Start – Taupo
Finish – Taupo
Daily Distance – 0 km
TA Distance – off-trail
The weather today has been as perfect as could be. Sun, barely any clouds and no more than a gentle
breeze. In short, the perfect weather to hurl yourself out of a plane, eek!
After impatiently kicking my heels until mid-morning the Taupo Tandem Skydiving stretch humvee
arrived to take me the short drive to the airport. I’m not quite sure why a limousine style humvee is
required, but it was certainly another new experience for the day. Sadly there was no champagne on ice as
a quick drink would have been rather welcome.
Transfer completed, each jumper was asked to choose their preferred jump height and any add-on
photo/video package desired. As this is a one-time only experience I was rather extravagant and opted to
jump from 15,000 ft, rather than 12,000. This difference equates to 60 seconds, rather than 45 seconds of
freefall, which I suppose is either a lot or really not much depending on how you look at it.
There was then perhaps a 30 minute wait watching other jumpers take off nervously and land looking
shell shocked, but elated. It was nice to see, but sitting/pacing around was doing nothing for my nerves.
Nerves aside, I was very impressed by how efficiently the whole operation worked. Tandem-masters who
had just landed seemed to be re-equipped and ready to jump again in no time. I didn’t think to ask at the
time how many jumps per day they perform, but I’m guessing between 8 and 10 on a fully booked day.
My turn to be suited up soon came and in the good hands of Adam, who naturally is from Coventry, I was
harnessed up and sporting a natty buff and leather flying helmet combo before I knew it.
Out on the tarmac, I met Andy who would be my cameraman and who seemed to take great pleasure in
shooting as many photos of me looking mildly terrified as possible. What a gent! In a passable impression
of how many students can fit in a mini, somehow 5 jumpers, 5 tandem masters and 2 cameramen
squeezed into the tiny plane that would take us on our short journey skywards. At this point I think we
were all feeling rather more excited than scared as the adrenaline started to build. The loud rushing of
wind precluded asking the question, but when the jump door opened, I suspect it wasn’t just me who was
met by a cold dose of reality. Shuffling forward to sit in the doorway with my legs hanging out of the
plane was an act that my body was definitely telling me was a bad idea for my continued good health.
Just as I distracted telling my body to shut up, Adam shuffled us both out of the door. I would like to
report that in the moment, I was up to the task of uttering some cool, dry quip, but unless one counts
“geurk!” as qualifying, I may well have fallen short. The first 5-10 seconds are a total blank for every 1st
timer it seems and I am no exception. With the huge increase in stimulus going from sitting to falling, it
seems that the brain shuts down for a short period while it gets a handle on things. As soon as that passes
through it is an excilerating and oddly invulnerable feeling, which is over all too quickly with the sudden
deceleration of the parachute being deployed. After that it’s a few minutes of gentle circling and you’re
back down on the ground. Having landed, I could finally appreciate the speechless, but exuberant looks
people had been sporting earlier.
Safely back to Terra Firma, I found a major flaw in the operation. No matter how pure or spring fed your
water is, it is no acceptable alternative to a cup of sweet tea for an Englishman attempting to regain his
customary stoic equilibrium. That out of the way, I am so glad for the experience today. Being decidedly
uncomfortable with heights it was nerve wracking, but a real rush that will be very hard to match and in
such a beautiful location.
The rest of the day has been occupied with buying food for the next 7 days of walking, organising
transport to the beginning of the track and playing cards with my dorm mates Jack and Bill (a good half
of people in Taupo seem to be English and half of all those seem to be from Leeds!). It will be a 05:45
pick-up tomorrow, so an early night is on the cards.
