Location: Whitsunday Airport, Queensland

Weather: Puffy white clouds and blue skies with sunshine. Let’s skydive!! 32c

Skydiving over the Whitsundays

This was the BIG ONE – the one I’d been dreading for ages and had tried to put off for as long as possible. Bre however has been nagging like an old fishwife every since the offer was made back in August. I’d managed to deflect her requests to throw myself out of a plane with excuses of ‘too much wind’ or ‘the cloud cover means they won’t be running today’ but the day had arrived when nothing would stick.

Now it’s not that I really can’t do heights at all, I mean I climb mountains and I did do the worlds highest bungee jump last year. It’s just I seem to develop Frozen-Leg-Syndrome when I go close to the edge of cliffs, on suspended walkways etc and Bre knows this.

My contact over the last few weeks had been Sooz, the girl who seems to do everything and run the operation, and as we stomped up the ramp off the Fantasea ferry she was here to take us the short ten minute drive to the airport. The big sign welcoming us to the Whitsunday Airport loomed large with the words ‘SKYDIVE’ emblazoned across it…well here we go then.

My jumpmaster was called ‘Dawsey’ – abbreviated in the traditional Aussie way of course! (shorten it and add an ‘ie’, ‘y’ or ‘o’ on the end) First job of course was to sign my life away, if it all ended in disaster I would have no one to blame but myself.

Next to don the sexy looking jump trousers and harness, ball jerkingly tight but better that than to fall out I suppose, and run through the briefing on how to fall out of the plane’s door once we hit the ‘dropzone’. I’ve always loved that phrase – it just sounds so totally rad man, very Point Break!

So far I’m doing ok, no nerves, just a gun’ho attitude which Bre seems to adopt and does here ok. Maybe I’m learning from the Master here? If I can take this on and do it, it’s another personal challenge out of the way. I have completed a parachute jump before but I was 16 and that’s a seriously long time ago now and it was a static line jump.

A little explanation:

Static line parachute jump – you jump yourself from the plane with your own parachute which is attached to a point inside the plane by a small cord. As you exit the door the cord pulls out your chute automatically deploying it. Usually from about 3,500ft.

Tandam freefall – you’re strapped to a jumpmaster who deploys the parachute for you both after freefalling through the heavens for about a minute. Takes place from 8000ft + and we jumped from 14,000ft. THE way to do it!

Bre and I clamber into the rear of the little plane with Dawsey and Matty, our jumpmasters, handing out the instructions. There was no going back now. Sat between their legs we taxied down the runway and the plane climbed above the Whitsundays giving a superb view through clear skies below.

We reached our jump altitude of 14,000ft ten minutes later and suddenly the time was upon us, no chickening out, just a mad adrenaline ride all the way to the ground.

Bre was first up, Matty and her slid there way into the door and five seconds later were gone!

Me next – well here goes nothing. Hanging out of the door, feet tucked under the plane, the overpowering sound of the wind racing past my face as we travelled at over 150km/h forwards…and then we were out, dropping at over 200km/h straight down!

The G-forces were biting at my face forcing a huge teeth-filled grin across my face as we dropped like a rock towards terra firma far below – in fact not that far! We fell and fell for what seems like no time at all, the ground racing to meet us as we dropped through light cloud – the light mist cooling our faces as we fell.

And with a snatch akin to a trouser jerking wedgie, suddenly we were hanging there underneath the now deployed canopy, floating 3000ft above the airfield below. The sound of the rushing wind gone, replaced by a serene congratulatory silence, broken occasionally by Dawsey talking to me.

That was nothing short of incredible!!! As we slowly dropped towards the landing zone I took hold of the controls and steered us down in big twisting turns assisted by Dawsey of course until he gave the command to lift my feet and legs up in preparation for landing.

A final approach towards the awaiting team and we’d done it – my first freefall jump over and I’d actually loved virtually every moment of it!

As I turned around on the runway Bre was about to make her landing and I could hear her almost before anything, WAHOOO’ing as only she can, arms flailing and legs out wide.

Once unhooked we made our way back to the office and traded stories about the experience, you know quite how amazing something is when you’re literally stumbling over each other to get your side of the story out!

I didn’t think I’d actually enjoy throwing myself out of a plane but it was flippin amazing and I’d go straight back tomorrow if the chance was there – thank you to all at Airlie Skydive especially Sooz for making it all happen.

End of day location: Right back where I started – terra firma

Distance travelled: 14,000ft straight down!