Then there is sky diving...
i thought this was bound to be worse than bungy jumping. Laura was
sweet enough to pay for it (that was the only way i was going bungy
jumping... and sky diving was my highschool graduation gift...) Since
laura paid, we did the highest jump available... 15,000feet. ...
I had no idea what the distances meant, only that the higher the
distance the longer the fall.. and if your falling for 30secs, why not
fall for 60secs right? We showed up for the informational, sell you
more stuff meeting and sign "knowledge of consent" or something like
that... basically it wasn't a waiver, because you can't sue anyone in
New Zealand... it was pretty much a piece of paper stating "I realize
what i am doing is stupid, i could die, and i'm happy with that
choice... ohh yeah and i'm paying a ton of money for this
experience"... seriously, that's what you're signing, its no more than
a page long. But then comes the piece of paper for the 15,000feet
jump... little did i know that you get to suck on oxygen when you jump
this high. It sounds simple enough, but the list of precautions went
through the roof, and the mere thought of sucking on oxygen with my
tiny asthmatic lungs gave me a bit of a startle... never the less,
with the little sis sitting next to me, i went ahead and signed the
waiver.
the bus driver taking us to the jump site was great... a total kiwi,
soooo cute! sooo blonde... she failed her driving test three times in
new zealand until she promised the instructor favors if he passed her.
being the idiot that he was, he passed her. i'm sure he was never
repaid... nevertheless this is what she told us as she was driving us
to the site, on a scary two lane narrow road.
we arrived, and were instantly geared up and the first ones in the
planes, nothing like not having a chance to back out. i got this great
little russian guy, barely spoke english, but was awesome. we jumped
in the tiny plane, three jumpers, three instructors, and three camera
men, we were all sitting on each other's laps, there was no room left
in the plane. As we ascended, i watched the instructor's altitude
watches, like a second grader in math class watching the second hand
slowly pass around the clock.
13,000feet... out come the oxygen masks... this is the point where i'm
getting a bit delusional and thinking twice about all the precautions
listed on the waiver that i signed.... damn, should have read them a
bit closer... what did it say about asthmatics again?!
15,000feet, the door opens, out goes the first camera man, and the
first pair of jumpers. and i'm thinking.. Ohh shit this IS going to
happen... but i'm half high on altitude and oxygen, so why not!... out
i go, free falling and flipping for 60seconds. During this 60seconds,
the guide opens a small chute to keep us from flipping and now the
camera man is floating in front of me trying to get pictures... good
luck buddy!!... i'm enjoying this view and trying to remember how to
breath.... breath, breath, ohh yeah, open mouth and let air come in...
so i open my mouth, falling at god knows what speed and go figure, my
lips peeled back to my ears, and the wind just fills my mouth with
air, but nothing is going to the lungs... for some stupid reason i try
breathing through my mouth for a bit longer. Then i try breathing
through my nose, which believe it or not is pretty congested... and i
remember the warning about congested noses, and having any sort of
congestion... shit! i'm going to die, or at least pass out... which
i'm sure will give the camera man great pictures to take. to my
surprise i can breath through my nose... and now its time to make
faces for the camera man... i'll save those surprises for later.
once that part was over, the main chute was pulled, and it was just an
amazing view from there. i pretty much sat in a harness and let my
guide do fun little circles in the air, while i enjoyed the view....
what a view!!! beautiful, city free, mountains and clouds, just
amazing.
when we landed, i was ecstatic! i wanted to go again and again!.. the
camera man was still taking pictures and i instantly grabbed hold of
my guide, gave him a huge hug and made sure he was in the picture. my
new best friend =)
the pictures had to be mailed to us, but with any luck they took at
least one picture of me with my lips peeled back to my ears. =)
Cheers!
i thought this was bound to be worse than bungy jumping. Laura was
sweet enough to pay for it (that was the only way i was going bungy
jumping... and sky diving was my highschool graduation gift...) Since
laura paid, we did the highest jump available... 15,000feet. ...
I had no idea what the distances meant, only that the higher the
distance the longer the fall.. and if your falling for 30secs, why not
fall for 60secs right? We showed up for the informational, sell you
more stuff meeting and sign "knowledge of consent" or something like
that... basically it wasn't a waiver, because you can't sue anyone in
New Zealand... it was pretty much a piece of paper stating "I realize
what i am doing is stupid, i could die, and i'm happy with that
choice... ohh yeah and i'm paying a ton of money for this
experience"... seriously, that's what you're signing, its no more than
a page long. But then comes the piece of paper for the 15,000feet
jump... little did i know that you get to suck on oxygen when you jump
this high. It sounds simple enough, but the list of precautions went
through the roof, and the mere thought of sucking on oxygen with my
tiny asthmatic lungs gave me a bit of a startle... never the less,
with the little sis sitting next to me, i went ahead and signed the
waiver.
the bus driver taking us to the jump site was great... a total kiwi,
soooo cute! sooo blonde... she failed her driving test three times in
new zealand until she promised the instructor favors if he passed her.
being the idiot that he was, he passed her. i'm sure he was never
repaid... nevertheless this is what she told us as she was driving us
to the site, on a scary two lane narrow road.
we arrived, and were instantly geared up and the first ones in the
planes, nothing like not having a chance to back out. i got this great
little russian guy, barely spoke english, but was awesome. we jumped
in the tiny plane, three jumpers, three instructors, and three camera
men, we were all sitting on each other's laps, there was no room left
in the plane. As we ascended, i watched the instructor's altitude
watches, like a second grader in math class watching the second hand
slowly pass around the clock.
13,000feet... out come the oxygen masks... this is the point where i'm
getting a bit delusional and thinking twice about all the precautions
listed on the waiver that i signed.... damn, should have read them a
bit closer... what did it say about asthmatics again?!
15,000feet, the door opens, out goes the first camera man, and the
first pair of jumpers. and i'm thinking.. Ohh shit this IS going to
happen... but i'm half high on altitude and oxygen, so why not!... out
i go, free falling and flipping for 60seconds. During this 60seconds,
the guide opens a small chute to keep us from flipping and now the
camera man is floating in front of me trying to get pictures... good
luck buddy!!... i'm enjoying this view and trying to remember how to
breath.... breath, breath, ohh yeah, open mouth and let air come in...
so i open my mouth, falling at god knows what speed and go figure, my
lips peeled back to my ears, and the wind just fills my mouth with
air, but nothing is going to the lungs... for some stupid reason i try
breathing through my mouth for a bit longer. Then i try breathing
through my nose, which believe it or not is pretty congested... and i
remember the warning about congested noses, and having any sort of
congestion... shit! i'm going to die, or at least pass out... which
i'm sure will give the camera man great pictures to take. to my
surprise i can breath through my nose... and now its time to make
faces for the camera man... i'll save those surprises for later.
once that part was over, the main chute was pulled, and it was just an
amazing view from there. i pretty much sat in a harness and let my
guide do fun little circles in the air, while i enjoyed the view....
what a view!!! beautiful, city free, mountains and clouds, just
amazing.
when we landed, i was ecstatic! i wanted to go again and again!.. the
camera man was still taking pictures and i instantly grabbed hold of
my guide, gave him a huge hug and made sure he was in the picture. my
new best friend =)
the pictures had to be mailed to us, but with any luck they took at
least one picture of me with my lips peeled back to my ears. =)
Cheers!
Marcus
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