Skydiving with Jump the Beach, Mission Beach

By Bobbi Lee Hitchon // 9 May 2010 // Comments: 0 // Related Categories: adventure, mission beach, Review, skydive, Things to do

A clear plastic door slides open and wind forcefully invades the plane.

Suddenly it hits me. I'm jumping out of an airplane in a few minutes.

The first tandem duet inches towards the door. All eyes are on the girl in front, but her eyes are only on the view below.

They jump.

Staying in sight for a second, the pair vanishes in the wind.

Next to jump is Bobbi-Jo. I want to watch her go, because I know how crazy this is for a girl with a strong fear of heights. But I can't think to do so.

I can't think at all. I'm next to go. My lucky number three. Though I maintained my cool up to this point, I'm at a loss not only for words, but also thought right now.

Bobbi-Jo's gone and in one step, Dez, my tandem master and owner of Absolute Backpackers in Mission Beach, guides me to the open door. I stumble over the simplest task that he explained three times, dangling my legs out the door.

Down.

I don't think it's possible to put the first few seconds of jumping out of a plane 14,000 feet above the ground into words, because it just doesn't seem real. People aren't suppose to fly, but there we are, flipping once through the air then descending over water.

Between a slight flip out and the magnitude of the drop I have no idea what's up, down, left or right. Then I get a tap and let my arms up. I don't think I'm suppose to open my mouth, but I just can't stop screaming. Cameras are rolling through it all and all the cool things I thought of doing in my pictures before I completely forget.

All I can say is "aghh" and all I can think is now. Not what someone else is doing then or what I have to do next, but what I'm doing right now.

I'm flying.

There's nothing else to think about and you wouldn't want to, because the experience is so short.

After about a minute of falling, the camera man across from me waves good-bye and I feel a slight pull up. Our parachute releases and we begin to float. Dez starts giving me a tour of the islands and things on the shoreline.

"There's Dunk Island. There's where the reef meets the rainforest. There's where the mayor lives," he says.

But all I can think is, "What...what just happened?"

He loosens up the straps holding us together and I tighten up my grip, nervous I'm going to fall out. He goes over landing procedures a few more times. We approach the ground and land smoothly.

Ground.

It's not even 9 a.m. and I just jumped out of an airplane.

Backpackers traveling the east coast of Australia know that Mission Beach is the place to skydive on their trip and Jump the Beach is the place to do it. The company makes the experience thrilling for all the parts people want it to be and smooth for all the parts it needs to be.

Having skydived once before in Interloken, Switzerland I was completely cool walking to the bus in the morning, filling out paper work, going over procedures, even riding in the plane. But as soon as that door on the plane opened, I lost it all. I'm not sure if that feeling could ever get old.

And from what Dez tells me, it doesn't. The man has jumped out of a plane 17,443 times including his jump with me. Most of the crew has logged high numbers as well. While they're all experienced and extremely confident, they're still enthusiastic. Having someone down there smiling and giving me high fives at the end of such a wild ride really adds to the experience.

It may seem absolutely crazy to jump out of a perfectly fine plane, and it is, but it's completely safe. While I my stomach was turning and I was in shock, never did I once feel unsafe. In fact, I actually felt a bit safer doing this then I do driving on the road with Queenslanders.

Safety aside, people may still be apprehensive about jumping. That's completely natural and they shouldn't hide it. The instructors were really great with soothing all the jumpers' nerves. If the team sees someone is especially nervous they'll make an extra effort to help relax him or her.

But no matter how much gumption, finger-biting or lip-biting it takes, don't miss out on this experience. A lot of people say it's the best thing they've ever done. Most say it's the best thing they've done while traveling Australia. I think anyone will agree it's the ideal ending to a wild trip up the east coast of Australia.

This may be the most expensive five minutes of your life though. Skydiving is not cheap anywhere, so if you're even thinking of doing it while in Oz, put money aside at the start of your trip. Jumping at 9,000 ft costs $A235, 11,000 ft costs $A269 and 14,000 ft costs $A320. (All prices include mandatory $A25 levies.) Prices are a few dollars cheaper than Skydive Australia, another skydive company operating in Mission Beach.

People should also consider documenting their jump. Jump the Beach offers handicam footage, taken by the tandem master jumpers are attached to, and solo video, taken by a professional camera man flying separately. Handicam digital photos cost $A99, a DVD costs $A124 and a package with both costs $A149. Solo photos cost $A120, DVD costs $A145 and a package with both costs $174.

Both options are great. Obviously having someone completely dedicated to photographing and filming a jump provides better footage. Decide what height and film option is best for you, but remember this is a once in a lifetime activity for most. Make the most of it.