I Believe I Can Fly

Two words... Hang. Gliding.

4 years ago my Grandma paid for everyone in my family to go skydiving if they wanted to. For those who didn't want to they still went and spent the day watching the others jump out of a plane. Well, when this happened I was only 16 and you have to be 18 to go skydiving, so for graduation my Grandma gave me money separate from the normal money/presents she gives us at that point that was specifically for skydiving since I missed out last time. New Zealand kind of has this thing for the extreme. I mean the very extreme. Bungee jumping and skydiving are a pretty normal things there. So when we woke up Tuesday morning and asked ourselves, "What do we want to do today?" Well, I had an answer for that. I used my skydiving money to go hang gliding (and lucky my Grandma was along so she got to watch).

After calling in and booking my time we headed down to the shop. I hopped in a van with the people in charge and my parents were directed to the landing site.

The van and all the equipment.

We drive up this mountain, come up to this gravel area that is flattened and has a drop off at the edge, they
weighed us, give us a windbreaker and a helmet, and match us up with a professional hang glider. Then starts the training. The guy tells me what not to touch, what's going to happen, and we practice our take off run a few times... Step. Step. Runrunrunrunrunrun. Next thing I know I'm hooked onto the glider and we're walking over to our take off zone (one of the other guys has already taken off). He walks right up to the edge of this drop off and says "Okay, remember... Step. Step. Runrunrunrunrunrun..." I'm looking at this drop off while he's waiting for a good wind (at which point he'll count down from three) thinking to myself 'I don't even have room here for 1 step let alone 2 and then some running...' Before I know it he's said "one" and we're stepping and then I'm running on air. It was a very weird feeling. I get my legs straightened out and after a moment realize that I am flying. It was awesome. There was a video camera attached, but the video was just 10 minutes of me going "ooooooh ahhhhh" at all the sights so I didn't get it. He also had a GoPro taking photos which I did purchase off him, AND my Dad took some photos of me from the ground (although he didn't know it was me until I landed and stood up).

Amazing view
Can you see me? Just a tiny spec against the mountains.
Looking at the landing site, thinking it looks too far away.
He flew us right into the middle of some paragliders
We waved. They waved back :)
I love this one
That big open field is our landing zone. See the smiley face?
A close up of the smiley face.
And then we were landing...

Dive
Oh hello there ground
SAFE!!!!!!
And if that wasn't enough for you, I will now show you from my parent's perspective :)




Due to current technical difficulties (some formatting issues because blogger apparently hates me), and considering the fact that this is already the second time I've attempted to type this post (the first attempt got completely deleted it was so messed up) and it's gotten messed up yet again, I will be stopping at this point and finishing the rest of it on a separate post. (Might work on it right now since that sounds like more fun than studying.)

Comments

Jessica said…
This is awesome! You should really make some of these into canvases for your wall.
March 25, 2013 at 4:13 AM
Mom said…
That was a great day and beautiful scenery!
March 25, 2013 at 10:15 AM
Dad said…
Yes, a very awesome day, even for this of us that stayed on the ground. This one should be your new screen saver.... http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1REpJJkYgLA/UUlFWncX3DI/AAAAAAAAA1E/TwNs5XmT1rU/s1600/GOPR2803.JPG
March 25, 2013 at 11:59 AM
Shayla Carlin said…
That's one of my favorites, along with the one you took where I'm in the middle of the 3 paragliders.
March 25, 2013 at 12:41 PM
Anonymous said…
Amazing!!! I don't do heights but I think that looks pretty fun . love Aunt Marcy
March 26, 2013 at 11:15 PM
Teisha said…
Hang gliding in what has got to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth = life lived.
March 28, 2013 at 1:49 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Letters To My Inspiration

Dad - You have such an incredible respect for everyone and everything in this world. Growing up helping you out with so many different things, both indoors and out, showed me how to go about life treating everything in this world with respect, and that nothing can be taken without giving even more in return. Mom - You always pushed me to do and experience everything I can. Even when I didn't want to try something new, you reminded me there's always something to be gained. You never stopped encouraging me to follow my dreams wherever they may take me, and to never regret where I have been, because EVERYTHING happens for a reason. Josh - You and Mitch have both been in my life for so long I barely remember life before you. I am so lucky to call you my brothers. You, Josh, are the kindest person I know, someone who would truly go out of their way to help any friend or stranger without question. There are not enough people in this world like you. If I could help out even a f...
Read more

Welcome to Australia

Image
... Where there's 4957748285943079 different animals that want to kill you. The other night while minding my own business I was so blessed as to see a MASSIVE spider run across the sidewalk. I've been informed it was this... It's called a Huntsman and I've read they can get as large as a dinner plate. You're welcome for this picture by the way. If I had to see one in real life, you can deal with this. Don't worry. This is a good spider that we like to keep around because it is not aggressive to humans and it eats other pesky insects like the thousands of cockroaches that live here. If you somehow do happen to be bitten, the venom will not require you to go to the hospital, just might cause some pain and swelling. They apparently are commonly found in houses. No the real spiders you want to watch out for are the Sydney Funnel Web and the Redback spider (which I will spare you the pictures of). These are highly aggressive and a bite can kill you (if ...
Read more

Middle Earth

Image
I've decided to hammer down and just do this. So here it is, New Zealand. View from the plane We stayed in Queenstown which is on the South Island. It was probably the most beautiful place I've ever been. Breathtaking views everywhere you went. I don't mean to brag, but this was the view from our Villa we stayed in. We could hear a small waterfall out back too but there was too much foliage to be able to see it. We settled in Sunday(?) afternoon and headed into the town to do some exploring/shopping. Lake Wakatipu. Temperature Ranges from 46-50 year round. People were swimming in it... Supper time rolled around and I honestly can't remember which meal we had that night but I think we ate at this nice place near the lake where I had a delicious pasta with Salmon in it. Dad was also enjoying the local "cuisine." The entire time he was in Australia and New Zealand he made sure to try all new beers each time he had one. This one was pretty aw...
Read more