Thursday, June 14, 2007

The One with Falling from 14,000 ft

So I find myself back in New South Wales, in the very beautiful Byron Bay, and I suddenly wish that I hadn't bothered to stop in Surfers at all!

With clear blue skies, I decide to sign up for my skydive so that I don't change my mind or have a sleepless night panicing about it.

Randomly, I have a weird sense of calm as I sit on the bus. I have a few butterflies, but by the time I'm given my trousers and am being harnassed up, I'm starting to get very excited indeed!

My Instructor is called Dave and is from Skeggy. He's a real laugh, telling me it's his first jump, and lots of other bad jokes. There are four of us jumping from 14,000 feet, 2 Irish girls and a brazilian girl. So there are 12 of us in the back of this plane (4 instructors, 4 camera men and 4 victims!).

We take off and I'm no longer worried, I'm just enjoying the view. We can see the Humpback Whales migrating even from up here, and it's such a beautiful day. Just as i think that we can't possibly go any higher, I'm told we're half way up!!!!

Finally we reach the optimum height and one by one the pairs shuffle forward on their bottoms to the edge of the plane. It's an odd sensation being this high in a plane with the door open! We go last so I watch 3 other pairs of lemmings drop from the sky before it's my turn, and I'm really excited!

We dangle our legs and before I know it we're in the air.

It's a strange sensation. You don't feel like you're falling, more like your suspended, and yet the feeling of the windrush on your face, (and up your nose - which hurts like if you dive into a swimming pool and get water up your nose) tells you that you're not. I think the sheer elation in this photo tells it all.




I free fall for 70 seconds and then the canopy is opened. Dave, my instructor, goes a bit mad with the aero display, and I lose my stomach several times over as we swoop around. And then, before we know it we're landing. The most amazing experience!!!

It's hard to top, but the next day H and I do a really nice walk in the sun up to the light house.

We pass the most Easternly point in Australia, see pods of Dolphins, and some more migrating whales, and just enjoy the view of the bay itself. It's a shame we don;t have more time to stay here. I love it!

But we're back on the Greyhound bus for the last time as it winds it's way back to Sydney.

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