Skydiving In Wanaka | Soaring Through Paradise

Thinking about trying skydiving? New Zealand is an excellent place to do it. Even better, go skydiving in Wanaka on the South Island. You’ll see the rugged Southern Alps and several scenic lakes as you do your freefall, all strapped safely and securely to a professional skydiver. All you need to do is be brave enough to show up and have an adventurous spirit. You don’t need any gear or experience, the scenery is absolutely stunning, and you’ll have a natural high for at least a week! At least I did. This post covers Skydiving in Wanaka, why it’s one of the best places in New Zealand to skydive, how to get there, options for booking, and details on how the day will unfold.

About Skydive Wanaka

Skydive Wanaka is an excellent place to skydive, of course, for its reputation and safety record, but also for the stellar views, and the fact that the skies are often sunny here!

Plus I love the tagline they use, “Strap yourself to a beautiful stranger.” It really is true, I felt so safe with my Tandem Master Diver Ben.

The views while you dive are simply spectacular with rugged, mountain ranges surrounding scenic lakes. You’ll see World Heritage site Mount Aspiring National Park to the left of Wanaka Lake with its well known peak Mount Aspiring (Tititea). You can even see Mount Cook (Aoraki) of the Southern Alps north of Lake Wanaka, which is the tallest mountain in New Zealand. Some of these mountains are so high, their peaks are often snow-capped, making the scenery even more beautiful.

As for the lakes, you’ll definitely see Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, the two lakes closest to the drop zone area. They’re beautiful with all their bays, peninsulas, and islands, but there’s also Lake Dunstan, Wakatipu, Pukaki, and Tekapo. A total of six lakes.

Another advantage of Skydive Wanaka, is that there are more sunny days here than other locations in the South Island like Queenstown and Franz Josef. This means your skydive is less likely to be canceled!

What To Expect While Skydiving In Wanaka

Before you actually book your skydive, which needs to be done in advance, you need to decide if you want to dive from 9,000’, 12,000’, or 15,000’. The main difference, other than the obvious of jumping out of the plane at a higher height, is the time of your freefall. The freefalls for each are 25 seconds, 45 seconds, and 60 seconds respectively.

For some people the freefall is the scariest part of the skydive. For others, like me, it’s the best part. Not knowing this in advance, I chose the 12,000’ foot option, or the 45 second freefall. In retrospect, I wish I had chosen the longer one…but I’m not complaining. It was still 100% amazing.

You basically need to decide if you think you’ll want more freefall or less. Honestly, they all go pretty fast, as there’s a lot going on in those few seconds. I think it may depend on how much you like it when things feel a little out of control. I felt an incredible rush of adrenaline and freedom.

Arrival At Skydive Wanaka

When you arrive at Skydive Wanaka, they’ll want to know if you want a photo/video package. They offer three options. The first option is the Handi-Cam package. It’s a camera with a wide lens mounted on your tandem divers wrist. This is what I purchased. The second is the Camera-Flyer package, where an experienced cameraman jumps near you and takes photos and video of your jump. The advantage of this is that there’s more of the scenery in the shots as the camera is not as close to you. The final option is a combination of both, which is the Ultimate Package.

Once you’ve decided this, you’ll need to sign the obligatory waiver paperwork. After that, you’ll go into a small theater at Skydive Wānaka to watch an instructional overview of what to expect during your dive. Your Tandem Master will review the details again before the flight, so don’t feel like you need to memorize it all at once.

After this, you wait to be called to suit up. Your actual time flight time can vary based on air traffic, weather, and other factors. They say to expect the whole process to take about 3 hours as they need some flexibility within the process.

Suiting Up

Once you’re called, you’ll walk out to the prep area in the hangar where they’ll fit you with a jumpsuit, gloves, a soft helmet, and goggles. It may seem unusual to wear a soft helmet to skydive, but that’s so that you don’t accidentally injure your tandem diver if you pull your head back during the dive. It certainly makes sense when you think of it that way.

There’s a locker to store any personal belongings as you can’t take your camera, phone, or anything else up with you for similar safety reasons.

While I was suiting up, my Tandem Master introduced himself to me and strapped on my harness. His name was Ben, a really friendly guy that quickly put me at ease. These guys (or ladies) are all professionals with many, many skydives for experience.

Board The Plane

After you’re finished suiting up, you’ll walk out to the plane. If you’ve selected one of the photo/video packages, they’ll start capturing some video while you walk, asking you how you feel about the flight.

When you get in the plane, you’ll see that it’s specially designed for skydiving in Wānaka. There are no passenger seats, you cannot stand in it (only sit in the floor), and the door you enter/jump through is very wide.

The plane can (obviously) only hold a certain number of skydivers, but the final number of jumpers depends how many people opt for the extra cameraman. If you’re with a big group of friends and you all want to go skydiving in Wānaka together, you’ll have to ask if you can fit on the same plane.

Once inside, you sit on the floor with your knees bent, directly in front of your Tandem Master. He will connect the two of you together, both facing forward, inside the plane. Then they slide the door closed and you’re off, flying up to the first drop point.

You sit inside the plane in two rows, in order, with the lowest jumpers in the front to the highest jumpers in the rear. At each height level, those assigned to that level will scoot, with their Tandem Master, to the door, starting with the 9,000’ level jumpers.

The Jump

When it’s your turn to jump, you and your Tandem Master will scoot towards the open door. You’ll be asked to sit at the opening of the door with your lower legs outside the plane.

They’ll tell you to wrap your legs under the plane and lay your head back on your Tandem Master’s chest. Then you both simply fall forward out of the plane…

The Freefall

Suddenly, I plunged head first out of the plane. It’s a very insane feeling, but I instantly fell in love with skydiving! I was trying to take it all in: the feelings, the sensations, the scenery, and the things I was supposed to be doing.

Not long into your freefall, your Tandem Master will make a small knock on your back to remind you to arch like a banana and put your arms out to the side. You’ll be mostly horizontal at this point. Ben had to knock in my back a couple times as I was so busy “experiencing” the freefall that I forgot that’s what I was supposed to do. I was very glad he was there to take care of all these important details!

The Parachute

After a set time in your freefall, your Tandem Master will open the parachute for both of you. When this happens, your descent slows down considerably and your body shifts to a vertical position. This part of the dive feels very calm and serene.

Landing

As you start getting close to the ground, your Tandem Master will ask you to put your legs straight out, like you are sitting on the floor with your legs out. He then guides you both safely back onto the ground.

This was actually the scariest part of the skydive for me as the ground seemed to arrive very quickly! Plus, I had hiked Roy’s Peak Track the day prior and it was tough to raise my legs as my quads were really sore. But thanks to Ben, our landing was smooth and successful.

Once you’ve landed, your Tandem Master will disconnect you and you both stand up. It feels pretty crazy to be standing back on the ground again after such an incredible ride. Your mind wants the fall to keep happening (at least mine did), but it’s over.

The drop zone location is on private land, so there will be someone there to pick everyone up and bring you back to the airport. They don’t specify exactly where this is as it’s not safe to have others there when people are landing. In fact, if you arrive with friends and family that are not jumping, they need to wait for you at the Skydive Wanaka hangar location.

After Skydiving In Wanaka

If you’re like me, you will still feel incredibly exhilarated after your dive. It’s a bit like being on dry land after riding on a boat for a long time, but different. Suddenly standing still feels quite boring. You just flew through the air at speeds of up to 124 mph (200 kmph)! Your adrenaline will still be pumping and you will likely feel a strong sense of euphoria. Mine lasted for about a week!

Other Things About Skydiving In Wanaka

Ages and Weight Limits

Just about anyone can skydive, as long as you are in good health. It’s best to see their website for full details on any health or mobility concerns.

If you weigh more than 209 pounds (95 kg) your Tandem Master will assess if you can dive or not. The minimum weight is 88 pounds (44 kg). I think the limits on weight are due to harness fit limitations. Safety is important here, so if you’re outside these limits and they don’t think it’s safe, trust their expert judgment.

What To Wear

First of all, you need to wear shoes that will not fall off when skydiving. This is for your protection and the safety of others (which makes sense).

For clothes, it’s best to wear layers of comfortable clothes. How many depends on the outdoor temperature. It will likely be very cold at elevation, but warm at ground level. You will wear a full jumpsuit with long pants and long sleeves overtop of what you’re wearing. At the very least, if you have multiple layers, you can quickly adjust before putting on the jumpsuit.

Food And Hydration

They also suggest that you make sure to eat normally and stay hydrated. You don’t want to be dehydrated for your dive, as this may make you more likely to become light-headed or nauseous.

One of the things that surprised me, which I guess I should have expected, was that I needed to “pop” my ears during my jump. I should have realized this since I fly a lot, but with so many other things going on at once, I found myself trying to figure out why my ears hurt so much while I was freefalling. It just took a couple of seconds, but I finally figured it out.

I was also surprised at how cold it was up at 12,000’ (I’m a freeze baby that Iives in the desert in Arizona). The jumpsuit kept my body pretty warm, but my face, teeth (yes, my teeth), and my ears were really, really cold. There’s not much you can do about this, it’s just nice to know in advance.

I also got a little nauseous during my freefall. Maybe I was dehydrated (I usually am a little). It subsided a little when I looked out at the scenery rather than directly down, which is a good thing to do anyway.

I was also surprised at just how much I loved skydiving. It’s such a natural high. I felt so invigorated and giddy when I landed. I knew I wanted to do it again!

Best Time Of Day For Skydiving In Wanaka

Although Skydive Wanaka offers jumps all day, they suggest booking in the morning as sometimes afternoons can get windy.

Weather For Skydiving In Wanaka

For safety reasons, the weather conditions need to be right. Visibility needs to be good, it can’t be too windy, and there can’t be any rain. It’s best to call in advance of your flight (they suggest 30 minutes) to make sure the weather is still good.

They will work with you to see if they can move you to a different day or time if necessary. Because of this, it’s best to plan your dive earlier in your trip. Generally the weather is sunny in Wanaka, but the weather can change quickly.

Best Time Of Year For Skydiving In Wanaka

You can book all year round, as long as the weather is good. The advantage of skydiving in Wanaka in winter, or at least cooler weather, is that the mountain peaks will be snow-capped, and more beautiful. It will be cold though!

How To Get To Skydive Wanaka

Skydive Wanaka is located at the Wanaka airport, about 6 miles (10 km) from the center of town.

If you don’t have a car, you can take a taxi. Or ask them about their complimentary pick up. The pick up spot is at the iSite in Wanaka near the Lakefront. Make sure to be there on time!

Want More Of New Zealand?

For other great things to do in Wanaka, see my post in Hiking Roy’s Peak Track, one of the most popular things to do here.

For other great hikes in New Zealand, see my posts on Routeburn Track, Tongariro, Abel Tasman Coastal Track, Cape Brett Walkway, Key Summit Track, A Day Hike on Kepler Track, Ben Lomond Track, and Queesntown Hill Walkway. Routeburn, Tongariro, Kepler, and Abel Tasman are 4 of New Zealand’s 10 “Great Walks”, but all of these hikes are amazing.

If you’re on the South Island, you must visit stunning Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world, the unmissable Milford Sound, sometimes called the 8th wonder of the world, and all the stops along the way on the drive from Queenstown To Te Anau and Te Anau to Milford Sound. There’s also incredible Franz Josef Glacier where you can walk on a glacier!

If you’re a wine lover, make sure to stop in Marlborough to taste some of the world’s best Sauvignon Blanc. There are many famous wineries (and smaller local ones) to stop at and enjoy great food and wine. Even better, many now also offer beer as well.

To help plan your trip, see my New Zealand Travel Guide. It covers the top destinations above, how to get around, when to visit, safety tips, and more.

Safe Travels!

Julie