Diving in the Sky // Taupo, NZ

Hello beautiful world!

I sincerely hope you all have had a great holiday season, even if some of you didn't get a holiday. For those of us who did get a holiday, I am sincerely happy that two days of each week were public holidays, meaning I didn't have to use my annual leave and could save those for a rainy day #studentlifestruggles.

I've gone to Taupo for New Years for I think the last 4. Though its the same place, each celebration is different. This year it started with me jumping out of a plane; more accurately me being thrown out of a plane. If you read a few blogs back, Nathan and my sister pitched in for a skydive with Taupo Tandem Skydiving. This was the third attempt to actually make the jump. The first we double booked ourselves and the second we got called off due to weather. As always third time was a charm!

Alot of people kept asking me if I was nervous. I definitely wasn't. I think all my long haul flights helped calm my nerves as well as my outdoor ed class cause I just convinced myself I was going rock climbing in overalls. I do now1 understand why people don't like small planes though cause you definitely feel everything 10x more in the little planes then the big ones, even if you have a great pilot. But I'm getting ahead of myself. The staff at Taupo Tandem Skydiving definitely made me feel better about the whole situation. They were calm, funny and professional. The whole set up there was also super chill, as if you were walking into a shared living/games room in the dorms, making me feel relaxed.

Once we got changed and watched the safety video, which I admit I didn't actually pay attention to, we had to wait for our plane to fuel up before we could go up. While we waited, Nathan and I watched as the tandem masters came in dropped their packs off, grabbed another parachute, grabbed their person and then boarded a plane. Like a conveyor belt of nonstop activity. On the ground they had packers, who as the name suggests, pack the parachutes back into the backpacks ready to be used again. Watching these guys re-pack parachutes really made me appreciate how little of a struggle folding packing a sleeping bag is! Never really thought about the technique and skill that is required to ensure the parachute on our tandem master's backs aren't going to get caught halfway through release.

Once the plane was fuelled, we were ready to go. I was the first in, which obviously means I was then the last out. I had no choice in the height I was going to, Nathan had already decided I would be jumping at 15,000 ft. This would give me 60 seconds of free-fall. You then get to pick the photo/video packages to accompany your jump. We just went with the handycam as it was the cheapest by far (again #studentlifestruggles).

It was a beautiful view going up. The way the lake light up under the sun was stunning. You see this ever so slightly when your at lake level (or when I let the drone fly) but up in the sky its gorgeous. Now it wasn't until this point that I started to properly get scared. I had said I was scared before but I think that was more nerves then anything else. It wasn't until the first person jumped out (with a camera man literally hanging out the side of the plane for a solid 20 seconds) that I got scared. It all of a sudden was real.

Then it was my turn.

I will say this, not being the one to decide when you jump is so good! I literally had no choice. I was probably more scared going zip lining cause I have to jump on my own then I was when it was my turn to jump. Still, your 'fight or flight' system is definitely pumping! Falling for that long feels crazy weird. Before I thought it was going to feel like when you are 'falling' during sleep and you wake yourself up. It did not feel like this for me but I cant really explain how it felt other then that first 2 seconds of falling back down to a trampoline + 100 x more wind. Once the parachute popped open, I got to fully experience how pretty the view is for birds. Seriously they have the best life I swear. To be able to see that every day, is actually amazing!

My one tip is to remember to equalise/pop your ears. Seriously remember to do this! Apparently I was meant to be told in the plane but I can't say I did/I didn't hear if I did. Orrrr it could have been in the video I didn't really watch. So yeah make sure you pop those ear drums.

Second tip to all the ladies: waterproof mascara or no mascara at all. Most would probably say no make up but if your anyrhing like me and have a slight obsession witb make up refer to the first sentence. Oh and don't worry about looking cute. Im convinced you only can as a professional.

Thank you Nathan and Trice for the present. It was definitely something I probably never would have paid for myself so super grateful to you for being able to tick that off the list!