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So, for the past couple of day we had been looking into doing a skydive, but the weather was pretty poor, and so we had decided to skip it and maybe wait until we get further south. However, the day we were leaving Rotorua to head to Wellington, we awoke to glorious sunshine. Taupo was the place to do it, and it was enroute to Welly, so we grabbed a pamphlet, jumped in the car, and made our way there, calling them along the way to try and book a slot. Unfortunately the closer we got to Taupo, the more clouds there were in the sky, so the skydive place were saying it may not be possible. We decided to try another skydive place and popped in to ask if we'd be able to jump today. At first they told us they were booked up for the day, but then one of the guys turned round and said, "if you want to go up right now, we can fit you in"...!!!! WOW!!! We were up for it!
I've gotta say, it was quite possibly the most exhilerating experience of my life! They took us up in a tiny plane which could only fit Yaz and I, and our tandem instructors, and went up to 12,000 feet. This was quite possibly the longest 15 minutes of my life... Sitting in that plane, looking out of the window, it actually starts to dawn on you that you're actually jumping out of it, and voluntarily at that! Anyway, the instructors were great, joking around and making us feel comfortable, and telling us what we need to do once we're falling (?!?) Well that was it, the time had come, and I was the first to go. I can quite honestly say that I will never forget sitting on the edge of that plane, looking down at 12,000 feet of nothingness. At the moment we jumped, my stomach was in my mouth, and it was the best rush ever! The freefall lasted about 45 seconds, apparently, although it seemed like no time at all, and then the parachute came out, and it everything was serene again. It was at this point that you could actually enjoy the views of the lake and the mountains. At this point, the instructor gave me control of the parachute strings to control the direction of the parachute myself. It was soo cool!
As soon as we landed we wanted to go up again! It's hard to explain the feeling, but let's put it this way, it was a struggle to drive after with so much adrenaline inside me. We had to stop for lunch before heading to Welly...
previous travel blog entry
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