In recent years I have made an effort to give less "stuff" as gifts, and focus on experiences. This started a few years ago when I was thinking about a gift for my niece, who is the same age as my daughter. At the time I had an "Entertainment Book", and came across a voucher for a Segway experience at Currumbin Sanctuary and instantly knew that this would be the best gift for her. Not only would she have fun, my daughter and I would also go along and it would be a bonding experience for all of us. We still laugh about the time my daughter fell off her segway in front of the Cassowary enclosure (only the most dangerous bird ever).
Since then we have seen plays and musicals, played virtual reality video games at Holoverse, attended the Matt Hollywood magic show at Sanctuary Cove, played Supagolf with the kangaroos watching at Sirromet Winery, Sand Tobogganing on Moreton Island and have done another Segway at Southbank. These experiences have been great bonding opportunities for our immediate family, and have also allowed me to build better relationships with other family members that we take along. I am convinced that time together having fun is the best gift we can give.
With that in mind, this year I came across a Scoopon for iFLY Indoor Skydiving on the Gold Coast. I have to be honest and say that I really wanted to do it! I also recognised that this could be a fun family activity, and a great birthday gift for my niece. We made a booking for Saturday 3rd June, which finally arrived last Saturday.
We were told to be there an hour early, so we left at 8am to give us time to pick up my niece and find parking. iFLY recommends the Bruce Bishop council car park which is only a few minutes walk away. It costs $2.50 per hour. We arrived at about 9:15, well before our 10:30am "flight time".
In the foyer there are a number of touch screens on which you check in. If you have followed the emailed instructions and already completed the waiver, this is very fast. From here you go to the front desk, where they give you an "intro" stamp on your wrist and show you into the facility.
There is a large seating area around the wind tunnel, with couches, tables and chairs. I recommend that you arrive early as instructed so that you can see an earlier group have their turn, especially if you have any nerves! There is a large screen on the wall showing various skydiving and wind tunnel exploits, and TV screens showing the names of the participants for the next couple of sessions. Toilets and vending machines are available.
Approximately 30 minutes before our "flight time", our instructor Oliver called us in for "training". This occurs in a small room with bench seats and a TV. Oliver showed us "the position", which means making a banana-like curve with your body. He was very chilled out and friendly and put us all at ease. We watched a short video and learned about the hand signals that would be used in the wind tunnel.
After training, we suited up in blue flight suits, clear plastic googles and orange helmets. They also provided ear plugs to mitigate the noise in the tunnel. You put these suits on over your clothes, and wear your own sneakers. They instruct you to remove all jewellery and items from your pockets, as loose items can become bullets in the tunnel. There are lockers that the instructor locks before you leave the dressing area. There were 16 people in our group.
As a group we walked out to the wind tunnel and awaited our turn!
They have the process down to a fine art. As one group is about to finish, they stand up to watch their instructor put on a short show in the wind tunnel while the next group files in and sits down behind them. As we sat down I was a little nervous, more that I would embarrass myself than that I would get hurt.
One at a time, the instructor calls you into the tunnel. You lean into the wind and he expertly maneuvers you around and gives you hand signals to help you get into the best position. I noticed that some instructors were quite hands on but Oliver seemed to be trying to get us to do as much as we could on our own. Of course he rescued us when we were likely to go headfirst into the wall!
There is a clock visible that counts down your 50 seconds of flight for each turn. That does not sound long, but it feels a lot longer when you are in there.
There is an operator in a booth behind the clock, and he was quite clearly adjusting the strength of the wind according to the size of each person. When the younger kids went in we could hear the wind level decrease significantly.
I was surprised when it was my turn how loud it was, and how strong the wind was. I have jumped out of a plane and I didn't remember it being so hard to breathe. I loved it but found myself out of breath after each turn. Oliver had a helmet that covered his mouth as well and I wished that I had one of those. It is a lot harder to make yourself move in the right direction than it looks, and the slightest movement has an impact. Oliver was giving me the "relax" hand signal. I thought I was, but watching the video back afterwards I don't look that relaxed!
As I sat down after my turn, my son was trying to tell me something, but between the noise of the wind, the helmet and the earplugs I couldn't quite figure it out. Eventually he lifted the side of my helmet and informed me that my face was covered with drool. Righteo.
After everyone had their first turn, we started the second round. Before we went in, Oliver told us that we could opt to have him take us to the top of the wind tunnel for an extra $10. As soon as I watched the first person do it, I knew I wanted to do it. My husband was first out of our group and he and the two girls took up the high flight option. At first my son was not keen, but as he entered the tunnel he nodded to Oliver that he wanted to do it. Afterwards he commented that he was so glad that he had given it a go - it was the best bit.
I have to agree. Having Oliver spin you around and whirl up to the top of the tunnel and then plunge back to the bottom and then doing it over again was quite exhilarating, and is well worth forking out the extra $10. Again as I sat down the kids informed me that I had a drooling problem.
Once everyone has finished their second turn, we stood up to watch Oliver perform some truly mind bending tricks in the tunnel. Forget walking on water, he was literally walking on air.
After removing the flight suit, google and helmets, we paid for our high flights, and Oliver presented us with our certificates. There are interactive screens where you can view the photos and videos from the session, and prices range from $5 to email you a photo or video, right up to $75 to take home all photos and all videos from the session on USB (meaning that if you have a group, you get the photos and videos of everyone).
I do believe that the kids had almost as much fun browsing the photos and watching the videos as they did in the wind tunnel. They were laughing hysterically, particularly when they got to photos like these of me.
After a divine Greek lunch at Levendis and gelato at Zanette's, our outing was over. We have no "stuff" to show for it, but had a priceless morning laughing together and have some hilarious photos to prove it.
Since then we have seen plays and musicals, played virtual reality video games at Holoverse, attended the Matt Hollywood magic show at Sanctuary Cove, played Supagolf with the kangaroos watching at Sirromet Winery, Sand Tobogganing on Moreton Island and have done another Segway at Southbank. These experiences have been great bonding opportunities for our immediate family, and have also allowed me to build better relationships with other family members that we take along. I am convinced that time together having fun is the best gift we can give.
With that in mind, this year I came across a Scoopon for iFLY Indoor Skydiving on the Gold Coast. I have to be honest and say that I really wanted to do it! I also recognised that this could be a fun family activity, and a great birthday gift for my niece. We made a booking for Saturday 3rd June, which finally arrived last Saturday.
We were told to be there an hour early, so we left at 8am to give us time to pick up my niece and find parking. iFLY recommends the Bruce Bishop council car park which is only a few minutes walk away. It costs $2.50 per hour. We arrived at about 9:15, well before our 10:30am "flight time".
In the foyer there are a number of touch screens on which you check in. If you have followed the emailed instructions and already completed the waiver, this is very fast. From here you go to the front desk, where they give you an "intro" stamp on your wrist and show you into the facility.
There is a large seating area around the wind tunnel, with couches, tables and chairs. I recommend that you arrive early as instructed so that you can see an earlier group have their turn, especially if you have any nerves! There is a large screen on the wall showing various skydiving and wind tunnel exploits, and TV screens showing the names of the participants for the next couple of sessions. Toilets and vending machines are available.
 |
| My daughter - Megan |
Approximately 30 minutes before our "flight time", our instructor Oliver called us in for "training". This occurs in a small room with bench seats and a TV. Oliver showed us "the position", which means making a banana-like curve with your body. He was very chilled out and friendly and put us all at ease. We watched a short video and learned about the hand signals that would be used in the wind tunnel.
After training, we suited up in blue flight suits, clear plastic googles and orange helmets. They also provided ear plugs to mitigate the noise in the tunnel. You put these suits on over your clothes, and wear your own sneakers. They instruct you to remove all jewellery and items from your pockets, as loose items can become bullets in the tunnel. There are lockers that the instructor locks before you leave the dressing area. There were 16 people in our group.
As a group we walked out to the wind tunnel and awaited our turn!
They have the process down to a fine art. As one group is about to finish, they stand up to watch their instructor put on a short show in the wind tunnel while the next group files in and sits down behind them. As we sat down I was a little nervous, more that I would embarrass myself than that I would get hurt.
One at a time, the instructor calls you into the tunnel. You lean into the wind and he expertly maneuvers you around and gives you hand signals to help you get into the best position. I noticed that some instructors were quite hands on but Oliver seemed to be trying to get us to do as much as we could on our own. Of course he rescued us when we were likely to go headfirst into the wall!
 |
| Some serious training going on here with Reid and Oliver |
There is a clock visible that counts down your 50 seconds of flight for each turn. That does not sound long, but it feels a lot longer when you are in there.
There is an operator in a booth behind the clock, and he was quite clearly adjusting the strength of the wind according to the size of each person. When the younger kids went in we could hear the wind level decrease significantly.
I was surprised when it was my turn how loud it was, and how strong the wind was. I have jumped out of a plane and I didn't remember it being so hard to breathe. I loved it but found myself out of breath after each turn. Oliver had a helmet that covered his mouth as well and I wished that I had one of those. It is a lot harder to make yourself move in the right direction than it looks, and the slightest movement has an impact. Oliver was giving me the "relax" hand signal. I thought I was, but watching the video back afterwards I don't look that relaxed!
 |
| My niece, Madison |
As I sat down after my turn, my son was trying to tell me something, but between the noise of the wind, the helmet and the earplugs I couldn't quite figure it out. Eventually he lifted the side of my helmet and informed me that my face was covered with drool. Righteo.
After everyone had their first turn, we started the second round. Before we went in, Oliver told us that we could opt to have him take us to the top of the wind tunnel for an extra $10. As soon as I watched the first person do it, I knew I wanted to do it. My husband was first out of our group and he and the two girls took up the high flight option. At first my son was not keen, but as he entered the tunnel he nodded to Oliver that he wanted to do it. Afterwards he commented that he was so glad that he had given it a go - it was the best bit.
I have to agree. Having Oliver spin you around and whirl up to the top of the tunnel and then plunge back to the bottom and then doing it over again was quite exhilarating, and is well worth forking out the extra $10. Again as I sat down the kids informed me that I had a drooling problem.
Once everyone has finished their second turn, we stood up to watch Oliver perform some truly mind bending tricks in the tunnel. Forget walking on water, he was literally walking on air.
After removing the flight suit, google and helmets, we paid for our high flights, and Oliver presented us with our certificates. There are interactive screens where you can view the photos and videos from the session, and prices range from $5 to email you a photo or video, right up to $75 to take home all photos and all videos from the session on USB (meaning that if you have a group, you get the photos and videos of everyone).
I do believe that the kids had almost as much fun browsing the photos and watching the videos as they did in the wind tunnel. They were laughing hysterically, particularly when they got to photos like these of me.
 |
| They love this one because it looks like I am sitting down |
 |
| No commentary needed, really |
After a divine Greek lunch at Levendis and gelato at Zanette's, our outing was over. We have no "stuff" to show for it, but had a priceless morning laughing together and have some hilarious photos to prove it.
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