Queenstown, New Zealand
Skydiving in the "adventure capital of the world"
After mentally preparing myself for months, I faced my intense, lifetime fear of heights and decided to jump out of a perfectly well-operating plane in Queenstown.
Tips for people who are terrified, like I was
Here are some tips that really helped me. Trust me, if I can do it, so can you.
Jump with a purpose. Whether you want to prove to yourself that you can do it, become a stronger version of yourself, or are doing it in memory of someone, choose a profound purpose that will hold you accountable for following through with jumping. My dad’s twin brother took their father skydiving when he was in his 60s, shortly after surviving a heart attack. They have both since passed, but I have a photo of them directly after jumping which I looked at time and time again leading up to my own experience. I now understand their expressions of sheer joy in that photo.
Make friends with the people who are jumping out of your plane. At first, I was completely intimidated thinking that nobody else was nervous and that everyone had done this before. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. I soon learned that nobody had jumped before, and everyone was just as nervous as me! Creating a sense of community and togetherness and cheering each other on makes the experience much less stressful.
Laugh at the whole experience. I was seriously freaking out as we drove to our skydiving destination, but on cue, my older sister texted me a video of my adorable nephews telling me to, “be brave,” and my brother-in-law jokingly saying, “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be…” The whole video had me cracking up which replaced some of the intense fear I was feeling with lightheartedness.
Jump at the highest height you can. The average skydive jump happens at ~10-12k feet, but we were offered options of 9k, 12k, or 15k feet. Of course, my daredevil husband made us choose 15k feet, which, in hindsight, was a great decision. You’re able to free fall for longer, and while you’re facing your fear, you may as well go all out!
Watch other people land before you go up in your plane. At NZONE Skydive in Queenstown, where we ultimately jumped, you wait your turn by the field where people jumping ahead of you land. At first, I was trying to look away because I didn’t want to freak myself out even more, but then I realized that everyone was landing very smoothly with huge smiles on their faces. It was very encouraging for me.
Embrace the mercurial weather. If you’re jumping in New Zealand, make sure to be a bit flexible with the scheduling. As you’ll read below, we were rescheduled a few times due to inclement weather. Their main priority is safety so if the wind picks up or there’s cloud cover, expect to get rescheduled. We had our best luck when jumping in the morning.
The recount
Before departing for our 4-month extended honeymoon, my husband, Matthew, planted the “skydiving in New Zealand” seed in my head. In addition to being afraid of heights (to the point where the arches of my feet ache, my palms sweat, and I get dizzy whenever I’m up high), I don’t like relinquishing control, I get really panicky in situations where I feel trapped, and my brain loves to obsess over things that I’m anxious about – all great ingredients for a successful skydiving experience.
Despite all that, we went ahead and booked. I had a solid 3 months to mentally prepare for the moment. Whenever I found myself “up high” during our travels, I would imagine jumping from that point, whether that was on one of our 27 plane rides or at the top of monuments, mosques, hotels… you name it. I probably discussed skydiving with Matthew at least 500 times leading up to it and I read far too many articles and blogs about every step of the skydiving process.
The moment came fast. There I was, the morning of, forcing some eggs and OJ into my churning stomach thinking how odd it was that I was doing something as normal as eating breakfast before I was about to freefall 120 mph through the sky. I was on the verge of tears during our hour-and-a-half drive on Crown Range Road, New Zealand’s highest main road and one of its most scenic, from Queenstown to Skydive Wanaka. I tried playing chill music, I tried playing intense music, I tried deep breathing, and I tried pumping myself up. Nothing was working to make me feel prepared but despite every atom in my body telling me not to, I was going to do it.
Unfortunately, we got rescheduled due to weather not once, but 4 times! Our week in Queenstown felt like a sick joke – there were moments of fun and freedom like jet boating and brewery hopping, but all in all, our time was spent waiting to face my fear and then continuously getting delayed. My body went from pumped up to disappointed time and time again.
When attempt #3 rolled around, I thought we were golden. The third time’s the charm, right?! We made it further than the first 2 times—we watched the training video, got suited up, and nervously chatted with the group of people accompanying us on the plane. I was even paired for a tandem jump with a Korean man named Jason (my older sister is Korean, and her first boyfriend was named Jason, so naturally, I took it as a sign that everything was going to be okay).
We all piled into the plane, and shockingly, I was feeling at peace and almost excited about the jump. I watched 2 people jump, and with only 1 person ahead of me, I was ready – it was going to happen! That is until I heard Jason whispering with the other skydiving instructors about the wind on the ground. The wind had picked up, and we had to land the plane. Nobody else was jumping that day.
You would think at that moment, we’d throw our hands in the air and say, “this just isn’t meant to be!” Instead, we decided to proceed with our mental fortitude test and try our luck booking at NZONE Skydive in Queenstown, which is affiliated with Wanaka but closer to where we were staying. It was our last day in Queenstown before embarking on our 2-week RV adventure, so it was now or never, and it finally happened!
It was terrifying but also awesome. I jumped with a female tandem instructor, making us the only 2 women in our group. She kept me calm and chatted with me as we ascended 15k feet into the air, taking in the breathtaking scenery from the tiny prop plane. The plane had no actual seats—just benches you straddled, with people seated directly in front of and behind you. It was actually quite cozy.
As we climbed higher, we were required to wear oxygen masks until it was our turn to jump. I watched several people leap (including Matthew!), and then it was my turn. My instructor gently guided me to the edge of the plane, where we sat for a few seconds with my legs and feet dangling into the void below. Before I could fully process it, we were tumbling through the air. I was completely disoriented, unsure which way was up or down, until I realized we were freefalling at 120mph. At 15k, the free fall lasts for about 60 seconds, which sounds short, but when your body is quickly approaching the ground and you’re waiting for a parachute to be released to save your life, it kind of feels like an eternity.
Once my tandem instructor released the parachute, she proudly exclaimed, “Welcome to my office, Shannon!” I felt a surge of emotion run through my body knowing that I had accomplished something I truly never thought I would. I also realized during that moment that we were still really damn high up – I will never forget watching my feet dangle against the distant backdrop of Queenstown’s epic mountain and lake views. It took us about 5 minutes to fully descend, during which I reluctantly accepted my instructor’s invitation to steer the parachute myself and then braced myself for our return to earth.
The second we landed, I grabbed the grass and felt such immense appreciation for being grounded. The whole experience will stick with me for the rest of my life and hopefully, if I’m ever afraid of something mundane (like a “scary” work meeting), I’ll remind myself that it’s nothing compared to jumping out of a plane at 15k feet.
