New Zealand South Island autumn holiday - day 6 I jumped off the plane
- Wednesday, September 06, 2017
- By Iva
- 0 Comments
Queenstown is the skydiving capital in NZ. There are 2 operators in Queenstown, Skydive Paradise and NZONE, there's also another operator in Wanaka, Skydive Wanaka, which is the sister company of NZONE.
My good looking tandem master. I don't remember his name.
How many fit in the plane? Everyone was suited and booted, sat on the floor with not much legroom. About 12 people in the plane including tandem masters and cameramen. The ride up was ok and incredibly beautiful. To my surprise, I was relatively calm and collected, but ... only at that point of time.
The last go in, the 1st jump out. Fortunately I was the 2nd in the queue to jump. I wouldn't want to be the last to see how others jumped out and screamed. As the altitude climbed, I lost my cool.
And Juuuuuuuuump!!!!
How does free fall feel like? The first few seconds was the most horrifying part of the whole experience. After a few seconds, I didn't feel like I was falling anymore but instead it felt like I was floating in an anti-gravity chamber.
How long is the free fall? Before I knew it, my dive partner pulled the parachute after 60 seconds of free fall and all the excitement was over. A minute of free fall was really short.
Safely back to the earth.
How's the landing? It was ok, not too hard. Overall it was an amazing experience.
How did I go back to Queenstown since I did not drive? Taxi again? No no no no .... I was lucky as one of the Skydive Wanaka staff got me a free ride from their colleague who was going to Queenstown as well. Sorry, I couldn't remember their name but I appreciate their kind offer. Thank you.
Interested to visit New Zealand? Check out my itinerary and click here to read day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, day 6, day 7, day 8, day 9 trip report.
Skydiving is weather dependent activity, the weather was very bad during our stay in Queenstown and no skydiving activity at all, though I made the booking with NZONE weeks ago before the trip. I didn't give up, I called Skydive Wanaka and found out that they were open for the jump so I called a taxi (my partner need the car to take the Shotover Jet) and paid $200 for it just to bring me to Wanaka airport to catch their last flight on my last day in Queenstown. Sound expensive right? I just wanted to make sure I did skydive in NZ so I decided to pay for it no matter what.
Any complimentary transport service from Queenstown? Yes, check Skydive Wanaka website for more details.
What if the weather is bad? Call 30 minutes before your booking time to check on weather condition. I read reviews on tripadvisor, some people did not check and they ended up spent few hours just to wait for the weather to change. Try to arrange skydive activity on your first day in Queenstown and be flexible in case the weather is bad.
What is offered? Skydive Wanaka offers 3 options, 9000, 12000 and 15000 ft. I took the 15,000 ft package at $439 and camera flyer package (additional $229) so total cost was NZ$568.
Can I bring my GoPro or camera along? No, for safety reason. That's why they have different kinds of video and photo package.
What's the age limit and weight limit? No age limit at all, young child or old granny are welcome to jump if they are daring enough. The maximum weight is 100kg. I was asked to take my weight before the flight.
Any complimentary transport service from Queenstown? Yes, check Skydive Wanaka website for more details.
What if the weather is bad? Call 30 minutes before your booking time to check on weather condition. I read reviews on tripadvisor, some people did not check and they ended up spent few hours just to wait for the weather to change. Try to arrange skydive activity on your first day in Queenstown and be flexible in case the weather is bad.
What is offered? Skydive Wanaka offers 3 options, 9000, 12000 and 15000 ft. I took the 15,000 ft package at $439 and camera flyer package (additional $229) so total cost was NZ$568.
Can I bring my GoPro or camera along? No, for safety reason. That's why they have different kinds of video and photo package.
What's the age limit and weight limit? No age limit at all, young child or old granny are welcome to jump if they are daring enough. The maximum weight is 100kg. I was asked to take my weight before the flight.
My good looking tandem master. I don't remember his name.
How many fit in the plane? Everyone was suited and booted, sat on the floor with not much legroom. About 12 people in the plane including tandem masters and cameramen. The ride up was ok and incredibly beautiful. To my surprise, I was relatively calm and collected, but ... only at that point of time.
The last go in, the 1st jump out. Fortunately I was the 2nd in the queue to jump. I wouldn't want to be the last to see how others jumped out and screamed. As the altitude climbed, I lost my cool.
And Juuuuuuuuump!!!!
How does free fall feel like? The first few seconds was the most horrifying part of the whole experience. After a few seconds, I didn't feel like I was falling anymore but instead it felt like I was floating in an anti-gravity chamber.
How long is the free fall? Before I knew it, my dive partner pulled the parachute after 60 seconds of free fall and all the excitement was over. A minute of free fall was really short.
Safely back to the earth.
How's the landing? It was ok, not too hard. Overall it was an amazing experience.
How did I go back to Queenstown since I did not drive? Taxi again? No no no no .... I was lucky as one of the Skydive Wanaka staff got me a free ride from their colleague who was going to Queenstown as well. Sorry, I couldn't remember their name but I appreciate their kind offer. Thank you.
0 comments