Getting ready to board the plane!
The beautiful view from the plane
Free falling!
Right after opening the parachute
Back on solid ground!
Well, this
morning I did what was quite possibly the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my
life- and keep in mind, I’ve been swimming with sharks! Skydiving is something
that I’ve wanted to do for quite a while- I figured if I’ve already survived
bungee jumping, cliff diving, and zip lining, I might as well try my luck with
skydiving too, right? On Friday, my first full day here, I went the desk at the
hostel and asked if they knew where and how I could book a skydive while here
in Cape Town. One of the reasons I love this hostel is that they took care of
the large majority of the details and booking process. I simply told them what
days I was available to do it and they took care of the rest, including booking
transportation for me to and from the hostel! I hadn’t yet posted here in my
blog, or anywhere else, that I was planning to do this since it wasn’t 100
percent certain yet. There were some interns working here that had booked a
skydive for a few days ago, but theirs ended up getting cancelled because it
was too windy. Knowing that, I didn’t want to announce that I was doing it and
then have it end up getting cancelled. Yesterday evening it was getting really
windy, so I was kind of doubtful for a while that it would happen. But when I
got up this morning at about 7:30, the desk said they hadn’t gotten a call
about it being cancelled, and the weather looked much calmer, so it sounded
like it was still on! After breakfast and lathering up with some sunblock, at
8:30 my transfer picked me up from Atlantic Point, and we were off! It took a
little less than an hour to drive from the hostel to the place where we’d be
skydiving. When I arrived and paid they told me that I’d be on the next flight,
with two other girls that had arrived a little before me. We met the guys we’d
be skydiving with and got our harnesses put on. I was diving tandem with a guy
named Gerry- he told me that this weekend would make 29 years that he’s been
doing this! I figured if he’s been doing it for that long, I was pretty safe.
Before I knew it, we were headed to the little plane to take to the sky!
When I say
little plane, I mean it- the thing was really small! There were seven people
total in it- the six people diving plus the pilot- and we filled it up! Gerry
told me that we’d sit farthest from the door so we could let the others go out
first. Once the plane was in the air, we spent about twenty minutes just
gaining altitude and enjoying the view of Cape Town, Table Mountain, and the
gorgeous ocean. Soon enough, the door of the plane was opening, and I watched
as the other two groups sat on the edge with their feet hanging out for a
moment, then they were gone! My adrenaline was pumping hard as I felt the
strong wind against my face. I hardly had enough time to think about what was happening
before we were free falling through the air! The thirty seconds or so of free
fall were some of the most insane of my life. The feeling of just flying
through the air with my arms wide open, feeling the wind against my face was
such a rush! I guess I’m officially an adrenaline junkie now.
After free
falling for a little while, Gerry opened the parachute and we slowed down
enough to enjoy the beautiful view of Cape Town. It looked like I was diving
into a painting- I could hardly believe what I was looking at was real. I got
to take in the beautiful sight for several minutes while we slowly sailed to
the ground. After some of the most exhilarating few minutes of my life, I
landed back on solid ground.
As I
mentioned before, skydiving has been on my bucket list for quite a while now,
and I’d do it again in a heartbeat! By the time I got back to Atlantic Point it
was nearly lunch time, so after looking at the pictures on my laptop, I
strolled down to the waterfront to grab a bite to eat and take in the beautiful
day. My friend and fellow White Shark Projects volunteer Ryan Cake should be
arriving here at Atlantic Point in a few hours, and I’m sure when he gets here
we’ll skull some delicious South African Castle beer for old time’s sake, then
tomorrow we’re getting picked up by the project to head down to Gansbaai to go
swimming with the sharks again! I’m so ready to be back with the volunteers,
the amazing crew, and those sharks! See you tomorrow, Gansbaai! This post’s
food for thought: “It’s okay to be scared. Being scared means you’re about to
do something really, really brave.”- Mandy Hale
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