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Taupo SkyDive
OMG I still cannot believed I jumped out of a moving plane at 15,000ft. Well I didn't exactly throw myself out, Marley, my tandem guy threw himself out and I was merely attached :) I was soooo nervous, deep down I really really wanted to do a skydive and always in New Zealand. I had thought I would do it in Wanaka, but I wasn't ready and it was quite expensive. We was told Taupo was a good place to skydive and thought that would be the place to do it. Col and I always said if we had a lodger in our house, we would treat ourselves to a skydive. Reality hit when we arrived in Taupo and I was unsure whether to do one. I dont like heights and as I get older I just don't seem to have the balls anymore. We went to the local Isite to check out the costs and the photo packages on offer. The jump was a good price but the pictures seem to be expensive for both companies (2 in Taupo). When Col suggested is was a little expensive and maybe we shouldn't bother, my heart sank, therefore I knew deep down that I had to do it, even though I was sick with fear. I liked one of the motos on one of the company flyers 'Fear is temporary, Achievement is permanent', how true is that. So we decided do it and chose TTS (Taupo Tandem Skydiving). When the woman behind the counter phoned regarding vacancies, I didn't expect her to say 'yes they can come get you right now', my initial thought was 'hell no maybe tomorrow' but Col said 'yeah why not', so it was now or never. The more time I had to think about it, I probably would have backed out. The day was perfect the sun was shining and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky. We paid there and then, for the 12,000ft jump, cant back out now. When the car rolled up I felt sick, I messaged my loved ones in case it went wrong :). When we arrived at the airport, I thought this is it. We filled out forms and signed our lives away. There were quite a few people waiting, no one looked nervous as me, some had already done the jump and were full of smiles, laughing at their video and pictures, it cant be that bad then! We were told the different packages and prices for the various jump heights, 12,000ft or 15,000ft. 12,000ft gave you 35 seconds of freefall and 15,000ft gave you a whole minute of plummeting to the ground. We had already paid for 12,000ft so we stuck to that. We opted for a freefall video and picture package, the photos looked better, with the scenery and the view of the ground. When we had put our order in we was told we could upgrade to 15,000ft for only $71 extra as we had picked a photo package. Col said 'shall we' and I replied 'no way, 12,000ft is high enough for me'. We put our stuff in lockers and tried to chill, we watched the group before us go up. I was introduced to my camera guy, Rob. We had both picked a freefall photo and video package so each of us was assigned our own camera guy. My guy was called Rob and Col's was Andy. Rob was cool and made me feel at ease. As we got into our suits and harnessed up, they asked us if we were definatley doing the 12,000ft as if we decided we wanted to go higher we needed a different helmet with oxygen. Rob explained that for your first skydive its best to go higher, due to the fact that your head is all over the place and your not sure what to expect, it's all over in a flash. He also said to me if it was a fear thing making me hesitate to go to 15,000ft, he explained you don't know the difference once you are up there. I said what the hell, and upgraded to 15,000ft, it was such a good deal not to. If your gonna do it, do it properly :). We watched a quick video on how to land and when in the air how to position our bodies etc. I was introduced to Marley, my tandem master, and off into the plane we went. I have never taken off before going backwards, lol. Marley explained to me what would happen before the jump and pointed out Mt Taraneki, the Huka Falls, Lake Rotorua, so I got a scenic flight too. When the plane reached 12,000ft 3 others were due to jump, or as Marley put it, 'we'll throw these out at 12,000 and we'll keep going up'. When that plane door opened and the rush of wind hit you, and the height your at, my stomach did about 20 somersaults. They edged individually up to the open door, legs out the door, smiled at the camera, then gone, they were sucked out. I shouted something I cant repeat, and Marley asked if I still wanted to do it, I said yes, even though everything told me to say no. We put on our helmets and hooked up to the oxygen and carried on ascending to 15,000. Then it was our turn, Col went first and in a blink of an eye he was gone. I edged my way up, put on my googles, dangled my legs over the side, smiled at the camera, looked at Rob, then closed my eyes, I couldn't look down. When we left the plane my stomach went into my mouth, but within an instant it was gone. I opened my eyes and it was amazing!!! Marley tapped me on the shoulders, the sign to say arms out, enjoy the freefall. Rob came up to me to do the video and pictures and it was just an amazing experience. I kept looking around, the view was immense. It was so freaking cold up there though. Rob was right, the 15,000 was so much better, you got to freefall for longer and because your mind is all over the place, it gave you a little more time to take it all in. We said goodbye to Rob and the parachute opened. 'yeah', we floated down, the views were spectacular, we did a few spins, which turned my stomach slightly, but it was great and had a perfect landing. I was back on the ground in one piece. I envy those peeps that do that job. How amazing, I asked Marley on the way down, 'does it ever lose its spark? He replied 'would you get bored doing this?' that said it all. What an amazing time, I would recommend to anyone, even if they are afraid of heights, to do a jump, the height thing doesn't even come into it. I was asked, would I do it all again, I replied, 'HELL YES'.
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