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Published: December 22nd 2006
Ready to jump !
Let's have fun :-)Oups...forgot to put that blog on line...so if you wonder no we didnt go straight from Argentina to Australia...we are indeed still in argentina...the trip bellow took place in August...souvenir souvenir...
Rafting & Skydiving in Cairns Back from 2 weeks around Australia!! Who said that holidays are the best moment to take a rest?! Well....
Sydney, Gold Coast (golf), Cairns and surroundings (sky diving, rafting, golf), Melbourne and its Yara Valley (wine area), Mt Buller (skiing) and back to Melbourne for partying !!
Cairns - adrenaline stop
After few days in Australia, here we go...welcome to Cairns! The Australian house of extreme sports from diving into the great barrier reef to bungee jumping, sky diving and rafting....
The city in itself is full of backpackers and it is a real nightmare if you are looking for a good restaurant but anyway ... not there for that !
Day 1: Rafting!
Early early wake up....pick up at the hotel and direction the Tully River, about two hours from Cairns by bus. Felt a bit like a summer camp trip....70 pax in a bus, all more excited about rafting, coming from all around the world, with
the organizers making sure everyone fill the disclaimers forms (wondering why,....) & then creating group of 6/7 persons....some group you just don’t want to end up with especially when none of them speak English nor know to swim....Trust me ... it does happen more often that one would think...
Anyway...pretty lucky on that side as we end up with two English sport students and a tall German and his girl friend...Lets have fun!!
One little detail...in August it is winter in Australia and even if Cairns is located on the North East Coast, the weather is not exactly ideal....rain rain rain...so we end up completely wet before even to have step on the raft...
The Mighty Tully River is regarded as the best rafting river across Australia and New Zealand and well I cannot compare with previous experiences as it was our first time...but that was really good!
About 5 hours of pure adrenaline & excitement with continuous need to manoeuvre rafts....Really impressed by our guide too and the team in general who was really safety oriented....while making everyone have fun! Would definitely recommend Raging Thunder to anyone who wants to experience white water rafting in Cairns....
On the way back to Cairns, we got to see a compilation of the "best tumble"...Glad they didnt show us this video earlier... it was hilarious but more seriously...that also at that moment that you realize how dangerous this sport can be...so you better be with the right group of people, as they say it is all about the team work !
Day 2: Skydiving...Yahoooooooooooo!
Early wake up (again...) as we were the first group of the day to jump....
which mean as well early brief....and trust me when it is your first jump and you have no idea what to expect, you end up listening more than carrefully....the good point is that it seems we will have to do close to nothing as it is our jump master who will do most of the job ! Sounds good to me !
The three other girls who were to sky dive with us on that day, were more than terrorized...and they didnt feel better when they saw the plane...small one with painted shark teeth on the front...once on it you have an incredible view of Cairns and its rain forest :-) and you start to realize that
it is really high...
About 2000ft before our jump height, our jumpmaster tighten up our harness and gave us the last advices.
We were ready for what they call the Extreme jump...14 000 feet, with an adrenaline pumping 60 second freefall!
My buddy was really cool and before jumping he quickly realised that I was passionate about extreme sport (bungee, parapanting...) and more excited than actually scared (compared to the other girls....)
The doors open and ouah ..........your heart rate accelerate full speed....it is REALLY high !!
As you reach the cloudes your parachute opens up and you then have plenty of time to enjoy the view...and what a view!! Between the great barrier reef and the rainy forrest you do not know what to look at... time to chat with my buddy too...who after few seconds decided to let me handle the parachute until we get close enough from the ground...feels like a bird...I wish I could have stayed up there longer but time to land and give back the control stick...
Snif....well...cant wait for the next jump!!
Day 3: on the way to Melbourne...sky in Mt Buller and wine expedition in
the Yarra Valley....
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