Isthmus Peak & Skydive

Friends of the setting sun,

I am very happy to write you another update! In the past few days, I needed some rest from the trip and daily tours, and I enjoyed having some peace and quiet. I even treated myself to a stay at a small wellness center or the most beautiful hot pools on the South Island. For your orientation: I am back in Christchurch and yesterday I picked up Fridolin-Christopher from the repair of the dent. Now he is back in his original condition and enjoying his camping life. During the days of repair, I slept in Sophia's van and took advantage of the fact that she has a Netflix account that she doesn't need at work. In short, I have been indulging in wellness and Netflix for the past 4 days. Now I am rested enough for new adventures and to show you all my recent days.

I had already told you about my stopover in Wanaka and that I spontaneously booked a skydive. I have a talent for choosing hobbies that are quite expensive and time-consuming. So I was a little afraid that this skydive could draw me into another one of those hobbies. I paid 270 euros for a jump from 15,000 feet or 4572 meters - not really a bargain, but this activity has always been on my bucket list of things I want to do in my life.

On the day of the jump, I slept in, had a leisurely breakfast, and then made my way to the small airport in Wanaka with a few stops for groceries and hiking gear and a special stop at a lavender farm. I was once again way too early. However, this was very advantageous because the young lady at the reception could put me on an earlier flight and I ended up flying one hour earlier than planned. Since I had also set my mind on going for a hike and watching the sunset from Isthmus Peak on this day, this came in very handy. The jump is performed with an instructor, whom the company calls the 'Lovely Stranger' in all descriptions and safety briefings. That is pretty cute and I really like this idea. My personal 'Lovely Stranger' on this day was Jason. A very friendly and truly competent Kiwi who made me feel very safe. After a safety briefing and putting on the equipment (overalls, harness, cap, and goggles), we were already on the plane. I was also looking forward to this because I deliberately chose the most beautiful day to enjoy the view. And it was so worth it, because I could admire the entire mountain range: Mount Cook, Mount Aspiring, and also the other peaks. What was particularly cool for me was that I could also see the summit that I wanted to climb a few hours later for the sunset. I would love to show you photos, but I would have had to pay an additional 250 dollars for extra photos and videos, and I preferred to invest that in the length of my jump. I was the only one who jumped from 15,000 feet in this plane, and also the only one who didn't want photos and videos of my jump. And I have to say that I don't regret this decision for a second - neither during the jump nor afterwards. I was able to enjoy everything without distraction and fully concentrate on the feeling and the incredibly amazing view.

Once the jumping altitude was reached, Jason pulled me to the opening of the plane, and then came the jump into the absolute void. It's a difficult feeling to describe, but for me, it felt like there was no up and down anymore; no forward or backward; no fast and no slow. The exhilarating feeling of falling mixes with the pressure in your head, as the forces of turning and falling seem to pull you apart and yet everything hits you at once and your body is compressed. Once Jason stabilized both of us and I was allowed to extend my arms, that feeling of everything and nothing disappeared and it felt like I was lying on an old thick air mattress made of water, with my arms and legs being pressed down from above. A feeling of falling - but controlled. I laughed and shouted with joy because of the dopamine and adrenaline pumping through my body, and I enjoyed the view so much. The freefall lasted about a minute and then the parachute was pulled. I didn't find this feeling particularly cool because it sent a really strong jolt through my body and this abrupt deceleration felt a bit like crashing into a wall at full speed with my bike. (Not that it happened to me, but that's how I imagine it. :D)

The glide with the parachute felt okay, but it didn't really excite me - even though I was allowed to steer the parachute myself for a few meters. Especially the turns and the feeling in my head and guts weren't particularly enjoyable.

All in all, an incredibly cool experience that I probably won't do a second time because it is too expensive for me to just experience the feeling of jumping from a plane, and I only found the jump and the beginning of the freefall cool. Jason definitely did a great job.

After treating myself to a snack, I drove directly to the hiking parking lot to start the ascent as quickly as possible, as it was already afternoon and I didn't want to miss the sunset. Since I had never been on this track before, I thought that I could assess whether it could also be descended in the dark or if I should turn around in time because the track would be too difficult in the dark. Luckily, the track is also used for guided hunting tours, so it is similar to a well-traveled forest road.

The piece of land I was on is also offered as a guided hunting tour for a reason. I saw a lot of wildlife here - both in daylight and in the dark.

Among other things, I also saw the guided hunting group in their pimped golf cart, and I got a little carried away talking, which is why I had to hurry in the end to make sure I didn't miss the sunset. Once the altitude meters were climbed, we walked along the ridge to reach the actual summit. Walking on this ridge while the sun was setting was really an amazing feeling.

So many beautiful colors in the sky and I could see them all from up there. Since I was alone, the feeling or atmosphere on the summit was really something special.

During the descent, I once again appreciated the fact that New Zealand doesn't have any dangerous predators and that I wouldn't be eaten by a bear, a wolf, or a puma on my way down. I was especially glad about this when I illuminated the path with my headlamp and suddenly saw 6 yellow eyes staring back at me - that was the wildlife that I had already observed in daylight.

After this fantastic hike, I drove to my camping spot, took a shower, and just fell into bed after such an exciting day.

Big hugs to all of you,
Your Britta