I believe I can fly....

We've just jumped 12,000 feet with nothing but a man strapped to our backs and a piece of cloth to prevent us from plumeting to a gruesome and painful death - and it felt amazing! Woohoo!!!

We thought it was the most terrifying feeling when you know it's booked, followed by a sleepless night and a lift to the airport with a guy who jokes about the safety record 'not being great' but we were wrong. The real fear happens when they slide open the plastic door of the plane and you crawl over and dangle your feet out over the edge, then they hurl you forward and you tumble out of the plane. Those first few seconds when you don't know which way is up and the freezing air rushes into your lungs are unreal. After about 5 seconds (feels like 5 years!) you relax a bit and enjoy the freefall. Falling at 200kph for about 40 seconds is amazing but to do it in Taupo over this huge lake surrounded by forests and snowcapped mountains (even Mount Doom!) is just fantastic. Feels like you're really flying... After the freefall they release the parachute and then it's about another 5 minutes floating downwards, twisting and turning to really take in the amazing scenery. It's so cool to see the little teeny tiny cars suddenly start to get bigger and bigger on the road below. Then it's in for the landing and for those who've seen my first skydive video I was much more graceful this time round you'll be happy to hear! Ciaran came in great too even managing to land on his feet - not bad considering we'd just jumped from about 4km's in the sky!!