Abba blasting out of the PA system woke us from sleep at Maketu on the 12th. A cereal breakfast, a tidy up, then away to Rotorua. We had a couple of hours to kill there in the morning. Some went rafting, I went to find a local Irish pub to try watch the French match. A visit to the info centre, sent to a hotel, past a lot of closed bars - all with no luck. Then Laura text to say the match had been called off, presumably due to the cold (late confirmed - frozen pitch).
Bumped into Team Sweden, and headed to the lakefront with them, Philip and Franco. Franco is a gent from Israel, living in Thailand, maybe in his sixties. He left the bus in Taupo, having realised it was not for him. He expected a more comprehensive guided tour, with porters for his bahs. Nice chap though. Joined in briefly with a Zumba class, working up a sweat, and a bit of frisbee. Supermarket stop, then Subway for lunch, and back to meet the bus.
Drop off people at hostels - Crashley, Lauren and Nicole, and Chief Nate amongst them. On to Taupo, stopping for a photo op at a mud pool and a waterfall. We get an opportunity to head for the skydive early, so myself, Team Sweden, Christa, Sam and Lisette all pile into the back of a limo, and are taken to the airport.
Quick intro video, then I'm teamed up with Andrew for my tandem jump, who is a bit of a dour, no-nonsense individual. While others are laughing and chatting with their paired jumpers, Andrew is silent, guiding me away from the group photo for an individual shot. In the plane, I have to ask him to take a pic of me and Sofia. Two Germans jump out at 12,000ft. I'm surprisingly calm, watching the land get farther and farther away, then the clouds are moving away too.
The door opens again, and Team Sweden vanish out it, Sofia being the last before me. Andrew hoists me over to the precipice, I kneel, looking down at nothing but clouds. I'm not even nervous, just ready to embrace the experience. Andrew launches us out, and we swoop down toward cloud level. It doesn't quite feel like falling, perhaps because there's no immediate landmark to indicate speed. We hit 200km/hr apparently, but other than the wind bulging in my cheeks, I could be floating. We twirl around and around horizontally, spinning in the sky, making me dizzy.
The parachute deploys, and we both grasp the steering handles. I ask to see Lake Taupo, which is behind us, and Andy tells me to pull down sharply on the right handle. We lurch immediately to the right, heaving my stomach into my mouth. But the lake is spread out in front of me, shimmering blue, the biggest lake in NZ, the size of Singapore. Housing estates, roads, the airport - all laid out like a model town, or Google Earth. We touch down safely and easily, and everyone high-fives. Group photo before stripping the harness and jumpsuit.
What an amazing feeling! This might top swimming with the dolphins for #1 NZ activity, though it's a completely different experience. To tumble through the air, 4.6km above the planet - such freedom, such exhilaration Pictures don't do it justice. Chat with our English driver on the way back to the hostel, she's been here about a month, done four jumps, but would do one every day if she could!
Check in at the hostel in Taupo, in a room with Sam and Lisette. Also a Canadian Monique, who is resting her lovely legs in bed after completing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing that day. There's a singer of sorts in the dining area, which is odd, but hostel is also the cheapest bar in town. He does as much heckling as singing, even though he's not a bad singer. Pop out to Pak 'n' Save to stock up for the next few days, and when I return to the hostel, Nate shows up! He's hitchhiked from Rotorua for one more good bye.
Sit and talk with him and the Italians for a bit, then outside with Jay and Linda, Sarah, Nate, Sam, Nora and her friend Julien, who we left in Hahei due to a full bus. Not a late night though - Tongariro is waiting, so we're all in bed at a sensible hour.
Bumped into Team Sweden, and headed to the lakefront with them, Philip and Franco. Franco is a gent from Israel, living in Thailand, maybe in his sixties. He left the bus in Taupo, having realised it was not for him. He expected a more comprehensive guided tour, with porters for his bahs. Nice chap though. Joined in briefly with a Zumba class, working up a sweat, and a bit of frisbee. Supermarket stop, then Subway for lunch, and back to meet the bus.
Drop off people at hostels - Crashley, Lauren and Nicole, and Chief Nate amongst them. On to Taupo, stopping for a photo op at a mud pool and a waterfall. We get an opportunity to head for the skydive early, so myself, Team Sweden, Christa, Sam and Lisette all pile into the back of a limo, and are taken to the airport.
Quick intro video, then I'm teamed up with Andrew for my tandem jump, who is a bit of a dour, no-nonsense individual. While others are laughing and chatting with their paired jumpers, Andrew is silent, guiding me away from the group photo for an individual shot. In the plane, I have to ask him to take a pic of me and Sofia. Two Germans jump out at 12,000ft. I'm surprisingly calm, watching the land get farther and farther away, then the clouds are moving away too.
The door opens again, and Team Sweden vanish out it, Sofia being the last before me. Andrew hoists me over to the precipice, I kneel, looking down at nothing but clouds. I'm not even nervous, just ready to embrace the experience. Andrew launches us out, and we swoop down toward cloud level. It doesn't quite feel like falling, perhaps because there's no immediate landmark to indicate speed. We hit 200km/hr apparently, but other than the wind bulging in my cheeks, I could be floating. We twirl around and around horizontally, spinning in the sky, making me dizzy.
The parachute deploys, and we both grasp the steering handles. I ask to see Lake Taupo, which is behind us, and Andy tells me to pull down sharply on the right handle. We lurch immediately to the right, heaving my stomach into my mouth. But the lake is spread out in front of me, shimmering blue, the biggest lake in NZ, the size of Singapore. Housing estates, roads, the airport - all laid out like a model town, or Google Earth. We touch down safely and easily, and everyone high-fives. Group photo before stripping the harness and jumpsuit.
What an amazing feeling! This might top swimming with the dolphins for #1 NZ activity, though it's a completely different experience. To tumble through the air, 4.6km above the planet - such freedom, such exhilaration Pictures don't do it justice. Chat with our English driver on the way back to the hostel, she's been here about a month, done four jumps, but would do one every day if she could!
Check in at the hostel in Taupo, in a room with Sam and Lisette. Also a Canadian Monique, who is resting her lovely legs in bed after completing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing that day. There's a singer of sorts in the dining area, which is odd, but hostel is also the cheapest bar in town. He does as much heckling as singing, even though he's not a bad singer. Pop out to Pak 'n' Save to stock up for the next few days, and when I return to the hostel, Nate shows up! He's hitchhiked from Rotorua for one more good bye.
Sit and talk with him and the Italians for a bit, then outside with Jay and Linda, Sarah, Nate, Sam, Nora and her friend Julien, who we left in Hahei due to a full bus. Not a late night though - Tongariro is waiting, so we're all in bed at a sensible hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment