The view from 15,000 ft

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Skydiving was on my list of things to do while in New Zealand and the only thing I had to think about was where I would do it. After looking at the prices, I decided to make the jump over Lake Taupo with Taupo Tandem Skydiving. I had a choice to jump at 12,000 or 15,000 ft but if I was going to jump, I was going to go as high as possible.

I was driven to the airstrip where I was weighed and checked in. I didn't realize how long I would have to wait for the other groups to finish. Even when I did get suited up, I was put onto the next plane to allow some guys to go first and not miss their bus. All of the butterflies I had went away. I had been waiting for over two hours before I finally got the greenlight. My tandem skydive master explained all of the safety guidelines again and then it was time to board the tiny plane. During the walk to the plane, I found out I would be the lucky one to jump out first....great! I didn't even have a proper seat on the plane. I was wedged in front of the tandem master on the platform where everyone would sit before jumping out. I was very uncomfortable during the flight up to 15,000ft. Before I knew it, he was rolling up the door and asking me to swing my legs over the ledge. That's when I thought I would have a heart attack, sitting with my legs dangling high above the ground. Without any warning, I was thrown out of a perfectly good plane and started my 60+ sec freefall! Once we went horizontal, I had a perfect view of the ground rushing up towards me. It was a lot colder than I imagined it would be and my eyes were watering from the rush of air coming up. Once, he pulled the cord, everything was silent and calm. It took about 5-6 mins to make it back down and the view was amazing! I still couldn't believe I had jumped out of a plane when I landed on the ground and thankfully not in the lake.

It was definitely worth every penny!

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