Skydiving needs no introduction. It’s always been an extreme activity that’s top of most people’s bucket lists. The thought of being thrown off a plane at 12,000-15,000 feet and free falling to the ground is something that either excites scares the hell out of me. Is skydiving really worth the hype?
Verdict: The sensation of free-falling is simply indescribable. It’s a feeling you can’t experience in any other type of activity and will linger on for a while. In short, this is a must try activity – with a reputable operator that has a good track record.
Bucket list rating: 5/5
Cost: 5/5
First things first. I nearly shit my pants before my tandem skydive. The night before my scheduled skydiving session, I couldn’t even sleep. I did what I shouldn’t have done at all and started Googling the risks of skydiving. A few things were obvious from my research. The risk of a fatal accident from skydiving is lower than a traffic accident. Some research say that if you make one jump a year, your chance of dying is 1 in 100,000. I mean, even a 94 year old did it. But then again, this still means that there will be skydiving deaths.
Unsatisfied, I went on deep into the night to research causes of tandem skydive accidents and self-rescue. There could be different causes, such as parachute malfunction and delays in launching the parachute. I even came across one past incident where the tandem master fainted after launching the parachute, and the tandem diver took control of the toggles to land safely.
Flooded with information, I accepted that this was all a matter of chance. The only thing I could ever control was to choose a reputable operator. I could have skydived in Tanzania, Dubai, US etc, but in the end I thought New Zealand was safest. While I’m careful not to recommend any particular operator, I stuck with Nzone because it’s track record and history seemed reasonable, apart from a recent accident with its instructors.
After a couple of postponements due to bad weather, the day of reckoning finally came.
Because of cost reasons, I chose a skydive from 12,000 feet rather than 15,000 feet. In hindsight, 15,000 feet would be a better choice because you get a minute of freefall as compared to 45 seconds of freefall with the 12,000 feet. More on this later.
Upon reaching Nzone’s skydiving center in Queenstown, I was asked to fill in the usual disclaimer sheet (which obviously releases Nzone of all liability in case of accident) and the camera package I wanted. Don’t even think about suing Nzone if there’s an accident – just make sure you get a travel insurance package that covers skydiving. The more important decision to make here is the camera package. It is very very pricy. But if I was to do skydiving once, I may as well blow my budget. I ended up getting the most expensive package, which included another cameraman diving alongside you and taking a video. This basically doubled the cost of my jump. But, in hindsight, it was money well spent as the basic handicam pictures itself didn’t do justice to the jump.
I was then taken to the dropzone outside Queenstown by Nzone’s shuttle. There, I met my tandem master, Peter, and my cameraman, Luke. I promptly dressed up in my jumpsuit but wore a couple of layers underneath, just in case it gets cold in higher altitudes. I initially wanted to jump without gloves (so I can write something on my hand and show it in the video) but was gently advised that it wasn’t the wisest idea.
The ascent to 12,000 feet in a small plane with 6 other jumpers was quite remarkable, as the view outside was simply stunning. However, my appreciation of the landscape was interrupted when Peter began to attach his harness against mine. He then asked me to hold myself in a banana shape after I jump and only loosen up when he taps me hard mid-air. Shortly after, he opened the transparent door/window, and I was up.
Luke promptly jumped out of the window, and Peter started rocking back and forth at the edge of the plane. I knew there was no going back. Given how much I paid for this, I might as well enjoy the ride rather than cry. Peter then thrusted me out the plane and I quickly entered into my banana position. Surprisingly, this wasn’t like your roller coaster rides. I didn’t feel any G force that made me stomach lurch. Because of how far up I was in the sky, I didn’t visualise myself hitting the ground just yet either. I actually enjoyed the landscape from above.
What came next was even more incredible. I soon felt like I was floating in the air – weightless. Air pushed up against my face and my whole body. I must have reached terminal velocity. It wasn’t as cold and the noise of the wind wasn’t as loud as I expected, but maybe that was because of all the adrenaline.
At that point, Luke appeared besides me and started filming me. I tried to raise my hands and do different gestures, but it was more difficult than I thought. I did, however, manage to give Luke a fist bump. Before I knew it, Luke got a bit excited and started spinning me around three times mid-air. This time, I did feel a bit of panic as the spinning made me dizzy all round.
Then, all of a sudden, instead of falling down I felt like I was going back up. I realized that Peter had opened the parachute already. What? I couldn’t believe that 45 seconds went by in a flash. And that’s why I’d recommend doing the 15,000 feet fall so you get an additional 15 seconds of freefall.
Once the parachute opened, I slowly made my way to the ground. To be fair, I thought that the parachute was more scary than the freefall aspect, as the landing was more like an amusement park ride, swinging side to side. It was more even nerve wracking when Peter loosened his harness his mid-way. For once, I’d rather have a guy stuck to my ass.
All in all, this was an incredible and unforgettable experience. To this day, I’m still reminiscing the freefall sensation, which is quite different from any amusement park ride or bungy jump. While you can cheat your way and sign up to some indoor skydiving experience, it’s just not the same.
Amidst all of the excitement, one final point to note. If you are skydiving, please book it for the first few days of your trip as bad weather could postpone the activity. My skydiving trip was actually cancelled for two days in a row because of bad weather. This was probably the most painful part, as I couldn’t really commit to other activities while in Queenstown.
Last, but not least, thank you Peter and Luke for saving my life from a 12,000 feet drop.
Additional information
| When to do it? | Anytime with good weather |
| How to book? | Purchase with Nzone online or at their shop in Queenstown |
| How much does it cost? | Skydive prices 15,000 feet – NZD44912,000 feet – NZD3499,000 feet –NZD299Camera packages Handicam of tandem master – NZD199Handicam plus cameraman video – NZD289/359 (subject to availability of cameraman) |
| How to get there? | Shuttle from the Nzone shop |
| How long does it take? | Around 3 to 4 hours in total including traveling time |
| Is it difficult/safe? | See above |
| What to wear? | See above |
| Language | Tandem masters speak English. Service desk of Nzone has Chinese speakers. |