SKY DIVING!!!

This is the long-awaited post of the Macks doing something I never imagined I would!!! We went SKY DIVING!!! It was an incredible experience, unexplainable and difficult to remember as soon as we landed. It was exhilarating, full of adrenaline and a bit nauseating. ha!

This post is way late because I was hoping to find a way to post our sky diving VIDEOS too! However, it just hasn't happened. Their DVD formatting is newer than what we use in the US, so we can only even watch it on our computer. Anyways, the sky diving pictures will have to do. And sometime you will just have to come see our videos for yourself. They are, by far, the coolest things EVER!
I went first... with two other people. Mike and I both had videographers jump with us, so we had to go on separate planes. It probably made things better for me because I had to be more brave. Here's me getting ready to go!

My jumper and me. Am I excited or terrified???

The plane! Yes, it's incredibly tiny. Seven of us squeezed into a plane the size of my couch.

Mike is geared up and ready to go!

A beautiful landing!

Mike absolutely loved it! Although I say it was my first and last jump, he'd definitely go again. Not sure anything can beat jumping out of a plane over the incredible New Zealand landscape, though.

We survived! AMAZING jump! What a rush!

Fantastic Adventures

We had such a wonderful trip to New Zealand! The adventures began on Tuesday when we went on a city tour of the area around Queenstown and Arrowtown, both old gold mining areas. We were guided through mountains, fields, vineyards, mining towns, Lord of the Rings scenery, and more.

The skies are so beautiful it's almost tough to take a bad picture. In New Zealand, they have almost zero pollution. Somehow, though, they also have almost zero ozone layer. New Zealand has the highest amount of skin cancer in the world! This is why the skies are beautiful but sun screen is a must!

Here, we visited the ORIGINAL bungee jumping location, the Kawarau Bridge. The inventors of bungee (men, of course) were from New Zealand. This is the most famous spot for doing it. We got to watch several *crazy* people do it!

If you look super duper close, there's a man plunging toward the water in this picture!

We spent time driving through the villages around Queenstown... areas where people spend a lot of money on incredible land! Our driver was full of information, telling us about the vineyards growing Pinot Noir grapes as well as the number of jobs people have simply to survive in the area.
That was day one! Stay tuned for more....

NZ Teaser

A few teaser photos from you of our incredible trip to New Zealand. No, these aren't stock photos! They are unbelievable, though!!

And, yes, we're still alive! Can't wait to share our crazy adventures with you!

WOW!

All of a sudden, last night, it hit me… we're going to NEW ZEALAND!! I've been packing and planning like we're going on vacation, but when I realized where and what we'll be doing, my heart skipped a beat.

We spent Tuesday night watching Lord of the Rings, which was filmed in New Zealand, so we could see the scenery. Not really sure what was real and what was a set, but it is beautiful! Incredible countryside, gorgeous seascapes, God's creation! (Good movie, by the way. I was sure I didn't want to see it, but now I'm glad I did)

So we are traveling to the other side of the world for an experience down under. I laid out my clothes - for the second time - last night, and I had to have things set out for : White water rafting, a Dart River safari (that takes us back to where L.o.t.R. was filmed), and sky diving. I'm not sure my mind is prepared for what all we get to do next week…. But I can't wait!!! :)

Looking forward to sharing photos and stories when we return!