It can be a pretty terrifying experience. Sitting in a tiny prop plane and watching those in front of you position themselves on the edge of an open door and tumble out into the abyss. At an altitude of 14,000 feet, their screams carried away by the wind. Can I skydive over the beach in Sydney?
You follow their lead, of course, and shuffle your way to sit on the edge of that open door while the plane is still in flight. You’re strapped to a beautiful stranger who instructs you to arch your head back on their shoulder, though I haven’t yet figured out if this is for actual safety or merely to ensure you don’t freak out from looking down! Where to Skydive in Sydney over the beach.
And then you start to fall. Your screams, too, disappearing into thin air. Though with that initial terror comes an adrenalin rush so intense, you’ll remember the feeling for the rest of your life. Best Sydney Skydives.
The air rushes into your face and your heart starts racing. As the adrenalin rush kicks in, you feel like you’re floating on a cushion of air. The silence is amazing, the view is sensational, and as the initial shock of the free fall quickly wears off your fear disappears, replaced with an intense and exhilarating thrill of soaring through the air. Learn to Skydive in Sydney and Wollongong.
Sydney’s Only Beach Skydive
When I heard my cousin was visiting Sydney to Skydive in celebration of her 18th there was only one possible reaction. I was driving three hours to Sydney so I could come too! Sydney Skydivers video. Wollongong skydive video.
Wollongong Skydive
The drop zone for Sydney’s only beach skydive is located in Wollongong, just one hour south of Sydney CBD (they provide free return bus transfers every day of the week so you won’t have far to travel from most hotels or backpacker hostels in Sydney).
Jumping directly over North Wollongong beach from Australia’s highest altitude of up to 14,000 feet, those who choose to skydive here experience the ultimate thrill of freefall at over 200 km/hr for up to an insane 60 seconds, and then float under canopy for 5-7 minutes soaking up spectacular views of Wollongong and the Southern Sydney beaches. How many skydives are in Sydney?
And Wollongong’s spectacular beaches look even better from 14,000 feet! The views from the air span over the southern beaches, the Royal National Park, Illawarra, Sydney and Wollongong. The coastal waters are so clear that when present, whales and dolphins are frequently spotted from the air. Who thought skydiving in Sydney could be this incredible?! Sydney Skydive video.
Pro tip: If you’re driving yourself, give yourself adequate time to make it through Sydney traffic. We were 40 minutes late for our jump just due to traffic delays. Luckily, the staff were incredible and shuffled people around to make room for us on a later plane.
As with every jump I’ve completed to date, this is an industry where the staff are incredibly passionate about what they do. Everyone in the Wollongong team has the same can-do mindset – they’re energetic, experienced and committed to making skydiving a safe and memorable experience you’ll never forget. Is it worth it getting the photos and video from a skydive?
Photo Gallery
As always, we highly recommend booking the photo and video package as a keepsake from your jump, though unlike other drop zones, you don’t have the make the decision up front. Sydney skydive photos and video.
We thought it was quite brilliant that those who hadn’t opted for photos or video had the option to view clips from their jump and purchase the media afterwards if they wanted to. Many jumps won’t film you at all if you opt out of the photo package. Watch someone skydive in Sydney.
For more information, visit http://skydive.com.au/.
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22 Comments
Go Meg! Looks like you had a great experience. I went skydiving for my 20th birthday – quite a while ago. The tandem jump you did looks a lot safer.
Thanks Rhonda! It was an amazing experience, loved every second of it! You should definitely consider jumping again; you have some great locations for it in NZ!
Whilst I’ve been to Wollongong I never knew they had a sky dive facility. I did a dive in Cairns which was fantastic. I totally agree about getting the video package even though it can be quite pricey. I do cringe each time I watch it though to see the effect it has on my face, all those ripples from the G force!
Ooooh we’re going to Cairns in September and I really want to do the jump there.
Haha and yes, I made sure I didn’t upload half of the photos that came through with the media package – some of them make me look like a chipmunk the way my face is being shaped by the wind haha :D
My heart is racing and I didn’t even jump! Every time I read one of your skydiving posts (I think I’ve read them all!), I immediately start googling best places to skydive. This summer is going to be the year. Now, it’s just about where. I have a feeling it’s going to be pretty addicting!
Jumping over the beach and even spotting whales from the sky would be such a bucket list experience! Just love your cousin’s spirit for choosing this for her 18th bday!
Haha yes there have been a few of them now … this is number 3 in around 3 months, so I’m trying to make sure I write a different post for each of them and not just regurgitate the same words :D Funny how each video is always different though!!
We actually have a post on the best places to Skydive if you’re looking for inspiration/destination ideas on where to jump: http://www.mappingmegan.com/best-places-to-skydive-around-the-world/
Some really great ones there! Mount Everest is at the top of my list (highest commercial jump in the world), though it’s $35,000 so that one’s a little out of my price range atm :D But it’s the first thing I’ll be booking if I ever win the lottery!!
I look forward to hearing all about your first jump later in the year :)
When do you have the next skydive lined up? :) Sounds like you are addicted to it :-D I applaud your courage and perhaps I may even try it myself one day but boy oh boy…i am terribly scared of heights. I don’t think I’ll be brave enough to jump out of a plane for a while…but after watching that video…….SO tempted! :) The scenery is absolutely amazing!
Haha, I’m actually hoping for Adelaide in a couple of months in May; we’re heading out to Kangaroo Island so thinking of getting in a jump before we take the ferry. You become addicted after the first one :D
I promise that you’ll love it, and making the jump will be the most memorable thing you do! The worst part of the whole thing is the mental part of going up in the plane. But I kept telling myself that the instructors you’re strapped to are professionals, and do this up to 10 times a day for a living, so since they want to land safely, you’ll likely land safely too!
…the other nice thing about skydiving and not being brave enough to jump is that you’re strapped to the instructor and they actually push you lol. So you don’t have to do any of the mental leg work of actually making the jump yourself :D And when you’re up there, you’re 14,000 ft above the ground, which is so high that you can’t really gauge a distance to the ground, so that does help in terms of being scared of heights :)
Promise it’s amazing! Highly recommend it. Let me know if you do :)
You are such an adorable adventurer! Looks like a fun thing to do though I wouldn’t be caught dead up that high. ;) One of your quotes made it our WITS16 presentation in Irvine today. ;) Thought you might like to know.
Thanks Melody!! Haha yes it’s so much fun! This is my third jump in three months, so I’m a little addicted to the adrenaline by now!
And thanks for letting me know re WITS16 … which quote?
Was this your first skydive? Reading about your experience, you sound so calm, cool and collected. The ‘shuffling to the front of the plane’ you describe would have looked more like terrified crying and maybe throwing up for me :)
I’m actually a little addicted at this point, this was #4 … 3 of my jumps have been in the last 3 months! My cousin said that to me as we were walking up to the plane too – that I looked too calm and collected lol.
I promise you’ll absolutely love skydiving … though apparently the instructors said they do on occasion end up being the victims of a bit of vomit :S!!! Lol apparently this is pretty rare though :D
You’re so brave! I know I could never do a sky dive, I’d be petrified!
Thankyou! … and I think you might be able to surprise yourself if you did ever want to complete a jump. You’re strapped pretty tightly to the instructors when making a tandem jump, so that goes a long way to making you feel very safe :)
Gosh can you imagine what the staff gets to enjoy, flying for work every day! Great on them for being flexible after you had traffic troubles, and them taking photos even for those who chose not to get a package. I know I definitely would get one, experiences like these need to be shared and relived!
Oh my gosh I know, wouldn’t that be the best job! They said they do up to 11 jumps in a day if it’s really busy. Not a bad profession!!
And absolutely re the photo and video package – this is one of those experiences where it’s really fun to look back on and relive the moment :)
Hope you have the chance to go skydiving soon!
Yay! You’re so adventurous. I have never been skydiving, and frankly it makes me really nervous! You’re braver than I.
If you do ever have the opportunity, I promise it’s the most amazing feeling in the world! Once you’re actually out of the plane your nerves disappear pretty quickly and it’s just pure adrenaline :)
You are a rockstar, Meg!! Skydiving is on my bucket list, and although I was absolutely terrified watching you guys scoot out of the plane, seeing the look of exhilaration on your face on the way down made me think it’s totally worth it the anxiety beforehand!!! The staff at Wollongong seemed super professional and awesome. Maybe I’ll have to make a trip down to Sydney to do it!
Thanks Jen! Highly recommend the Wollongong jump; the scariest part of the jump re the anxiety is honestly the plane ride on the way up. We have a way of playing up the fear in our minds, but as soon as you’re out of the plane I promise the fear instantly disappears. Replaced with an intense feeling of exhilaration!
So absolutely worth any anxiety beforehand :D Hope you have the chance to plan a trip down to Sydney soon :)
This girl is crazyyyy… hehe :D amazing video Meg
Haha glad you enjoyed the video Alice! Hopefully you’ll have the chance to make a jump soon :D!