Sky Diving!

The next morning my mind exploded with different feelings. I felt really sad that the trip was coming to an end. I had been looking forward to it since arriving in Australia and I knew that the experience would be life changing. Words cannot describe how grateful I am for all of the amazing opportunities had during the trip but a part of me could not help but feel a little disappointed that the anticipation and excitement was over. I felt incredibly lucky. I still cannot believe that I was fortunate enough to take part in so many incredible experiences. There are so many people to thank and I do not know if my appreciation will ever be enough to express how blessed I feel. I felt relieved. I never wanted the trip to end (although my bank account screamed otherwise...) but I took comfort in knowing that everything that happened worked out perfectly. And lastly, I felt anxious. Today was sky diving day, the trip was not over yet.

I woke up with my stomach turning. Today was the day; I was going to sky dive. I heard two other cell phone alarms sound off as the three of us slowly climbed out of our bunk beds. We all stayed pretty quiet, it was very early and the other girls were still sleeping. I pulled on my sports bra, shorts and sneakers and we headed outside to meet with our instructors. It was convenient that the sky diving place was located right across the street from our hostel, but part of me couldn’t help but to wish that it was a little bit further away. More time to delay the inevitable. The next twenty minutes were a blur of paper work, safety instructions and waiting. My guide walked over, introduced himself and started to strap on my gear. Was I seriously about to jump out of plane from 9,000 feet in the air? We hopped onto the bus and headed towards our final destination. Once arriving at the airport we all made the slow climb onto the tiny airplane. I sat in the back tightly attached to the guide behind me. We took off flying upwards. “Wow this is so high!” One of my friends exclaimed. “How high up are we?” “3,000 feet” he responded. I thought he was joking around. How was it possible that we still had another 6,000 feet to go up!? Finally we reached our destination and one by one my friends disappeared over the side, tumbling into the air, into nothing. It was my turn. We inched forward and I dangled my legs over the edge of the plane. “Ready?” My instructor asked. I didn’t even have time to answer. He scooted us off and we somersaulted through the clouds.

The feeling of free falling is pretty indescribable. It is such a shocking and overwhelming experience that its hard to even remember exactly what you were thinking. The concept is so perplex and unbelievable, but for some reason the more I toss the idea around in my head the more normal it seems. People fall all the time; they slip on the ground, roll out of bed, fall off a chair and jump off a diving board. When you really put things into perspective is falling out of a plane that different? I wish I could remember my exact thoughts when I first tumbled out of the plane but they are completely gone from my memory. After a few more seconds of free falling (and continued blurred thoughts) the instructor tugged open our parachute and we shot back up into the sky. Now we were just drifting down, taking in all of the gorgeous views. Not only was I fortunate enough to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef but I was now sky diving over it. My instructor handed me the control straps and we turned from side to side as I pulled one down further than the other. Everything started to return to normal size as we drew closer and closer to the ground. 

After sky diving, Elizabeth, Nikki and I walked around town looking for something to eat. We found an adorable cafe and sat down for a delicious breakfast, chatting away about what we had just accomplished. The rest of the day was filled with rain forest exploration in the Crystal Cascades. We slipped over slimy rocks, swam down the river and slid down the waterfalls. Later that night was our farewell party where we said goodbye to all of our newly acquired friends. Everyone feasted on pizza, barbecue wings and french fries while cracking up into hysterics over the one fish two fish sideshow, showcasing hundreds of pictures and videos from the best ten days of our lives.