Adrenaline filled fun in surely the most picturesque town in the World

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We arrived in QT in the early afternoon and our first stop (as always) was the i-site for some info about the town. Although QT is probably one of the best known towns in NZ and has loads to do, it isn’t very big at all with a population of only 8500 people, although this gets above 50,000 in high summer and also in winter for the snow season. The scenery here is amazing, probably the most picturesque town we have been to so far, with its massive blue lake, snowy mountains blue skies, and as we couldn’t do a skydive in Taupo we had said QT is the next place we would like to try and do one as the views would be incredible. So we enquired about this at the i-site and got the various options and prices on jumps as you can jump from 9,000, 12,000 or 15,000 ft. They said the best company to go with was NZONE but they were full for the day, so we could book on for the next day, but their offices were only across the road if we wanted to book direct with them, so we wandered over getting more and more nervous that we were actually about to book it at last.

We got to the NZONE shop at 2pm and after explaining what jump we wanted to do (12,000 ft!) and asking if we could book for the next day, the lady there cheerfully said ‘oh we have two spaces at 3.30 if you want to book them?’ Before Vic could change her mind Scott had agreed and paid for us both to do a sky dive in an hour and a half! We left the shop both very nervous and went to the van to find a parking spot for the next few hours and get ready for what was about to come. Although we were both excited we couldn’t believe it was actually going to happen and we were pretty scared, but the more we thought about it the more we just wanted to do it. We went back to the shop an hour later for our briefing only to be told the 3.30 jumps had been delayed due to wind and would we come back in another hour. We were even more nervous by this point so it was touch and go whether we would go back! But of course we did and after the briefing and deciding which photo package we wanted (we went for the photo and dvd combo as we won’t be doing this often!) we hopped in their van with 7 others and headed off to the airstrip about 15 minutes away where we would have our safety briefing, meet our instructor and get kitted out in the jump gear. We got to the airstrip around 5pm and by this point were both really really scared but excited that in the next few minutes we would be up in the plane ready to jump, so when it got to 5.45 and we were still waiting for the wind to drop we had a feeling it would be cancelled, which 10 minutes later it was!

By this point we were a bit deflated as we were kind of ready to go and had got it into our heads that we were about to do it, but these things happen and its got to be safety first, so we all went back to the NZONE shop in the van to try and rearrange for the next day. Luckily they had 2 spots at 8.30 the next morning so we booked on that and went back to our van to decide what to do that evening. As usual when we are in main cities we like to free camp near the centre so we can go out, so we found some great showers (complete with hairdryers which Vic was pleased about) in a nearby hostel which we used before heading to a great Thai restaurant for dinner which had a special deal on 3 courses and a drink. As it was labour weekend (like bank holiday at home) we were looking forward to a night out but were really tired so after dinner we found a spot to park the van and got ready for bed.

We had heard QT were strict on free camping and didn’t like it (even though we would never leave rubbish etc all we wanted to do was sleep in there van, this is frowned upon), but a few places had been like this and we had been fine so far, so when we got a knock on the window just as we were drifting off and someone shouting at us to move as we weren’t aloud to sleep in the van there we were a bit surprised and also annoyed as we didn’t think we were doing any harm! Anyway we moved on (Scott drove in his pj’s while Vic stayed in the bed in the back) and found an underground car park which we knew we would be fine in, so settled down there for the night, thinking about what was to come the following morning. We had also booked an overnight boat cruise to Milford Sound for the next day and night which we were really looking forward to.

Up early the next day to get to the NZONE shop we had time for a quick coffee before we met their van and followed it to the airstrip for our jump so we would head off straight after to Milford Sound. It was a really clear morning and the wind had disappeared so we were positive we would be jumping- cue the nerves kicking in again! Sure enough as soon as we arrived we were called up to be the first ones to jump that day, so met our instructors and got kitted out in our jumping gear, before having the safety briefing and making our way into the small plane...eeek! Vic by this point was actually more excited than nervous which was surprising, and Scott said he was too but she wasn’t convinced! With us there was another guy who was jumping so in the small plane were us three jumpers, our instructors (who would be attached to us and pull the parachute when we jumped), two cameramen to film it all and take photos and the pilot of the plane.
We took off, slowly watching the instructors watches climbing with the altitude and within 15 minutes we were at 12,000 ft and our instructors were getting us all ready to jump. We couldn’t believe we were actually about to throw ourselves out of a plane after talking about it for so long! The other guy was first out and within seconds Scott was positioned with his instructor to jump. We looked at each other and grinned nervously one last time before he was gone - the feeling of tumbling out the side of a plane upside down and freefalling through air reaching speed of 200km/h was sensational, Vic’s was then positioned at the plane door, the last to jump. The jump itself was totally amazing for us both, better than we ever imagined and not nearly as scary once you were out of that plane door. The first few seconds were complete freefall and you get that feeling in your stomach like when you are on a high rollercoaster, then a wind breaker comes out to break the fall a bit and although you are still free falling fast you dont’ have that feeling and you are just so pumped that you have done it. The cameramen had also jumped and by this point were filming us falling through the air (we both pulled silly faces which you will see) and after around 45 seconds of this the big parachute comes out and you are pulled back up then you have 5 minutes of slowly drifting down.
This part was amazing as you could see the beautiful scenery and take it all in whilst getting your breath back and thinking about what we had just done! The instructors were controlling the parachutes and doing spins and swings with it before we floated back to the ground and landed. Scott was down first (as he jumped first) and after a few seconds Vic was down and we gave each other a massive hug and were so so happy that we had just done our first skydive and loved it!

By this point we were both completely grinning like idiots and high on adrenaline, so after a quick tea stop, we set-off on the scenic 4 hour drive to Milford Sounds for our overnight cruise, looking forward to some relaxed time after our busy few days and crazy morning . . .

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Comments

[Anne]

Unbelievable
Speechless, absolutely amazing. I cannot image the feelings you must have gone through, before, during and after. My brother has now gone bald!!!!! Victoria, I really thought you would back out, but you have done your "old" Auntie Anne proud. Scott Dog on the other hand, never doubted you would do it. So proud of you both. Fantastic, and every other word in the dictionary that goes with it...... Love ya loads. A A and U S xxx

[Amanda Moore]

Skydive
Wow, I´m in awe of what you two are doing. Fantastic and amazing things you are doing and seeing. The sky dive looked amazing and the scenery was beautiful. Perfect place to do it! Well done both of you! Lots of love Amanda and a big kiss from your dad xxxxxx