SKYDIVING!!!!!!!!

In case it isn't incredibly clear from the title of this post. We made the BIG decision today tooooooooo GO SKYDIVING!!!!!!

We woke up and were eating breakfast when Jon looked and me and said - "I think we just gotta go for it."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Our first stop after breakfast was to the reception area where we asked our friend behind the counter to book us two spots. She called Taupo Skydiving and told us they had a 12 o'clock jump with our name on it. It was official!!

We checked out of our site at 10 and drove into town, parked along the lovely Lake Taupo, and ate our lunch in our van as we watched several people compete in the "Hole in One Challenge" on Lake Taupo. Basically there is a putting green about 100 meters out on the lake that people try to get a hole in one on. Looked more than a little challenging (and in about an hour we saw only one guy even hit the green!) After (nervously) watching, it was finally time for us to drive to Skydive Taupo.

We got to the jump location around 11:30 andddddd saw some skydivers coming back in!!

The before picture!

Landing safely!

Ahhhhhh that's gonna be us!!!!!!

How exciting (and a little bit terrifying to watch!) Although I'm not gonna lie, it made me feel better to see that so many people were landing safely! :)

We entered the facility, filled out a bunch of paperwork, and began our wait until 12 (we had to wait for several more jumpers who hadn't yet arrived.)

It was a long wait. When you're waiting to jump out of a plane, I think most waits are long.

The rest of the group finally arrived and then it was time to make even more decisions - what kind of photos/video did we want, and how high did we want to go? For photos, we could choose from a handheld camera (which would be controlled by our jump guide (aka the person we would be strapped to), or "freefall", which would have someone else dive before us and video us during the whole jump. For height we could choose from 12,000 feet or 15,000 feet. We were told the difference was about 20 seconds more of freefall, but that everyone always wished they had more time in the air.

So our final decision?

Handheld at 15,000 feet!!!!!

After we made our decisions we were given our plane assignments. Jon and I were in the first plane ride. Thank goodness because I'm not sure I could have handled the anticipation for even longer!

We were sent to the area right before the tarmac where we were given special suits for jumping and safety equipment (woo woo!) There, we also met our jump guides - Kieran matched with Jon and Amos for me!

Our guides gave us a brief rundown of what we could expect, did a few snippets of video interviews with us, and then it was time to board the plane!!

The plane was BY FAR the smallest plane that Jon had ever been in in his life. I had been in a smaller plane only once (when Gee and I had learned how to fly a plane last summer!) Still - SUPER tiny plane! As I got ready to board I realized... I was going to be the one sitting right by the open door...aka I was going to be the first one out of the plane! GAH!!!!

We all got situated on the plane with our guides seated behind us, and Amos and I were sitting right by the open door...which proceeded to stay open until we were already in the air and he finally shut it! WHEW! Once the plane doors were shut was when I think it actually began to hit me. We were going to be jumping out of a freaking PLANE!!! We headed further and further up in the air, and Amos and Kieran kept showing us (via their altitude watches) how high in the air we were. SO HIGH!

Luckily, there were BEAUTIFUL views to distract us as we contemplated how we were soon going to be plummeting to the Earth...

It was SO GORGEOUS! It didn't make me any less nervous seeing the beauty, but it was a nice perk of the small plane and sitting right next to the large Plexiglas door :). During the flight our guides interviewed us again for our videos and our nerves crept higher and higher! Before we knew it, we were at 15,000 feet and it was time!!!!!

Jess' perspective:
I am SO GLAD that I was the first jumper out of the plane. I think my nerves would have just kept building and building if I had been further back!

Yes, that is sheer terror you see on my face.

When it was time to go, Amos opened the hatch and I sat in front of him with my legs dangling out of the plane. I then leaned back with my head up (kinda like in a banana shape).

He then pushed us off and we were flying!!

Skydiving is quite a surreal experience. It is honestly difficult to find the words to describe it. There were a few thoughts that came to my head.

First: Panic

As in, OMG WHAT AM I DOING. Luckily, this only lasts about 3 seconds. Also good because it's a little hard to breath during this part since you are in a panic mode and not used to hurtling through the sky towards the Earth!

The next thought is: Awe

My hands say "Hi Mom and Dad" and "I <3 U!"

As in, what an INCREDIBLE experience. As soon as the initial shock of falling out a plane was over, the next 45 seconds basically consisted of looking around at the BEAUTIFUL vista and not being able to believe how amazing it all was.

Taupo is just GORGEOUS and we are SO lucky that we were able to skydive here. Between the views of the plains and the mountains and Lake Taupo right beneath you, the vista was surreal. During this part (as you can see in my video if you ever get a chance to watch it) I just have this goofy grin on my face THE WHOLE TIME as I stare in awe at the world around me (or rather, I should say, at the world coming closer to me by the nanosecond.)

The next experience is: Relief

As soon as the parachute was pulled open, I definitely breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. It's not that I actually thought anything bad was going to happen (there were FAR too many other thoughts racing through my brain throughout the entire experience), but rather just KNOWING that my chute had opened was, ya know, comforting :).

(Amos also helped me out by pointing out Jon so I could watch as his parachute opened too. That made me feel even better!)

The next thought was: NOOOOO

As in, I DON'T WANT THIS TO END!! Let's go back up and do it again! As soon as the chute was open and I knew we were safe, the next three minutes were just an incredible swirl around the world. Amos gave me the reigns and I was allowed to pull us left and right in order to see the views as we watched the entire world go by.

Seriously, breathtaking. All I kept saying to him was, "THIS IS SO AMAZING. I ALREADY WANT TO GO AGAIN. I DON'T WANT TO GO DOWN!"

Upon landing: Shock

Honestly, the shock that I had finally crossed skydiving off my bucket list, the shock that I'd made it down in one piece, the shock that I had LOVED it so much, and just the overall adrenaline pumping through me.

Skydiving was AMAZING. Seriously. One of the most unique and incredible experiences of my life. I am SO GLAD we listened to the guide at the beginning who said we should jump from the highest point we could afford (so 15,000 feet instead of 12,000), which gave us an additional 20 or so seconds of freefall. I wouldn't have wanted the experience to be any shorter than it already was. Skydiving was magical, incredible, awe-inspiring, and unbelievable, all in one. I'm already looking forward to my next jump :).

Jon's perspective:

Skydiving is pretty incredible.  It took me a while to build up the courage to throw myself out of a plane but I am glad I did it. To me skydiving was all about conquering my fear of heights. I've always been afraid of heights so this was a big step for me, but as Skydive Taupo says, "Fear is temporary, achievement is permanent." By the time we got in the plane I wasn't nervous anymore. Until the door opened and my wife flew out!

The feeling when you first jump out is unlike anything you can really describe, but once your body adjusts to the falling it's a pretty incredible view! It took me about 10 seconds to be able to breathe, but once I was able to breathe I felt on top of the world. Literally.

Jon's hands say "Sorry Ma!"

The free fall was shorter than expected and once we pulled the parachute I was really able to take in all the views. Flying the parachute myself was not my favorite thing, and I was happy to hand the reigns back to Kieran as he guided us safely to the ground.

It was an incredible experience, one that I may do again sometime in the future (sorry, Mom! But don't worry - I won't tell you until after I'm safely on the ground again!)

I recommend anyone who has a fear of heights skydive at least once in your life because it was a great feeling of accomplishment once you're on the ground.

Our "post dive" picture!

After skydiving we were on a SERIOUS adrenaline high! How could you not be?!?? We waited around Skydive Taupo for a few minutes as they finished up our videos, and then had the IMMENSE pleasure of watching Jon's video on the big screen (with an audience of others who had been in our plane). SO FUN TO WATCH. Seriously - Jon's video is much funnier than mine - I hope you all get to see it one day :-p. After watching his we gathered up our stuff and used the free wi-fi onsite to call our families and tell them what a crazy morning we'd had. My parents weren't all that surprised (can you blame them after all the crazy phone calls they've received from me in the past? "Hey, can you send me my passport, I'm going to Romania in two weeks." "Hi Mom and Dad, I'm moving to Central America." "Hey guys, I just went bungee jumping." I feel like they might be used to them at this point? :-p). Jon's parents, however, were QUITE surprised that he had gone through with it. Eleanor even said I was getting one less Christmas present this year. I'm not really sure that's fair - it was Jon, after all, who made the final decision - I didn't PUSH him out of the plane :-p.

After talking to our family for a while we made our way back to Lake Taupo to give our brains a few minutes to catch up with the awesomeness that had just occurred.

The whole time we were there we were continuously saying to each other:

"Dude, we just jumped out of a PLANE."

and

"Hey babe, remember that time we went skydiving?"

and

"Holy geez I can't believe we just went SKYDIVING."

This continued for probably about an hour before we realized there were other things we actually wanted to do while in Taupo...but we didn't know what yet :-p. So we wandered into town and met with our friends at one of our favorite places - the information center! The woman at the desk told us that if we were looking for something fun we should head to Huka Falls (a small waterfall near a public park), and then to the hot/cold river. Sounds good to us!

We wandered around town for a bit longer and then headed first to a campsite for the night (to make sure we knew where it was and that there was plenty of parking), and then to the falls. We parked the car and walked around, still in awe of what we had just done, but also now in awe of the beautiful, crystal clear blue water at the falls.

The water was gorgeous and looked SO inviting (despite the rushing current which actually was not at all inviting). Other than, ya know, the crazy strong rapids, it looked so clean and pretty! After walking around for a bit we made our way to our next stop - the hot and cold river!

As previously mentioned, the North Island of New Zealand has a LOT of geothermal activity, which results in a LOT of hot springs. Many hotels and spas have taken advantage of this, offering paid pools you can go swimming in, but there are also several public locations where you can enjoy the springs for free - huzzah! One of these places is known as the "hot and cold river".

The river water, which flows through Huka Falls, is fairly chilly. Underneath a bridge the river meets with a geothermal hot spring, where water, probably close to 100 degrees Fahrenheit, flows over rocks. The swimming hole is where the two meet, creating quite a unique experience for swimmers, where parts of your body are enveloped in cold water, and parts are covered in hot water. It was such a weird and cool (and hot!) experience!

We got in the water and were shocked to quickly discover the temperature changes, with our cold feet, lukewarm stomachs, and near hot tub temperature necks and arms. So strange! As you'd sit in the water, the currents would change and different body parts would feel different temperatures. Definitely something to be experienced!

After the pools we wandered around the park a bit - such a pretty place with tons of bike and running trails - our kinda place! We also talked about what a wonderful place Taupo is - TONS of outdoor public spaces, along with a variety of outdoor activities (hiking, biking, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, paddle boarding, camping, etc. etc.) and such amazing weather. If we were ever to move to New Zealand...in say... 5 years... (;-)) I could definitely see us here (if we're not already in Melbourne!)

After the park we decided to, instead of staying in Taupo for the night, get a head start on our journey to Napier, a small town on the East Coast of the North Island...and then ended up driving all the way there. We arrived after nightfall, which made it more than a little difficult to find the campsite we were looking for. Lots of campsites are well marked, with signs saying where you can and can't park, others aren't so great with their signs, or aren't located EXACTLY where they say they are, so they're more difficult to find. After searching for 3 different campsites we could only find one of them. Fortunately, it was the one overlooking the beach on the water :). We were lucky to find the last spot available for the night (WHEW because I'm not sure what we would have done!) We parked the car, ate leftovers for dinner, and settled in for the night.

Looking forward to enjoying Napier and the beach tomorrow :)

Jess' and Jon's highlight of the day: SKYDIVING!!!!!!!!!!!!