Kiwi Exp. - Franz Josef to Wanaka

After the Go Pro recording of Kim's skydive had failed to work properly Francois telephoned her as promised. Unfortunately he had been unable to get the video to playback properly so we expected a straight forward refund. Instead Francois arranged for Kim to redo her skydive for free this morning! In a flurry we organised with our Kiwi Experience driver Kane and Francois for us to return to the airfield whilst the rest of the group visited Lake Matheson. With frost still coating the ground we arrived at the airfield and Kim once again took to the skies, this time under the guidance of Mark whilst Alex went with Francois to the landing site to greet Kim on her return. This was also a great opportunity for Alex to take photographs of Fox Glacier from ground level as although we had landed in the same field only two days before we were in no real position to stop and take photographs immediately after our skydives.

Kim was extremely grateful to Mark and Francios for allowing her to take another skydive. By doing so allowed her to not only get a working video but also to appreciate the views in more detail and soak in the experience further. Whereas on the first dive, the initial seconds were terrifying with the enormous view opening up beneath, Kim felt a lot calmer the second time around. One thing she noticed during the free fall was how difficult it was to keep her mouth closed, there was so much air and pressure it took a lot of energy to smile or close her mouth!

Fox glacier sat brightly in the morning sun as farm animals on the ground appeared as tiny dots. Like the first skydive, once the parachute was deployed Kim had the chance to navigate this by pulling on cords either side of the opened chute. Kim was able to see and wave to Alex and Francois as she came into land with Mark.

Down on the ground Francois explained to Alex that it was very rare for the Go Pros to not function properly and normally the team would offer a refund but they wanted us to leave happy and give Kim a further opportunity to get her video because of how well she had taken the experience as well as the disappointment of the video not working. It was a brilliant gesture and one neither of us will forget. Wanting to prove the video had worked correctly Francois even played it on a large television in front of other people in the reception!

We rejoined the bus and headed for Wanaka, a peaceful little town that sits on the lake of the same name. Mountain ranges rear up from its shore, coloured shades of orange and purple by the setting sun. The temperature continued to drop lower and lower and we were glad to arrive in the log fire warmth of our hostel. We settled in for the night, talking over dinner to a local father, Reg, and daughter, Sarah who were on a week's holiday together. Sarah recommended a morning hike up Mt Iron for views over the lake but our first thoughts were for a solid night's sleep in a warm bed.Read more