Lake Taupo is one of the best places to skydive in New Zealand, by far. It doesn't offer the totally spectacular scenery of Queenstown, but the scenery is still amazing, with the three volcanoes (Ruapehu, Tongariro, and Ngauruhoe) on one end of the lake, the lake itself, and the towns around it. Plus, it beats pretty much everywhere else in the country for price. When I was there, three skydive companies were having a price war. Their advertised prices were $199 per 12,000 foot dive, but all the booking places and all the hostels told us about the "early bird specials"--the other companies were charging $179 if you dive before 10am, and "Freefall!" was $159 before 10am. The lady at the front desk highly recommended "Freefall!," not only because she had previously worked there but because she said they had the best photography around (not that I had the money for that). Without letting myself think, I signed up for a 9am jump.
When the morning I was to skydive rolled around, I was slightly nervous. I woke up an hour and a half before the dive, and after mulling what I was about to do for the entire time, I went outside at 9am. Unfortunately, the bus that was supposed to pick me up and take me to Taupo airport was 30 minutes late, so I got to sit and listen to people waiting for the Kiwi Experience bus attempt to scare me for the entire time.
When I finally got to the airport, I was just in time to see my dive group walk out of the 20-minute video session. Apparently, it was a promotional video of some description--not an actual "what to do and what not to do" video. I'm not entirely sure though, because the lady that drove me first told me that I had to wait for the next video and dive (but I would still get the early bird price because of the time I signed up for), and then she turned around and told me, "hey, get suited up, you're on this plane," which left me a bit stunned.
I got suited up with everyone else, at the same pace--they didn't rush me through anything just to get me on the plane I had signed up for. There were many checks along the way to make sure that everything was attached, zipped up, etc., correctly. While I was still worried that no one had actually told me what I was going to have to do, I felt comfortable with the amount of effort they put in to make sure everyone was secure. I suppose a death probably wouldn't help Freefall! win the price wars.
While I was getting suited up, I met the guy that knew what he was doing that I was going to be jumping with. It was a very brief meeting and he didn't give me much more information about the skydive.
This review is continued in Freefall! pt 2.
From journal Crazy, Crazy Taupo