Nick's skydive in Lake Wanaka

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See my jump here!

On arrival at Skydive Lake Wanaka, I had to decide if I would jump at 12,000 (15 seconds of freefall) or 15,000 feet (60 seconds of freefall).

"In for a penny, in for a pound" I thought, and chose the higher option. After signing my life away, I put on the clown suit that all 'jumpers' were wearing, got strapped into a harness and met my 'instructor' Olly from Poland. I was keen to get on well with him as he was the one who would have the parachute strapped to his back.

There were 4 of us first-time skydivers, plus buddies, and one cameraman. We walked out to the tiny plane and all squashed in together for the 15 minute flight to 15,000 feet. I remember a strong smell of fuel as it zoomed down the runway for a very quick take-off. It was a beautiful morning and gave a great view over the amazing scenery: snow capped mountains in the distance, 2 huge lakes, and one wide snaking river beneath us.

Only now did Olly start to strap us together. One of the other buddies teased me by deliberately unpopping one of my fasteners...but by the time Olly had finished with the cords, we were very close. He went through what would happen next: I was to be the 3rd jumper. When it was our turn, we were to shuffle forward and sit on the edge of the plane. I had to dangle my legs out of the plane, point them down into the abyss, grip my harness and tilt my head back. Those 3 simple instructions seemed a lot to take in at that point in time. Anyway, the door (merely a thin piece of transparent plastic) to the plane was opened and out went the 1st and 2nd jumper.

I cannot adequately describe the feeling of sitting at the edge of a plane, legs hanging outside, knowing that any second we would be....whoa...there we go. I'm plummeting at high speed towards the ground, the air is rushing all around and I'm not sure what to make of it. They said there would be a period of 'brain freeze' while your mind tries to work out what's happening.

Suddenly there is a tug upwards which means the parachute has worked, happy days! The total freefall from 15,000 feet lasts one minute but in reality it felt like just 10 seconds. As the parachute spreads out above us, suddenly everything is silent and we are floating slowly downwards, taking in all that scenery again. By pulling left or right, we make downward spirals towards the ground, and it is another 4 minutes or so till we cruise to the ground.

It was a real buzz and I couldn't stop grinning for ages afterwards. Already looking forward to next time.

See my jump here!

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