What it Feels Like to Skydive

Yep, you read that one correctly. I’ve always said that when I went to Australia, I wanted to skydive. I don’t think anyone actually believed I would though.

Well after doing some research and comparing prices and companies, I decided that I would finally do it this weekend while I was in Byron Bay with 2 of my friends. I even managed to keep my life threatening adventure plans a secret from almost everyone. However, after coming back to Newcastle all of my friends at Uni all asked the same question: what does it actually fell like to skydive? So I thought I would write about it so all of my faithful blog readers could also know.

Only 45 minutes after we stepped off of our 11-hour bus ride, we were picked up at our hostel by a Skydive Byron Bay van. It was about 75 degrees and sunny, so I don’t think we could have picked a more beautiful day to skydive. It only took about 15 minutes to get out to the site, and I spent those 15 minutes filling out a few short forms and signing my life away so that if I died they wouldn’t be held responsible…

So after we arrived we first paid (ouch!) and then got suited up. They gave us these funny looking clown pants that we had to wear and then strapped us into all the skydiving gear. We then met 3 other backpackers who were going to be going up in the plane with us. The two girls were from Scotland and the guy was from England. They were all 18 years old and traveling for 6 months before starting Uni. They actually all met each other while they were traveling in Thailand and decided to travel Australia together. So they were cool to talk with while we were waiting and it was good to have other people our age going with us.

We then each got paired up with our skydive leaders (aka the guy on my back). My guy was BJ and he was super fun and really nice. Then finally we got our skydiving “training.” I really was expecting training to be like half an hour but in actuality it was only about 3 minutes long. Really all they had to tell us what to do right before jumping out of the plane and what to do during the landing, so there wasn’t too much to remember because BJ would take care of the rest.

Within a few minutes all 12 of us were crammed into a tiny plane and bouncing towards the runway. I can’t say I was too nervous. I was expecting to be heaps nervous, but I really wasn’t at all. I think it helped that none of my fellow 5 skydivers were nervous or freaking out in the plane. The plane ride up was extremely peaceful. They took us out over the ocean and then turned around and went back to the coast. It took about 15 minutes until we were at the right height and ready to go. The peace was broken in the last minute in the plane when abruptly all the skydive leaders were strapping onto us and throwing goggles over our eyes.

At that point everything was happening so fast that I had no time to think. Then suddenly I heard the words “DOOR OPEN!” and I got a huge gust of wind in my face as they slid open the side door. I was third in line to go. We didn’t plan it out, it all just depended on the order we got into the plane. Within seconds of the door opening the first girl just wasn’t in the plane any more. Then within the next 5 seconds my friend Amber wasn’t in the plane anymore. I gotta say, it’s a weird thing to see your friend fall out of a plane. Then finally it was my turn. Me and BJ edged to the door and before I knew it my feet were dangling 14,00 feet from the ground. About 2 seconds later BJ slid us out of the airplane and we started to fall to the ground.

The sensation of first falling out of the airplane was completely unexpected. I can’t really compare it to anything because I’ve never felt anything like it before. It was much different from any rollercoaster, because you truly are weightless. Your stomach leaves you for a second. We reached terminal velocity within seconds and I was falling at about 120 miles per hour. The one thing that was completely unexpected for me was actually how cold the incredible amount of wind was. I was pretty warm before we got into the plane and thought about not wearing my jumper, but decided to just keep it on, and thank God I did because the wind was freezing. The sensation of wind in my face was like nothing else. Wind was forced into every part of my body and face. You can tell by looking at my pictures just how ridiculous my hair looks sticking straight up (even thought I pinned it down before!!).

From 14,000 feet you freefall for about 60 seconds, but it literally felt like maybe 10 seconds. Originally I wanted to jump from 8,000 feet because it was cheaper, but then I figured go big or go home, right? After the experience, I’m really glad I choose to do the 14,000. At about 5,000 feet BJ pulled the parachute, which really jerked me and actually kinda hurt a little bit. After 60 seconds of extreme freefalling, the parachute ride down to the earth was extremely peaceful. I had the time of my life just taking in the beautiful scenery. Byron Bay has the most easterly point of land in Australia, so that was awesome to see as well. The landing was soft; the whole experience was incredible. It truly is the ultimate adrenaline rush. I really don’t think I could have picked a better location to skydive.

So to anyone who’s ever thought about skydiving, my advice: DO IT! Yeah, it costs a lot of money, and yeah it’s kinda scary and life threatening, but it honesty is a once in a lifetime experience and I guarantee you won’t regret it. I’m currently trying to figure out my next extreme adventure…maybe bunjee jumping or white water rafting? We’ll see…..

I have much more to share about my epic weekend in Byron Bay; however, I must finish a paper before. Check back soon. Skydiving pictures soon to come.

Cheers!