Skydive Wanaka

We jumped out of a plane this morning!

We picked Wanaka for our skydiving adventure because it was promised to have incredible scenery! On our plane trip to altitude and during our jump we had a chance to have 360 degree views of New Zealand’s highest mountains including Aoraki / Mt Cook and Tititea / Mt Aspiring in the World Heritage Mt. Aspiring National Park. Mountains where glaciers feed forested river valleys and six lakes (Lakes Wanaka, Hawea, Dunstan, Wakatipu, Pukaki, Tekapo)! The weather was perfect - not a cloud in the sky - so, with a healthy dose of nervous excitement, we geared up for the highest jump offered (15,000ft above ground level and 16,100ft above sea level).

The plane was different from anything I'd ever seen before, as we piled in in 2 lines, nested between the legs of the person in back of us, all facing the back of the plane. The views on the way up were incredible, with more snow capped peaks appearing the higher we climbed. They gave us all oxygen masks at one point which is also something I've thankfully never experienced on a commercial plane. Then it was time to jump. I honestly don't really remember making a decision to jump - one second I was sitting on the edge with my legs out of the plane, and the next we were tumbling through the air.

Freefalling was definitely a new feeling for me. I had expected it to feel more like falling, but without the stiff wind gust in my face, you easily would've convinced me that I was just floating in place. The ground didn't seem to be making its way any closer, and we must have reached terminal velocity much faster than I was expecting. From 15,000ft, we were expected to freefall for up to 60 seconds at speeds up to 200km/hr! Boris, the "friendly stranger" strapped to my back, made us do some spins in the air, which was the only time I really noticed how fast we were going as the G's from the centripetal force kicked in. I tried to focus on taking in the scenery as we fell as well , since it really was stunning!

At the end of our freefall, Boris released our parachute, which slowed us enough for my harness to be kind of uncomfortable, but we were still moving pretty fast. Boris loosened my harness once we reached a steady speed and then passed over the parachute handles so I could steer for some of our descent. I was surprised how easy it was to change the direction of our descent and how smooth it all felt. This was when I was really able to take in the beautiful scenery surrounding us. Boris took back over on the steering so that we landed in the correct field, and the landing was surprisingly smooth!

I reunited with Keanan, who had jumped right before me, and we agreed that we both loved the adrenaline rush and would definitely do it again!Read more