Today is the day. Up at 6am to leave for Freemantle to catch the 7.15 ferry to Rottnest Island. The ferry was about 35 minutes and the weather was warm and bright. Once on the island, our first task was to seek out the indigenous characters that are unique to the island; the Quokka. This character is about the size of an overgrown rat but looks like a kangaroo and they have the run of the island. The island was named after these creatures because they were originally thought to be rats - thus Rats Nest became Rottnest Island. It didn't take long to find one who true to form had no fear of humans and was very friendly. Time for breakfast and coffee before the short 15 min walk up to the islands small airstrip.
Met the jump team who were fun, relaxed and very professional throughout. Signed all the necessary forms and waivers and listened intensely to the safety briefing which fortunately was short and sweet. We were to go up as 3 groups of 2 pairs as the rickety looking little elastic band powered single propeller aircraft could carry no more; it didn't even have seats in it.
Aaron and I went first, to be followed by Jan and Jen then Pete and Checkez. It was to be a long morning as the jump team needed to return to the airstrip each time and repack their chutes before the next jump. There was a mixture of nerves and excitement as we each in turn walked to the aircraft but once aboard all interest changed to enjoying the views of the island, Perth and the ocean. It takes a good 20 minutes to reach the 14,000 feet from where we will leave the plane and attempt to fly. No time to think about it as our jump partners double checked our harnesses and we manoeuvred to the now open door on the side of the plane, shoved our legs out and "Geronimo" we were falling like a stone. Free fall lasted about a minute and the experience is totally indescribable, yet one we all so want to repeat. Then suddenly everything goes calm and quiet and serene as the chute opens and we drift slowly towards earth taking in the fantastic views. I had the owner of the business as my partner and we had some great banter before the jump so he felt comfortable in surprising me with a few acrobatic manoeuvres both during the free fall and under the chute. Landings were right on the beach and all of us had smooth landings though Aaron was brought down just short of the beach into a small bush.........
Can't wait to see the various videos taken but these will take some time to process and will follow later. The day was running short to do much else on the island so we had a coffee and caught the ferry back so we could drive up to Cottesloe Beach for a quick dip and watch the amazing sunset before returning to Byford for dinner at the Tavern. A day never to be forgotten.