Skydive over Lake Taupo, New Zealand
View of Lake Taupo from the south
Fearless. And hungover.
I don’t know why I had the change of heart regarding jumping out of a plane, but when the opportunity presented itself yet again I went for it. Taupo features the cheapest skydive in all of New Zealand, appx 500NZD for a 15000ft jump package versus 750NZD for the same package in Wanaka. The reason why the Wanaka jump is so much more is location; you can see the Southern Alps in Wanaka. But don’t be mistaken, Lake Taupo is beautiful, especially from the air.
One thing I learned the hard way, don’t ever have a big night out partying and drinking before going skydiving. I wasn’t expecting to go the next day but the sky was perfectly clear so I seized the opportunity. Given that I was quite hungover I wasn’t nervous at all even as we stuffed ourselves into the plane and took off. Even when we put on oxygen masks in the plane I wasn’t freaked out yet. And even when 2 people in the plane jumped out at 12000ft I still wasn’t worried.
After a few seconds I got used to the freefall and remembered to take in the view, which was incredible!
However, when I put my feet out of the plane the fear and adrenalin kicked in big time!! The first 3 seconds out of the plane my heart rate must’ve been well over 200 beats per minute. But I remembered to keep my eyes open and it was AMAZING! After a few seconds I got used to the freefall and remembered to take in the view, which was incredible!
I didn’t know when the tandem master was going to pull the chute so when he did pull it I nearly pissed myself. And to be honest, even the canopy ride down to the ground was an adrenaline rush too when we swooped in different directions. All in all, it was an amazing experience. But I wish I wasn’t hungover cause the spinning around during the freefall and the swooping around during the canopy ride made my hangover 100 times worse and I puked countless times not long after I was back on terra firma.
