Queenstwown - My Plummet!

---

It was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was a sunny but also a rather cold day in Queenstown. I went in a skyline gondola (cable car) up to the top of the nearby mountain for some amazing morning views for that last glance before my plummet. After a couple of hours, it was time to make a descent and get checked in for my skydive!!!

Strangely enough, I wasn't stressed, well maybe slightly nervous, but nothing major. There were a few butterflies mucking about my stomach but I was expecting quite a few more! "Oh well", I thought, "it'll be different when I'm on that plane..."

I signed up for the highest plummet (and the longest freefall) and was the only one who was doing it from 15,000 feet. There rest of the adventure-seekers were jumping off 12,000 feet. I am only going to do it once (maybe), so why not go for the highest one, right??!!

We got strapped and then taken to the plane which was really tiny. There were 3 of us jumping and a couple of camera men. The 2 guys went off first. They closed the door and started climbing further at which stage you need oxygen as it's soooooo high. That's when you are feeling really hard core, he he.

My guy, Kevin, who was jumping with me, was absolutely fantastic - I just threw my life in his hands, so had nothing to worry about :o) I actually wasn't too stressed when on that plane to the point Kevin asked me if I was fine and then said: "you seem very relaxed!" as if not really believeing that I was. I suppose if you know there is a really small chance of you actually dying doing this (they have a clean record since the moment they started), and so it's easy to rationalise it and...to enjoy the views! And the views were just incredible!!!

Anyways, when the moment comes, the camera guy goes out first and holds on to the plane while waiting for you to come out (so he can get that shot when you are most scared:o) After that, you move towards the open door to the point you are hanging there with your feet dangling off the plane. And that's the moment when you can get a bit scared. You count to 3...and off you jump!!!

It starts with a backflip - the best bit of the whole thing. That's when you actually feel as if you were going to die, but just for a couple of seconds. At the same time, you lose your tummy, wonder where the sky is and which one is the ground, and then you are just loving the freefall...............................
And so you are falling down at the speed of 200 km/hr and you are doing that for over 60 seconds. Ricky, the camera guy, made me swirl and all that silly stuff including pulling funny faces, so I pulled mine back! Actually, it's hard to do anything up there as the wind is so strong, you can hardly move your facial muscles! Plus, you need to work out how it's best to breathe and trust me, it's not easy!

After the freefall, there comes a time for the parachute to open up and then you just float in the air while having a chat with the guy who made sure you didn't die. So, Kevin showed me around the place and we got ready to land!

Oh, what an amazing experience that was. I'm still feeling totally surreal about it all - I got myself a dvd which should be my top souvenir ever!

Off to do some more skiing tomorrow - have to use up the excess of adrenaline that's still flowing in my blood. I guess I can leave it out for next Saturday when I'm doing my mad canyon swing. That should be pretty amazing too!

Oh, and one thing I have to mention is that I have a permanent smile on my face today - I reckon I just have to celebrate tonight then! Yay!!!!!

---

Comments

[Eleanor]

hiya!
Looks amazing Monica! Worth it for the views alone...my Dad used to parachute and always tells me I should give it a go...your pics have really sold it!