We planned to stay in 'Welly' for 3 nights but some festival was on which meant prices rocketed up so decided to head up North to Taupo a day early to save on accommodation. Taupo is situated around a Lake which is the size of Singapore and is a gorgeous place (I know we seem to be saying this a lot but this country really is so pretty).We spent the afternoon chilling by the lake and laughing at people's attempts to hit a golf ball into a hole on a pontoon in the lake. I don't think the guys trying to win appreciated our detailed commentary on their shots - 'oooh, so close', 'god, way off', 'rubbish shot'. The tenth evil glare sent us off on our way, not before we saw a guy snorkeling to rescue the gold balls who spent half the time dodging flying golf balls. Bless him, he looked so confused.

It was then we spotted the parachutes in the air and we realized that we had signed up to do a skydive the next day and soon it would be us up there chucking ourselves out of a plane at a stupid height. Who's bright idea was that?! We decided the logical and sensible thing to do in a situation like this would be go to the pub for a glass of wine to calm our nerves. I think nerves needed very fast calming, judging by the rate we drank (sophie's nerves seemed to need a lot of calming as a glass became glasses).

We went to bed after I lied to my mum ('nope not doing anything at all tomorrow mum') and we both fell asleep muttering 'I wonder if this is the last time we will go to sleep'. Pretty soon the alarm was going off so we could ring and see if the skydive was going ahead. It can't be too cloudy as they're not allowed to drop us through a cloud without knowing what's below. Good good. The day before we had convinced ourselves that we probably wouldn't be jumping as it had been really cloudy so really there was no need to get worried at all. However, when we looked out of the window to a clear blue sky and stunning sunshine I think we turned white when we realized there was no chance this wasn't going ahead. After putting off leaving the hostel by discussing in depth what was suitable clothing for plummeting to the earth at 200kph we bundled into a bus to get driven to the airfield and were greeted by a man telling us our plane had broken - slightly worrying. This meant we had about an hour extra to freak out and were 'entertained' with footage of people doing the dive on DVD. It did not help! We arrived there convinced that we were jumping from 12,000 but then somehow we were down to do 15,000 after being convinced that it was only 20 quid more…we then spent the next hour going '15,000…what the hell are we doing?' and 'we're going to die, we're going to die'.

Eventually the plane returned and after being reassured that yes, it really was fixed this time, we were in our red jumpsuits, had some weird hats on and were ready to go. I was told my guy was called Rhys and we decided that this was a good sign - he was clearly Welsh and wouldn't want to let a fellow countryman plummet to her death. However, after he came to introduce himself by asking for a 'Si-an', and chatting away in a v.strong Kiwi accent I lost hope. He wasn't exactly the reassuring type, telling me he had borrowed the parachute for the day, so fingers crossed eh Si-an? Not the time for jokes Rhys, not the time. The plane was pretty small and we were all jammed in. Rhys kept pointing out stuff but shockingly I was a little freaked out for a detailed scenic commentary so instead he took to mocking me about doing a History degree. Lovely bloke. At 12,000 feet he shoved an oxygen mask on me and it all started to seem very real. Suddenly they all started to tell about knots or something, the door opened, wind rushed in and soph and I were left grabbing for each other and yelling 'I love you!". Soon Rhys and Malachi tore us apart and she was whisked and I was left on the plane by myself screaming. Rhys then somehow got me to the door, yelled 'let's jump this' and suddenly I was tumbling through the sky. The freefall lasted 60 seconds at 15,000 and anyone thinking of doing 12, definitely do 15 as the 15 seconds extra is so worth it. At the start of the freefall your brain is pretty confused and has no idea was on earth is going on. It doesn't actually feel like your falling, more like your flying (especially when the cameraman makes you do a superman pose, making you look a right idiot in the process). The parachute came up (thank god) and you jet up into the air and realize you're still alive which gives you the biggest rush - especially as I was convinced that my guy was fumbling about and couldn't find the cord…actually it was just him being a complete poser. You then spend about 5 mins gliding down to the ground, whilst I said 'oh my god, thank you' about a million times. The landing wasn't too graceful. Infact I fell overin a heap, but soon was untied to run over and find an (alive) sophie and scream some more. It was over so quickly and I want to do another one again already! Think we both agree it's the best thing we've ever done. Here's sophie's version….

SJ x

So we thought it would be a good idea if I wrote a little something about my skydive as well. As the complete non risk taker who has a severe fear of heights I am still not entirely sure what I was thinking about when I made the decision to throw myself out of a plane. Nevertheless I found myself in the skydiving office making the very odd decision to jump not from 12,000 ft but 15,000 ft ( as obviously 45 secs of freefalling into potential death is not enough no no you need a minute! Plus its only 20 quid more). After a painful wait and issues with the plane as Sian mentioned above it was finally time to get kitted out and I was pretty much a wreck with panic. By the time my jumpsuit was on and had been all strapped up I was verging on hysterical and kept looking at everyone else's suits and grabbing wildly at things to make sure mine looked exactly the same. When I met Malachi, the guy I was strapped to, I attempted to play it cool and appear completely in control of the situation. I was not. Before I knew it we were walking towards the plane as I grabbed my St Christopher (thanks girls for the pressie still keeping me safe) and silently prayed (yes mum I know I am a part time catholic but desperate times call for desperate measures) and all bundled in. Malachi attempted to keep me entertained ( and more importantly calm) as we bumpily climbed in the plane as my hands grabbed onto the sides of the seat. At one point I accidentally called him ugly after blocking him out of a photo (hysteria makes you say odd things) and this did not go down well. It led to him saying he was going to cut me loose from him, cutting a bit of my hair off and hitting me on the head. Its really all a blur. Before I knew it I was sat on his knee while he tightened the straps me and Sian were gesturing to each other that we loved each other and an oxygen mask was on my face. The door was opened and Joel literally just disappeared. I was then hauled across the plane and within seconds I was told to smile for the camera and we were out. The freefall was the most bizarre experience of my life and I absolutely hated it but loved it even more at the same time. The sensation was so odd and it felt totally unnatural to be falling through the sky but so so much fun! From the video I appear to be attempting to steady myself the whole time and I look completely petrified. My ear also popped which hurt like hell and I kept opening and closing my mouth like a fish (in case I stopped breathing) while touching my head?? When the parachute opened I don't think I really knew what was going on. Embarrassingly Malachi had to tell me to wipe my face as (sorry to be gross) but having a cold meant that everything that had been inside my nose was now all over my face, I was literally mortified and couldn't look at him after we landed but I am hoping it happens all the time. After that we cruised for a while in the parachute which was my favourite bit and the view was amazing. He even gave me the reigns for a while and told me to go wherever I liked but this proved to be too much pressure and was really hard work so I gave them back. When it was time to land I was slightly concerned but thankfully after a few bumps and landing in a heap I was at least alive and once again on dry land. Thank God.

SH xx