Poms Awaaaaaaaaaay!

Only for the brave, mad or suffering a mid-life crisis. Surely there's a category there to cover everyone. I can personally vouch that the BEST way to see your new 'home' is by jumping out of a perfectly good airplane for Bird's Eye views of the Sunshine Coast and beyond, to quote Buzz Lightyear. A 20-minute or so scenic flight takes you to jump altitude (you can choose which height you jump from - so you can suit your budget) and you see the Glasshouse Mountains, Bribie Island, Moreton Bay to the South, the whole of the Sunshine Coast and as far as Double Island Point to the North ... WOW! Then you jump out of the plane. My tandem skydive was, unexpected shall we say, and not something I would have chosen to do. Left with no choice, I jumped and it was one of the best adventure experiences ever. It's stunning jumping out over the ocean - more serene than you'll ever imagine and just beautiful, beautiful. I was expecting an adrenalin rush after, but better than that, I had a sense of achievement that lasted for a couple of weeks. I literally wanted strangers in supermarkets to ask me what I'd done that day. Nothing much, just jumped out of a plane at 14,000ft ...

I went with Sunshine Coast Skydivers in Caloundra. They offer tandem jumps from 6,000ft, 8,000ft, 12,000ft and 14,000ft. The higher the jump, the longer the freefall, the bigger the buzz. I didn't get my skydive on DVD and I'm gutted, so make sure you do. Check out http://www.jumpscs.com/ or call 07 5437 0211/0418 776 775 / email jump@jumpscs.com - up to three people can take a tandem jump (skydive with an instructor harnessed to you - he's the one who does everything, you just go along for the ride) together and you land on one of Caloundra's lovely beaches. If you're from the other end of the Coast (Noosa way) make a day of it checking out the beaches 'down south'. Just don't forget to shout 'Poms Awaaaaaaaaaay' as you jump ...