Skydiving in Wanaka – Day 132

Alright today is day 132 and we’re going to jump from a perfectly good plane a very very over used sentence attached to a beautiful stranger, a very very unused sentence. So here you are. Today I’m jumping from an airplane and Idon’t care if it works well or not. Do I care? No? I’m jumping out of it because this is what I’ve come here to do.

After this lovely musical introduction, my name is Robin and today I’m going to talk to you about Day 132! So we’re just about to set off to go for our early morning skydive – hopefully the weather is good. I can’t actually see. It’s dark.

We arrive way before dawn at the Skydive Wanaka base and the first thing that we have to do is to weigh ourselves so we can get the right equipment.

With this revelation out of the way we are heading to a plane but a fake one of those this is the place where we’re gonna be getting our safety briefing. There we’re going to be told what we need to do when in the air, what kind of equipment we’re going to be getting and how important it is to listen to our tandem master because after all they hold our lives in their hands.

The sunrise is mind-blowing, I can’t wait to jump from a plane in front of it. I’m pretty sure the view is going to be mesmerising. Robin is showing some clear signs of stress here but there’s no more time for that cos now we need to get ready for our skydive. We are going through the same process that we did a few days ago when the skydive was cancelled because of the weather and this includes putting on some jumpsuits which are very sexy as well as getting a harness on helped by two lovely ladies here who are getting us prepared.

Like in every skydive organisation safety is their main priority, so they are making sure everything is checked, double checked and even triple checked before we are heading toward the plane. It’s only when we are heading toward the plane that we are meeting our skydive tandem masters. My tandem master is gonna be called Gino and he is from Eastern Europe, he’s an absolute crazy person, and Laura has Chewbacca’s little brother, Malachi. It’s only when boarding the plane the anticipation starts to build up and before the take off the plane has to warm up because we are the first skydive of the day. It is such a tension builder. As soon as the plane starts moving there is no turning back and we are taking off toward the sky for one of the most scenic skydives in [New Zealand]. As we go up toward our skydiving altitude there’s a real fun atmosphere in the plane our tandem masters are just joking around it’s really a lot of fun. The views are awesome.

They’re also pointing out a few major landmarks like the famous Lake Wanaka. I’m feeling excited. I cannot wait. In no time at all the door already opens and Gino is maneuvering me near the door and it’s without a second thought that he’s taking me right out of the plane just behind me I can see Laura jumping as well she is flying a few metres behind me it’s absolutely epic to be able to scream at each other while skydiving. I can see here out of the corner of my eye while flying through the sky and trying to embrace the absolute amazing view that are surrounding me Lake Wanaka is stunning I can even see Mt Aspiring but all that I can hear is Laura screaming out of her lungs.

Somewhere far below me Robin is creaming like a mad man a little dot in the distance and we are freefalling here at about 200km/hour and it’s just sensory overload, it’s really hard to understand what’s going on but as soon as I do I’m pulling some crazy poses in the sky just having fun with it. It’s just an insane feeling.

After about 60 seconds freefall, the tandem master is pulling out the parachute and finally everything slows down and everything starts to make sense again. At this point we can really take in the views around us including the beautiful Lake Wanaka, we can also see the Clutha River below and all the beautiful mountains and rural farmland around us.

Skydiving gets better every time. I can even feel some raindrops on my face. Oh my God. This is insane.

One of the awesome things about skydiving together is that we can actually fly side by side or even on top of each other It’s really awesome so Laura and I are trying to yell stuff at each other we can’t really make out what we’re saying to each other but it’s just really cool to be flying across this stunning landscape together.

Gino is taking the time to show me a lot of stuff around including the Clutha River which starts at Lake Wanaka and makes its way all the way down to the sea.

We are having a lot of fun under the canopy of our parachute. Our tandem masters are even giving us the opportunity to grab hold of the reigns and do some circles in the air. it’s super super fun. But as we are getting closer to the ground it is time for some landing so Robin is going first landing on his ass he’s not such the graceful lander, but when it comes to my turn I am determined to land beautifully on my feet.

And that’s from below that I can see Laura preparing for landing. She looks like she’s really keen to try to run that’s the only technique to land on her feet. And you know what she does nail it. Awesome, Laura.

Let’s go again. We had an epic time skydiving above stunning Lake Wanaka. I am so glad that the weather turned out to be pretty good. We had to delay it over three days but finally we got to do it. It was such an awesome day. And what a way to end our time in Wanaka, in such an adrenaline pumping way. But this is our final day in Wanaka and we’re gonna be heading to Queenstown tomorrow so be sure to join us then.

And we land pretty safely on the ground. Happy as a poodle. I don’t know if it’s an expression but that’s what I feel right now. You know those poodles which are way too excited to see someone else than the grandma they’re usually attached to. That’s how I feel like oh my God, I want to do it again that was amazing I had a blast.