Getting to sleep last night was tough, what I didn't mention yesterday was that we had tentatively signed up for a sky dive and if the conditions were OK and I didn't bottle it then we were going to jump out of a plane at 12,000 ft!! It meant that I had to concentrate very hard last night at not thinking about it. I had a really lovely chat with my friend Beka who passed some time and really took my mind off things and then I lay curled up with stomach ache desperately concentrating on not thinking!!
When we left England Fraser had made me promise that I would go out of my comfort zone a bit during the trip, I had decided that I had been out of that zone a lot (I'm camping for 3 weeks for starters!) and I didn't need to do anything stupid in NZ. Edd always claims he's scared of heights and would rather keep his feet firmly on the ground so I was gobsmacked when he started talking about how he wouldn't mind doing a sky dive!!!!!
I was adamant that I didn't want to do it and hoped that he would decide he didn't want to either but two days later we were in the information centre asking for more details. When I was young I had always thought if I had to do some sort of adrenaline thing it would be a skydive rather than a bungy. 
I knew that if Edd did it and I had to option of doing it I would always regret having watched him. Deep down I was desperately hoping he wouldn't be able to do it and I would be off the hook. At least with a skydive you get a 15min scenic flight, the jump and that disgusting falling feeling and a paraglide all in one and it's almost the same price as each of those other activities individually so you do get your money's worth!
We ended up going to the airport to talk to the people there and I'm so pleased we did because they were able to show us a video with every step of the journey so at least I knew more about what I was letting myself in for. 
We stood at the desk and I asked question after question until I couldn't ask any more, the only thing that made booking it ok was that they didn't take any money and you could back out until you flew so I knew I committed without committing. I also cried at the desk!! I don't know why, I just couldn't hold it together, the nerves got the best of me, we left with me very embarrassed but everyone having been very supportive.
This morning we woke up and I was praying for rain (except I felt guilty that Edd then wouldn't be able to do it!) we phoned in and were told the weather was fine to fly. Ten minutes later we were at the airport and I was holding it together, I felt absolutely fine but when ever anyone asked me if I was ok I would choke up and tear up!! Edd was a star, very supportive and didn't push me into anything but I still felt like I was doing it because he was!! 
We got our jumpsuits on and before we knew it we were being loaded into the plane having had a mini interview and another cry. I met my jump professional and threw my arms around him, telling him how nervous I was. He was very very sweet and spent the time trying to distract me with small talk that I wasn't interested in discussing. I wanted to be polite back and ask how long he'd been doing it and how often did he jump a day but I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answers so I wasn't much good at conversation.
Once the plane took off I was actually pretty relaxed, you can't do anything and the flight is stunning, the instructor showed me his fancy altitude watch at 4,000ft 'this is when we pull out the parashoot' I was shocked at how high it looked! Then we continued up and up and up as I did the maths and realised that we were about to fall 8,000ft in 45seconds!
He clipped me on and explained the plan of action and before I knew it we were on the edge of this stupidly small plane with my legs already being blown away off the edge. The next bit makes me feel sick even thinking about it, that falling feeling is soooo horrendous! But by the time your brain has caught up and you've realised you can't do anything you are in a lovely free fall position watching the world below.
The lady on the ground had warned me that it's not an glamorous activity and that most people drool. I didn't but it really isn't glamorous, your arms go all over the place, that position you see people falling in isn't because they chose it, it's because that's where your arms naturally go with the intense wind. 
My goggles and hat felt like they were going to be ripped off my head! The 45 seconds are cool, out of control (I'm sure the instructors were in control) and chaotic. Then before you have time to settle in too much your parachute goes up and you are yanked back up from where you came from. Again when you recover you realise that you a now sat above the most stunning views and scenery and the float down is absolutely amazing!! 
The guys with me and Edd bought us together in the sky so we could wave at each other, I was so excited to see him as they moved closer but excitement soon turned to fear as they got closer and closer. I was paranoid that they would tangle our parachutes!! They bumped parachutes and then Edd was whisked off again much to my relief!!
My instructor let me fly and I was given the handles to swing around. Stupidly my first question was 'what happens if I let go' and I was told I didn't want to know the answer! That was enough info for me to know I didn't want the straps any more, my hands were numb for cold and I didn't like to think about what happened if I lost grip.
I loved the fly down, the guy was laughing at how much I had changed in the different stages. I hung, limbs flapping enjoying the view, every part of me relaxed having got through the dreaded stage! He asked me to lift my legs for landing and had to help me because I don't have the stomach muscles to hold them up high enough!!!
We landed and Edd was there to pick me up, I was very wobbly and soooo pleased to see him and be back on solid ground.
We then spent a while taking pictures in our jump suits and phoning family before our professional photos were ready. We drove back into town to calm down and finally eat some breakfast having not eaten from nerves before hand. The adrenaline rush soon disappeared after we watched out porridge slowly cook for over an hour on that stupid little flame. We sat in the van sheltering from the rain eating tepid porridge!!
We had a three hour drive to our next night spot by the glacier and we set off but stopped soon after for lunch in a car park by a lake. It looked stunning but we soon discovered why no one else was there as the sand flies descended on our van. They are like mozzis but bigger, they don't numb you so you can feel them bite (bonus means you can sometimes catch them and kill them) but their bites are so itchy and long lasting! We spent lunch running around, swatting sandflies and desperately trying to get them out of our car! We drove and pulled over a couple of times to release more from the van when we thought it was safe to open the doors.
Finally, relatively fly free, we continued our journey. Soon after Edd started driving I felt sick and also pretty cold and shivery. I think it was partly relaxing from the worry of this morning but Edd was amazing and drove the whole way through the cold, grey and rain.
We are now staying in the car park of a hostel and we can use their shower, kitchen and other facilities which is nice. We had a drink in the bar and played some pool and then included in the price of staying we were served soup for dinner.We are both pretty shattered and so I think it will be hot showers and early bed before our big important day tomorrow!!!
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