Well Wollongong...
It's a beach town situated about 1-2 hours south of Sydney.
Skydiving is something I've always considered. It was the top choice (for me at least) when asked if I'd bunjee or Skydive. I said skydive every time and never even considered bunjee jumping during my travels. To be honest I never thought I'd get the chance.
however...
That's right, I've fallen out of a plane at 15,000 feet!
How I ended up doing it was not as I planned, I wanted to Skydive in New Zealnd originally.
One of our housemates was turning 21 and thought it would be a good idea to go Skydiving at possibly the highest freefall in Australia. Wollongong: 15,000 feet
This was way sooner than I expected but how could I say no.
The build up was quite intense. One week away I said to myself "this time next week I'll be jumping out of a plane".
Then just under a week later it was more like "this time tomorrow I'll be jumping out a plane!"
Both of those combined with a bit more research and watching the jump on Youtube really got my heart going. It didn't help that we had a house party the night before...
Deapite this, we were all in a good (ish) condition to jump:
Then the day came and I wasn't nervous at all. Probably because I was still not believing what I was about to do. That was until we arrived and watched the jumpers before us fall from the sky at 100 miles per hour.
"That'll be me in a minute" I thought.
Then it was our turn, I knew once you get in the plane there's no turning back. This was the first time I'd been a plane facing backwards (yes the seat was backwards). I'd never been in a such a small plane before. Since the aircraft had no seats, we all sat on the floor. It was as if they hadn't finished building it and I felt like I was in some sort of rowing boat team! 😅
This all added to the experience.
And the views!
When I said Sydney had alot of beaches in my other blog I wasn't kidding.
The whole time I was being filmed, talking to my instructor, I said to him I was trying to elliminate my fear of heights to which he responded "don't worry, I'm scared of heights too."
Great 😕
5 minutes till jump
I laughed and assumed it was another one of his jokes. "Really?" I said. "Then why do you skydive?" He simply replied;
"You're about to find out."
Then it was my turn to jump.
3 seconds later...
Another 3 seconds
(yes I was falling sideways)
Then I felt a tap on the shoulder, it was the signal to put my arms out.
From that moment on I felt like I was flying. I could see for miles as the sky was so clear and was amazed by the view as I fell through the clouds.
Then roughly 60 seconds later...
Sykdiving is an unbelievable experience, an absolute must if you get the chance. Don't listen to the naysayers. Don't listen to the people that haven't experienced it, nor to people who have done it and found it terrifying because it's not.
Its pure bliss
Honestly I know I look terrified in some of the photoes but I was more amazed than anything. The ground is so far away your eye's can't really register you closing the distance so the ground appears to be getting closer at a very slow rate.
Think about it. When your in an airoplane at high altitude and look out the window, it's as if the plane is barely moving. Well it's the same when you freefall, only vertically.
Skydive Myths
You can't breath - What utter bullshit, you can breath just fine. It's like having a cold hairdrier been blown in your face. A little anoying at the most.
It's dangerous - It's extremelly safe, you have more chance getting run over crossing the road every day of your life. Think about it.
It's terrifying - Nope, it really isn't.
Lastly, I want to thank my instructor for such an awasome experience.
Thanks mate 😎🤙
If you want to watch the video, I have a new Youtube channel where you can view it here here
FEAR
Forget Everything And Run
...or...
Face Everything And Rise
It's your choice...
What are you waiting for? 😉