platform], you should have heard the roar of the people. It was just marvellous. I was determined I was going to do it, and I did it,” she told the Otago Daily Times.

Manssen started her bungy jumping career in 2008, at the ripe age of 84. She has also taken a helicopter ride in the snow and plans on parasailing after her latest effort was affected by a fellow traveller’s sickness.

”My husband wouldn’t let me do it before … since he died I’ve done everything — I’ve been naughty,” Manssen said, clearly reveling in her new-found freedom.

This jump is not the most impressive thing Manssen has done, though — she has seven children, 18 grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren and one great great grandchild. She is one busy lady.

Manssen may have forgotten to tell the family about her wild plans. ”I haven’t told my children in Australia yet … I’ll ring one son tonight,” she told the newspaper on Thursday.

Mike Voyce from AJ Hackett Bungy told Mashable Australia although Manssen was a little nervous, she appeared calmer than the majority of jumpers. “When it got to the final countdown there was no hesitation, she just nailed it,” he said.

Grandma Manssen is the oldest female to jump at the site — only to be beaten by a 94-year-old gentleman — and Voyce said the team were elated to watch her plunge. “It was one of the most inspiring jumps we have seen in a long time, it is pretty special when you get someone like Mary stepping up to do a jump,” he said. “She was awesome!”
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AJ HACKETT BUNGY
Mary IMAGE: AJ HACKETT BUNGY
Nana IMAGE: AJ HACKETT BUNGY
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