After spending three days walking the Routeburn Track Great Walk with Ashley and Rachel, we were back in Queenstown again. But this time, I had my mind set on doing a skydive once and for all. Ashley, Rachel, and I then hung out in Queenstown for a bit before heading our separate ways.
And this is what jumping off a moving plane and being plunged down by gravity from 15,000 ft feels like:
Skydiving in Queenstown with NZONE
I love the AQHostel so much that I stayed with them again for 2 nights. In the early morning, I went out and booked a skydiving activity with NZONE. It was cloudy, and I had zero expectations at that point.
I checked in with them again, and the staff coldly said it was canceled. I stared at her and did not register the answer for a full minute, and then she burst out laughing. It took me a couple of minutes to realize that she was joking. Of course, I laughed like I knew what happened, but in my mind, I was like "Don't play with me, woman!".
I bought the 12,000 ft plus videos and photos, which cost me around 600 NZD. The good thing about NZONE is that they have another cameraman with you if you buy the photos and videos package.
- Milford Sound Scenic Fly-Cruise-Fly departing Queenstown (4 hours 30 minutes)
- Milford Sound Coach & Cruise tour from Queenstown (12 hours)
- Lake Whakatipu Cruise & BBQ Buffet Lunch (3 hours 30 minutes)
The anticipation was real. As I was about to suit up, the girls I met said that they were here yesterday and they were suited up like this, but it was canceled right before they got on the plane.
But not this time, I said to myself, and then we were off. As the altitude climbed, I felt a little out of breath. As we reached 12,000 ft above the ground, the pilot announced that there was too much traffic at this altitude, so we went up to 15,000 ft. "A free upgrade! That is what I'm talking about", I shouted internally.
And then BOOM! We were off the plane. My skydive tandem partner did all the job, though.
I did feel a little scared when my legs were hanging down from the plane, but after my skydive partner took control, it was a breeze. Bungee jumping was definitely more nerve-wracking.
The cameraman asked me to do the coolest pose. This was my coolest pose in that situation.
Before we went up, I asked another girl to write "Fuck Yeah!" on my hands. This is how I entered the last half of my 20s, with a big bang!
And then they pulled the parachute, and all the excitement was over. I did learn about my partner during this slow period, though.
He is Swedish and has been doing this for 10 years now. To tell you the truth, I was a little jealous of his job. Who wouldn't?
I returned to the hostel and met up with the girls. They had decided to take that day off and rest. Who could blame them? We had just walked the Routeburn track the day before.
We went out to a Thai restaurant to celebrate our last day together, bought a few snacks, and watched movies until sunrise. It was a fitting celebration for a memorable time.
We said goodbye to each other, and then we went our separate ways. They stayed in Queenstown for one more night and headed back to Dunedin, whereas I hopped on a bus to Lake Tekapo and continued on. We would never meet again for a long time... or so we thought.
Next up, our journey continues upward to Lake Tekapo and then Mount Cook, where I would be reunited again with my good friends Viola and Megan, whom I met back in Franz Josef. We joined forces and tackled the Hooker Valley track together, so stay tuned.
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