When we landed in Queenstown, it was already dark and weirdly COLD! We jumped into our rental car and headed to our AirBnB. It was actually pretty scary because the streets didn’t have street lamps and it was really dark. We were traveling uphill and was eventually surrounded by mist and fog.

The next morning, we woke up bright and early to head into town. To our surprise, we were greeted by the most beautiful view of The Remarkables right behind our AirBnB!

Of our entire trip, I was most nervous about our day in Queenstown.. because we were going SKYDIVING! 😫

Luckily, I had scheduled us for an early flight so that we weren’t nervous all day long.. but unfortunately, they told us they were postponing all flights until further notice because there was some fog by the airport. They told us to come back and check in the afternoon so instead, we grabbed some breakfast and hot coffee (as if we needed the extra adrenaline..) and walked around town.

The time finally came. We went back to check in on the sky conditions and were told flights were back on. Half of me died inside.

After signing some very scary waivers, we hopped on a shuttle and headed towards the airport. Before I knew it, we were suited up and strapped in. While waiting, we chit chatted with a girl in our group whose boyfriend was too scared to go so she was going alone. We all boarded the plane and I nearly died when I realized that our new friend was last to board the plane.. but would be first to exit the plane.. AND I WAS SECOND!

My co-jumper kept trying to film me (just doing what I paid him to do..) and kept trying to get me to let go of the handle above my head. But my hand held onto that bar so tight that my knuckles went white. We just kept going higher and higher.. If I wasn’t waiting for my impending doom, I would have been able to better enjoy the scenery below me. The Remarkables were truly remarkable.

Before I knew it, the door to the plane flew open like a garage door and our friend and her co-jumper scooted towards the giant opening. My mind went completely blank as I watched them lean forward and disappear. I honestly don’t remember letting go of the only thing anchoring me to the plane. I don’t remember scooting closer to the door. I barely remember putting my head back on my co-jumper’s shoulder, as instructed, and I definitely don’t remember leaning forward and falling out of the plane. What I do remember is the quickest feeling of my stomach dropping and then a rush of wind. I remember my co-jumper pulling the parachute and (thank the old gods and the new!!) the sudden jerk as the parachute opened up and we started to drift.

After a few minutes of some terrifying spirals down towards Earth, we made a smooth landing and I never felt happier to be touching the ground.

Would I skydive again? Nope. But am I glad I did it? Absolutely.