If I have wings, I could fly...

Day 4- Honeymoon

The drive from Rotorua to Taupo was a buffer to calm our nerves for what’s to come. We had called to book us slots to dive from 12000ft from an airplane – yes! it’s sky diving. Given the fact that a professional will practically do most of the work whilst you are strapped onto to him doesn’t discount the fact that it’s pretty darn high to be plunging down.

We chose Taupo Tandem Sky Dive as our operator and paid NZ$219 each. They got us geared up in long red jumpers, harness, belts, sky beanies and eye shields. Wasting no time at all they walked us through some simple instructions and ushered us into the jet plane with our professional divers. Positioned steadily on the run way was a tiny little jet plane with a flimsy looking see through sliding door that opened up for our entry. About 10 of us piled into that plane and the door casually shut.

You need this harness to jump! Or else...

Doing the jump before 'THE' jump!

At 8000ft my heart was already beating like crazy. I couldn’t hold onto Terence’s hands since he was way at the back. I later found out that he was also trying to psyche himself for the jump! At 11000ft, I was thinking to myself “I gotta be crazy, is there a chance for me to change my mind?” Too late, my diver (Patrik) whispered into my ear “This is it, are you ready?” He gave me some final instructions and signaled me to move towards the door. Within seconds my camera man (a hired diver) motioned a thumbs up and we were OUT! *Silence* Then it was screams all the way as I felt my heart leap out of my body and I was just falling. The camera man in front of me made me do silly gestures, made me smile at the camera and wiggle my fingers – all I could think of was, I need to fall in style, so this is my only chance!

At 5000ft the parachute was released and instantly from a horizontal position we were flung back up into an instant vertical position. It was no longer flying because I felt we were flying. The parachute looked immense as it towered over us, Patrik glided us above the waters then onto the mountains, he made a 360 degree swoop around showing off Taupo’s stunning scenery. Everything looked so small from above, the cars looked like toys, even the jet plane looked puny. As we glided onto the runway, the parachute gently rested us back on land. Terence came gliding in a few seconds later with a pure surge of adrenaline written over his face. We were ecstatic and still in awe at the madness we put ourselves through just to see NZ at a different perspective.

I have wings and I can fly!

Worth every penny paid?! Absolutely! We’ve got photos and a DVD to refresh our memory of that moment where we allowed ourselves to fly!

Us and our tandem master divers

Anxiety creeping in

Video of us flying down the sky:

After surviving the plummet, we drove to Tangariro National Park (TNP) where the famous Mt. Ruapehu stands fiercely staring from afar. Fans of ‘Lord of the Rings’ will quickly identify this structure as Mount Mordor where Gandalf made his descent. We arrived at TNP a little after 3pm and decided to take a short hike into Taranaki Falls. The hike took us 2 hours climbing across wild bush lands overlooking majestic mountains, crossing several tiny streams and into alpine forests. The climb then slowly descended into a gorge where the Taranaki Falls lay hidden.

Us steady on the hike

A little bit more and I'd touch the clouds!

Behind us, a picturesque landscape!

Wise thinking geared us with a stove, mess cans, cutlery and fresh food. After all the years of camping and outdoor skills, we owe it to nature to cook ourselves a meal in a place like this! Simple but delicious, we fired up some ham, capsicum and mixed herbs. Needless to the meal was priceless. We got back to our cars just before the last glimpses of sun bit us goodbye.

Cooking our meals with Taranaki Falls as the backdrop

Ham, chicken pieces, capsicum and mixed herbs never tasted so good!

We'd figure it's good to to share a little of this infamous town of the North Island of NZ - Taupo. It is soaking in a geothermal pool or jet boating on a raging river. This town is made out from years of volcanic activity, hence making it very unique. It's very rugged (much to our liking) and rich in history, beautiful and accessible. Taupo has the largest commercial tandem skydive drop zone in the world. Between the three skydive operations, over 35,000 jumps happen here, every year! You will not miss the great Huka Falls, as you enter Taupo, and here's some pictures we took (at Huka and along Taupo), earlier in the morning before our 12,000 feet jump!

The majestic Huka Falls

Gazing at the lovely falls

By Lake Taupo

As the sun settles

Quack the Deb!