SKYDIVING IN NZ!

Our third day in Wanaka, the weather magically cleared up--no dark clouds, no rain, just sunshine. On a whim and pushed by the fact that it was one of the clearest days we'd seen in a while, I decided to see if there were any slots still available that day for....SKYDIVING! I just pictured myself never being able to do it if I kept waiting for the next town, the next day, better weather, etc. I asked the guy who worked at the hostel if it was too late to book a skydive for that day, he made a phone call, and just like that, I was told I could be picked up in about 30 minutes for a 12:00 skydiving time slot! Sontsa didn't have the finances to do the skydive in Wanaka with me, so that was disappointing for both of us =(. I really hope she will still be able to do it before she goes home though. Even though she wasn't doing the skydive in Wanaka, she was allowed to come with me to the airport where the plane took off. So, 30 minutes later, we were picked up in the Skydive Wanaka van & off we went!

During the van ride, I had to read through some paperwork, inital that I understood everything, and sign off that I couldn't sue, etc. One of the lines I had to put my initials by stated, "Risks include property damage, personal injury, or death." I leaned over to Sontsa & said in a sarcastic tone, "Well, I was slightly concerned about the property damage until I saw death...that took all of my property damage concerns right away" Haha. For the last part of the van ride, we watched a short informative DVD that described how you are supposed to position yourself with the tandem diver before jumping out of the plane (lean my head back on his right shoulder, bend my legs back toward the bottom of the plane, hold on to my harnesses & smile for the camera); how you are supposed to keep your body during the freefall (keep my legs imbetween my tandem's legs & keep my hands on the harnesses until my tandem taps me on my shoulders, then I can move my arms around); and what the correct position is for landing (legs together, lifted up in a seated position).

We arrived at the airport, I got signed in, made my skydiving package selection & chose the songs for my DVD =) You could skydive from either 12,000 feet with a 45-second freefall or 15,000 feet with a 60-second freefall. The price difference between the two was about $100.00. Plus, you had different photo and DVD options. For less money, your tandem diver could have a camera strapped to his wrist & he'd capture the skydive through video and photos on that. The more expensive option was to have a completely separate camera man who jumped out of the plane when you & your tandem jumped, recording your skydive from a much better vantage point. I chose the 12,000 feet option with the more expensive photo & DVD package of having my own individual camera man.

After I got placed into a group for the plane ride, next on the list was getting geared up =) I was given a red jumper suit, a harness, and a cap. The group that was to be skydiving with me on the plane consisted of an Asian couple & a German guy, probably all in their 20s as well. A popular thing to do for the skydive is to write something on your hands to show off for the cameras. One of mine & Sontsa's favorite NZ phrases is "Sweet as." Kiwis often use it instead of saying "Sweet," "Nice," "Cool", "Awesome," etc. They actually use 'as' after a lot of words...not sure why, but I love it. So, the Asian girl in my group wrote "Sweet as" on my hands for me with a black marker while we were all waiting for our tandem skydivers; it was between that or "Sorry Mum." =)

A few moments later, I met my personal camera man & my tandem skydiver--a couple of cool Kiwi guys. Then, the three of us, along with the other 3 newbie skydivers, their tandems, and their camera men all headed to the plane. The Asian couple & the German guy had all chosen to jump at 15,000 feet, which meant that I would be the first person to jump from the plane since I was exiting at 12,000 feet. So, my tandem, my camera man & I were the last people to jump aboard the small plane & away we went! As my tandem diver secured my harnesses to him during the 15-minute plane ride, we reviewed the proper jumping techniques for maybe a minute, then just chatted away about NZ & America--he had lived in America for a few years at one time.

At one point, I asked him how many skydives he had done; he answered, "Oh, 8 or 9." Haha. As it turned out, it was more like 8 or 9 thousand. When he & I weren't chatting, I just looked out of the window at the awesome scenery below. My camera man got my attention at one point & said, "We're at 4,000 feet; 8,000 feet left to go!" Looking out the window, it already looked like we were ridicously high--so, at this point, I should have probably freaked out since we were only 1/3 of the way up. However, for whatever reason, I wasn't scared. My heart never once started beating faster than normal, my hands didn't get clammy, I didn't go pale (well, paler than usual)--it was the craziest thing. I have gotten WAYYYYYY more nervous giving speeches in school than I did for jumping out of that airplane.

After a few more minutes, my camera man & tandem diver said, "Alright, it's time." The camera man rolled up the clear plastic 'door' for the plane & I could see out over the clouds, down to the ground below, and I could hear the wind roaring. With my tandem attached, I eased my way to the opening, sat down, put my feet outside the plane & bent them back toward the belly of the plane. I remember the wind feeling sooo strong against my feet. Then, as instructed, I put my head back on my tandem's right shoulder, grabbed on to my harnesses, and smiled for what was about to be one of the most exhilarating experiences of my life! The next thing I knew, we were speeding through the air, freefalling at 200 km per hour (roughly 124 mph). IT WAS INCREDIBLE!!! Even though it was only for 45 seconds, it felt like 5 or 10 minutes. It is unlike any other feeling; your stomach doesn't flip, you don't feel nauseous. It is just.. thrilling!! The only thing is that you have to really focus to be able to breathe because there is so much air rushing toward your mouth at one time. Really though, you can go without breathing for 45 seconds with no worries =)

During the dive, I remember my camera man flying through the air beside my tandem & me, taking shots and recording our freefall--sooo awesome! Then, all of a sudden, I felt some extra pressure on my legs & felt my body being pulled upward...my tandem had pulled the parachute open. For the next 8 minutes or so, my tandem & I floated slowly back down to the ground. The views of Wanaka from far above were just completely stunning; it honestly felt like I wasn't actually there, floating high above the small NZ town. As my tandem & I were making our slow descent, I told him that I didn't understand why I wasn't in the least bit scared to jump. He said that it is actually very common; he explained that the brain can't fully comprehend or register what you're about to do, so you don't even get the opportunity to be scared. Right before we made our landing, my tandem said, "I think we are just going to land on our feet." Sure enough, there was no need for me to lift my legs in a seated position for us to land on our bums. My tandem had mad skills & brought us in for a perfect landing right on our feet. All in all, it was an AMAZING feeling & the first thought after I landed was, "I want to do it again!"