Gold Coast: Tandem Skydive & Kirra Beach Landing

4.95

(462 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

We shuffled out onto the tarmac at Gold Coast Airport, wind whipping my hair sideways and making me second-guess every life choice that led to this moment. The instructor — I think his name was Dave? — handed me a harness and grinned like he knew a secret. “You ready?” he asked, but honestly, I was too busy trying to remember how to breathe. The salt in the air mixed with jet fuel, which is not a combo you expect to get nostalgic about, but here we are.

The plane felt smaller than I thought it would. We squeezed in beside each other, knees knocking as we climbed higher — 12,000 feet apparently happens faster than you’d think. Looking out the window, the Gold Coast stretched out below: canals twisting like ribbons, skyscrapers glinting in the sun, and then all that blue ocean just waiting. My instructor tapped my shoulder and started running through last-minute checks. I tried to listen but mostly stared at my shoes (which suddenly seemed very far from any ground).

And then the door opened. There’s this weird silence right before you jump — like your brain can’t decide if it should panic or laugh. We tumbled out together into pure noise and wind; for maybe forty-five seconds it was just falling through clouds so thick they tasted cold and metallic on my teeth. I actually yelled something on the way down but no one could hear it except maybe Dave (sorry again for swearing). When the parachute opened everything slowed down — suddenly there was space to notice things: sunlight bouncing off waves, kids playing on Kirra Beach below us, even someone waving up (maybe at us?).

Landing in soft sand felt almost too easy after all that chaos. My legs wobbled when I stood up — partly nerves, partly relief, maybe both. They handed me a certificate while my hands were still shaking a bit. I didn’t expect to feel so light afterwards, or to keep replaying that first step out of the plane days later when I’m back home making coffee.