Look what I did!! We woke up this morning, as usual, had breakfast, had a shower, jumped out of a plane! Ha ha. It was amazing. We were incredibly lucky to have been able to jump from Taupo this morning, as some people had waited for six days without being able to jump due to the weather.

We made our way to the sky dive centre at eight o clock this morning, got kitted up and boarded our plane. I was the last on, so obviously the first out. Everybody else got to sit on benches but i had to sit next to an open door, on the floor, strapped to my instructor. The flight up to twelve thousand feet seemed to go on forever, and i kept saying to myself 'this must be high enough!'. After twenty minutes, i was told to hold onto my harness, put my goggles on (which cut in very painfully) and stick my legs out of the plane! My instructor then pulled my head back and threw us out . It was the most surreal experience ever. I couldnt believe how fast we fell!! It took twenty minutes to fly up, and two minutes to fall down! After 45 seconds of freefall, my instructor pulled the cord and released the parachute. Although i was relieved that it actually worked, i was pretty gutted that we had slowed right down. The best part about going slow was being able to appreciate the incredible view over lake taupo and Mount Doom, but the speed whilst freefalling was incredibly fun. Falling so quickly left me with a feeling that i can only imagine is like having knitting needles hammered into your brain, but i didnt even realise until i had landed. I was the only guy in my group who landed sat down, which didnt look very smooth, but i was told i had to because i was much bigger than my instructor. If i had stayed stood up, he would have been hanging off my back!

Jim did the jump with me, which was really good. We would have waited for Ed as he comes tomorrow, but we didnt want to risk the weather. All in all it cost me about 140 pounds, but i got the dvd, photos and a t shirt. The jump alone cost a lot less, but i had to show you all that i had done it! I hope you enjoy the photos. The wind blowing my face around, and the goggles make me look pretty strange! The look on my face when i first came out of the aeroplane, however, is through sheer amazement! Sky diving is definately the best thing i have done since coming away, and worth every penny!

I would like to say sorry, to Mum, Sarah and both Grandma's, however, at least i didnt tell you before i did it, and i am perfectly safe now!

I hope you enjoy this entry, ill speak to you all soon! Mat x