After a lovely day in Wellington I set out bright and early for Taupo. I took the bus which was great because I got to soak in heaps of the beautiful New Zealand Green scenery that I’ve been missing. Every view seems to be more breathtaking than the next and the six hour trip was actually a pleasure.
I arrived and checked into rainbow lodge, a cute backpackers, and immediately booked a skydiving trip that left right away. This was great timing because I knew if I waited I would just become nervous. I knew before coming here that this was the ultimate place I could go skydiving because of the great view over lake Taupo, and it’s one of the only places where you can wee both the east and west of the country at once. I also had friends dive here and had it highly recomended.
I got picked up by the company in a stretch white limo and signed away my life on the ride there. Once I got there I met some really cool people traveling and working at the company and we discussed travels and jumping out of planes. Surprisingly I was not actually nervous because Ally had done it and said it felt very safe because you are completely strapped into the other person on top of you. My friend Tawny described it as an extreme cuddle, which I found quite appealing. So I was perhaps far more calm than I should have been. There were four of us jumping and us and our tandem jumpers packed into a tiny bright pink plane where we took a ten minute trip up to 12,000 feet. The views even from inside the plane where amazing! It was quite calming and nice when my jumping buddy Alex started strapping me to him and calmly talking me through everything. When we jumped he said I would put my head back on his shoulder and make a banana shape, pushing my hips out and keeping my feet together pushing them back under the plane. I was told to keep me hands on my harness until he tapped my shoulder then I could put my arms out.
Jumping out of the plane was probably the scariest part but I was completely attached and didn’t really have a choice. It also happened so fast, there was no hesitating. From 12,000 feet I had approximately 40 seconds of free fall which were the scariest and also most exhilarating and amazing part of the whole experience. As soon as I got out of the plane I felt like I was falling but not super fast, so I could really take it all in. The thought that kept going through my head was simply: I can’t believe I’m doing this! Over and over. It is one of the most unnatural experiences I’ve ever felt (scuba diving was a close second, and my ear drums are really hating me right now especially doing the two so close together). Falling was an amazing rush. It was a lot colder than I imagined it would be and the wind pushed my face in pretty hilarious ways and I was covered in drool when I got down. I have a DVD of the whole thing which I will try to upload online and will gladly show anyone so you can relive the experience with me!
So as I was shocked that I was jumping out of a plane, and swearing and screaming a lot! I was also witnessing some of the most amazing views of one of the most amazing landscapes ever. I could see green hills, mountains, city and of course lake Taupo which apparantly is the size of Singapore. The 40 seconds of free fall felt like both a lifetime and a blink. It was truly a unique experience that I would reccomend to anyone and everyone!
After the free fall Alex pulled our parachute and all fear went away. Even though I was still quite high up I was not afraid as now instead of plummeting through the sky I was calmly coasting, standing upright instead of on my stomach and still firmly connected to Alex (who by the way was a young guy covered in tattoos and wearing a shirt that said ” I have issues” but was very sweet and made me feel very relaxed and calm). There was a bit of fear when he said, i’m just going to make you more comfortable, and released a strap that dropped me a few inches down. We glided over the lake and the land and saw the most amazing views, and of course I still had a ton of adrenaline pumping from the free fall. It got a bit scary again when we started getting closer to the landing and I realized how fast we were actually going. On landing I put my legs out and tried to simply sit down but we somehow ended falling over.
Standing up on land was more comforting than I could possibly say. It was so good to feel the ground. My entire body was tingling and I felt really lightheaded and overwhelmed. The woman behind the desk said it’s normal to black out and not remember anything of your first jump but it all seemed crystal clear in my mind and I think my body was really confused. I sat on a couch and relived it with my fellow jumpers over a cup of tea. There was one young traveler from the UK and then an older couple from Ireland. It was nice having them throughout the whole experience because they were a calming parental influence. Then we got to watch the DVD of our jumps on a big screen. Watching it so soon after made me feel like I was doing it all over again. After the limo ride back to the hostel I just had to lie down in bed doing nothing for an hour. My body felt so weird and I was just trying to remember, relive, and experience everything my body was feeling. I still felt a bit lightheaded, tingly and lighter than air. It was an intense experience and at a point I didn’t feel like I would be able to do anything ever again because nothing can top that feeling.
That night I went and saw the lake from a different angle. I sat at the beach doing nothing for what felt like forever. It was good to just sit and I felt that after the sensory overload of the afternoon I needed a sensory deporvation tank. But staring at the water was peaceful, calming and just what I needed. I went to bed early and had the soundest sleep I’ve had in many days.
