Weekend in Wanaka

Highlight of this weekend- Skydiving! I must admit I was completely terrified while we were waiting to get ready, but as soon as I met my jump buddy Mack I knew it was going to be great! He was really friendly and explained everything about the jump and told me the two most important things were #1 Stay in freefall position throughout the freefall and #2 Have fun! He walked me out to the plane and told me we were jumping last out of the five groups that would be riding in the plane with us. I was a little nervous to have to watch everyone else go before my jump, but thought it was better than going first. It was a little awkward being literally strapped to a complete stranger and then basically sitting on his lap the entire time in our plane ride, but it was very reassuring to know that he was there. As we flew up to the right altitude he pointed out different things such as Mount Cook, the two lakes and the river that were all in view. He also showed me where we would be landing. From the height we were at at the time, it looked like about a 2 inch area. As we were flying I just kept wondering how high 12,000 feet was going to be, but then before I knew it people started jumping. I didn't even see Tasia jump because she went so fast. It was like one second they were sitting at the edge and then they just disappeared. By far the best part of the jump is the first 5 or 6 seconds when you're falling so fast and its just completely exhilarating. After this they let you open your arms out and fall for about 40 more seconds and then Mack pulled the parachute cord. After he pulled the cord he released a few of the straps on my harness and he told me, "Ok now I'm gonna let you go." Not a very funny joke when we were still that far up in the air. We floated to the ground fairly quickly and then the landing was really easy. The entire thing went way to fast! I'm so glad we all made the jump. It is definitely going to be a highlight from our entire time here. I can't wait to go again sometime!