We did that this morning – I can’t believe it! The people who headed it up were really friendly and casual. They gave us a really quick briefing – only like 10 minutes. I was surprised. Thought it would be much longer than that, cuz I mean, we’re jumping out of a plane for crying out loud. Basically they told us we just had to swing our legs out over the edge of the plane when it was our turn to go, tilt your head back, arch your back, and let him do the jumping – ahh!
Nissi went up first cuz the plane can only hold 2 pairs at a time – it was TINY! The only seat was for the pilot, and 4 of us could barely fit on the floor of it – there were actually 5, with 1 sport skydiver with us, going by himself. So crowded! I went up with Anela, and she jumped first. I just remember getting so anxious when I realized that she had just jumped…out of a plane…and I was next!!! Before I know it, Greg, the guy I was strapped to, was scooting us forward and I was swinging my legs over the edge, dangling out the side of the plane while he gets ready to jump. Tilt my head back. Cross my arms. Arch my back. And we’re jumping! I can replay it like slow motion in my head – I was jumping out of a plane from 12,000 feet up!
When we jumped we did a flip and I could see the plane as I was falling away from it – that was the part that felt the most like falling. Then he flips me back around so I can see everything else, and we’re free falling for a good 45 seconds. I remember at first that it was hard for me to breathe cuz the wind was rushing at my face so fast, but the scenery was soooo incredibly pretty!! Mountains, glaciers, valleys, lakes, rivers, forests, the ocean – all there. And on a clear sunny morning too. Sure I could have gone skydiving in the states, but this was probably the most incredible view a person could get, and I was in NZ for crying out loud, so why not go skydiving? :)
Once the parachute was out, we did a bunch of spins and spirals, which was really fun – felt like a rollercoaster. We were up there for a good 6 min doing that. And I got to take my camera up there and take pics and stuff. But they don’t do justice to how high up we were or how gorgeous it was. I can’t believe I went skydiving! I never thought I would do that. So much fun! :)
So afterwards, though we were exhausted, we hiked over to see Fox Glacier, which was really pretty. Huge too. Spent the evening on the beach, watching the sun set. There were soo many sandflies there tho – I HATE sandflies. They eat you alive. But overall it was a good end to an awesome day. :)
Leah
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