Gwendolyn DeSilva conquered her fear and re-took the jump that went so wrong. Photo / Supplied
Gwendolyn DeSilva conquered her fear and re-took the jump that went so wrong. Photo / Supplied
British tourist who does not like to do adrenaline activities back in harness after mid-air Lake Taupo drama
The first time she attempted a skydive, London woman Gwendolyn DeSilva heard the engine cut out and had to make a daring mid-air escape before watching the plane plummet into Lake Taupo.
Yesterday, the 38-year-old conquered her fear and re-took the jump that went so wrong.
The survival story of 13 people - six tourists, their instructors and the pilot - who jumped unscathed from the burning Skydive near Taupo made international headlines in January. Ms DeSilva, who took a year out from her career as an investment bank marketing manager to travel the world, said she was quite unsettled by the "surreal" experience".
"I am not really a person who likes to do adrenaline activities - I get scared at the littlest things - but one thing on my bucket list has always been to do a skydive."
In January, she was booked to jump with five others on a tour with the New Zealand company Stray, and was the second person to jump from the burning plane.
"When I jumped out of the plane I couldn't see any of the other people ... but I did see the plane curve around and crash into the lake. That's when I knew it was a serious situation we were in."
Ms DeSilva said the skill of the instructors was obvious as they were able to ensure they landed on the only small patch of grass available alongside the lake.
"Surreal might be a good word for it. A lot of people would expect that your whole life flashes before your eyes and you would feel a lot of panic but I don't know, I never felt any sort of panic during the whole thing.
"Since then I have certainly looked at life a little bit different ... All the colours seemed a lot brighter and I had a strong sense of feeling grateful and everything just seemed that much more spectacular."
British tourist Gwendolyn DeSilva and bus driver Paul Heathcote.
As Ms DeSilva continued her trip around the country, skydiving was a popular topic of conversation with travellers and she decided not to let the experience haunt her.
"I knew if I didn't get back up there and do that again I would have lived with that fear forever, but now I have got that achievement to take with me and I will have that for the rest of my life. Everyone would talk about the freefall and seeing the earth from so high up and I wanted to go back and have those sensations, too."
It wasn't until last week that she finally built up the nerve to organise the do-over and yesterday afternoon's feat was completed with Stray bus driver Paul Heathcote, who had supported Ms DeSilva through the first dive, and under the proven guidance of her first instructor.
"I just tried not to think of all the what-ifs and what could and could not happen. The most nerve-racking part was climbing through the same altitude as where we got to the first time.
"It was such an amazing jump and when I landed unscathed I said that I want to go up again. It was one of the best experiences and feelings I have ever had and I am really glad I went and got back up there again."
