Our skydives were booked for the afternoon so we checked into our new hostel, which had a nice big fire to relax in front of, and twiddled our thumbs trying not to be nervous at the thought of leaping out of a plane and hurtling through the air on an 85 second freefall. We were extremely lucky as well that we had a champion limbo-er on our bus - enter Dan who won a 2-4-1 skydive the night before in the bar, and as he had already done one up in the North Island he donated it to us. What a legend! Unfortunately for Susie this did mean she now had to do the 19,000 foot skydive rather than the 16,000 she had planned but you can't have everything, and it did mean that we both got to do the highest commercial skydive in the world outside Everest. WINNING.

Now the skydive itself…it starts on a worrying note when you have to fill in an indemnity form in case of injury (ie death by falling). Obviously they were rapidly signed and put away and we were in the people carrier (no joke) to take us over to the airfield the plane would be taking off from. Unfortunately the plane could only fit in 3 skydivers at a time so Susie went in the first load of people and I got to wait for a good hour whilst they all did their dive. I did get chance to read some skydiving magazines and find out about some of the recent deaths in the sport. What a cheery way to pass the time! Susie's skydive seemed to go well though and she came back with a smile on her face and a cold nose so all was good. Then, my turn. After togging up in a sexy jumpsuit (I never really clicked why all in ones were called jumpsuits, coincidence?!) and doing some oh so embarrassing filming with Cam, my cameraman for the flight, we clambered into the plane and were off. Now for those who haven't done a skydive before you basically get strapped to a stranger and, in my case since we were flying so high, almost commercial aircraft height, have to sit in very very close proximity for 20 minutes. Not at all awkward!(name of instructor??). Like I said we had a nice 20 minute scenic flight over the glacier to climb to the 19,000foot height we were jumping from. There was one girl who was going from 16,000 feet so after throwing her out of the door there was another 5 minutes or so for me to get worried. One fun part of going so high is that you need oxygen masks as the air is so thin. I kind of forget that proper planes have climate control inside. Obviously I was rocking the oxygen mask/helmet combo, see my photos and video for proof. Or not! I was the last person out of the plane which was a bit nerve-wracking as you see everyone else's looks of terror as they are pushed out, but the cameramen deserve a mention as they cling onto the struts of the wings like monkeys to get the photos and videos of your petrified face pre-jump, allowing for much hilarity back home. Shuffling over to the open door my stomach was a bit in knots not really knowing what to expect, and dangling your feet over the edge with no control over the instructor behind you was hard for me as I am a bit of a control freak too. To say it gets chilly up there is an understatement as well, the freezing air flowing past almost froze my little nose off right away.

The instructor counts down and pushes you both out of the plane and the freefall begins. Now my first thought was actually 'oh my God it's freezing' swiftly followed by 'my ears really hurt' then 'Damn my eyes are watering I can't see properly'. These all followed each other in quick succession and in all honesty the freefall part of my dive is all a bit of a blur, 85 seconds seems to take a long time, or at least it did in my case, and someone had told me that you have to scream on the way down to make sure you remember to breathe. It definitely seemed as good an excuse as any to scream my way down anyway. Screaming did however mean that I had to swallow regularly as the cold air flowing into your mouth doesn't half make your teeth cold and create a bit of a saliva issue. The only downside to my freefall was that my ears were in absolute agony due to the pressure build up. Now this is something I've found with planes, I have to pop my ears quite a lot when ascending and descending, and with the air pressure on you in a skydive it's difficult to get your arms to your nose to equalize the pressure. Anyway falling and falling to the Earth at high speed is definitely an experience I'd try again if I could work out what to do with my ears, but in total honesty my favourite part of the skydive was when the parachute opened and you got to admire the views over the sea, the mountains, the glacier and the forests. It was something I will never forget, especially as it was such a fine day and the sun was starting to go down so casting everything in a rosy fading light. There was also opportunity for some parachute steering, twirling in circles and making myself dizzy, and 'braking' with the 'chute so you hover in mid-air for a few seconds. It was a lot of fun, maybe I should try hanggliding or parasailing next time.

We landed to Earth with a bump, I don't know if it was on purpose or I just didn't lift my legs up high enough, I got up with marginally shaky legs to do the, perhaps even more embarrassing, post fall chat with Cam. The drive back to Franz Josef was in high spirits and we were looking forward to picking up photos and videos the next day. An absolutely brilliant day (who knew you could fit so much into one day) was completed granny style with some bingo and a glass of wine at a local bar. Boy do I know how to live.

Our final day in Franz Josef was taken up by an epic walk, after a brilliant sleep in due to the busy day previously. We packed up our peanut butter and jam sandwiches and set off to do the walk up to Robert's point, a 12km round trip (ish) from the town centre which, we were promised, offered a view of the glacier from the side - we were on a mission to see it from all angles. The walk began over a long suspension bridge which I found fun to jump around on, but Susie didn't seem to agree as it swayed beneath our feet with a drop to the rocky riverbed below. I don't know why! Once over the bridge there a disconcerting sign which proclaimed 'for experienced and well equipped trampers only'. Well obviously, with our sarnies and fleeces we were more than ready for any eventuality, and the woman in the visitor information centre obviously thought we looked like we could handle it since she told us about the walk. I should probably mention at this point that the Robert's Point walk isn't on any of the maps as too many amateur walkers tried it and a few had died trying to take a shortcut over the river to get home once it starts getting late. Obviously Susie and I were too sensible for this and off we set. Now after twenty minutes or so the only obstacle we had had was crossing a very narrow stream, and I was starting to think that we weren't going to have any trouble and saying that it was for experienced walkers was unnecessary. However I had spoken too soon. Before long we were scrambling up and down slippery rocks, marching up steep hills, crossing bridges, leaping over streams and walking down the world's scariest staircase hammered into a sheer cliff edge with big metal rods. We also had a drink in a mountain stream - Bear Grylls eat your heart out! In fact Susie was so keen to get off the stairs of death she jumped off the last one and nearly twisted her ankle - not good for her Great North Run training! The views at the end were worth the effort though, and although I've made the walk sound pretty hard it was OK, you needed more stamina than experience, or at least I thought so. On the way back down we saw a kea, a rare alpine parrot, the only true alpine parrot in the world which is only found in the South Island of New Zealand, and the bird our bus trip route is named after. Fate I think! Once we'd completed the walk I felt justifiably proud as it was a solid 5 hours trekking and I'd finished the last couple of hours with blisters on my feet, and we treated ourselves to a pint in the local. All in all a brilliant way to end my time in Franz Josef - experienced trampers only? Pah!

Becca