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Taupo, New Zealand (Aotearoa)
38° 41' S 176° 4' E
Jun 18, 2008 06:52
Distance 312km

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Last chance to lose control...

Text written in: English

Well we were getting a bit bored of Taupo, having been there before. Twice. So we opted to do something a bit different, impulsive, reckless, dangerous and completely amazing...

We threw ourselves out of a plane at 15,000 feet.

And it was incredible. Seriously, it was the best feeling in the world. We simply can't put it into words. But I'll try. When you first get thrown out, you can't even register what's happening; it doesn't feel real at all. Sensory overload, they called it. Then suddenly you're aware that you're falling to the ground at 200kmph, but it doesn't really seem like you're going down at all; it's insane. The views are awesome. You can see for miles and miles. And Lake Taupo is big (like Spain). And we couldn't have asked for better weather. You kind of lose control of your face and when you try to move your arms it feels like you're in a swimming pool, but the pressure is way stronger, so it takes so much effort. And the wind just numbs your face and your ears feel like they're going to explode, but you don't care. You don't care about anything.

Then suddenly the parachute opens and you don't feel like you were freefalling for nearly long enough. (They promised 65seconds but it seems like 10...) And then everything's so peaceful. You're just drifting down to the ground and can really absorb the amazing views. And you have a little chat with your 'tandem master' and ask him where Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings is. It doesn't feel like you're going down. In fact, it feels like you're going upwards because it's so much slower than you were falling before.

When you land, you just feel like jelly, all shakey and wobbley. And the ground doesn't feel still, kind of like you're drunk.

It was just incredible.

We got the DVD, photos, T-shirt and everything. Well, why not?