Thrill seekers have converged on the Sunshine Coast, with plane loads of skydivers getting a bird’s eye view of the region in recent months.
Skydive Noosa, which operates at Coolum Beach, was closed for 12 weeks in mid-2020 because of COVID restrictions but they’ve been ultra-busy since July.
“Noosa has been thriving,” Skydive Australia south-east Queensland operations manager Tina Bourne said.
“We’re the only (Skydive Australia) drop zone in Australia that’s consistently been jumping more people than at the same time the previous year.”
Skydive Noosa, operating since 2016, experienced a record number of jumpers for one day with 80 people taking flight on December 28.
Ms Bourne said they had almost 600 customers in December, despite losing time to poor weather.
“On a busy day we do up to 11 loads,” she said.
The plane caters for up to 17 people, including eight instructors (for eight tandem dives).
She said about 87% of customers hailed from Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.
“No-one could go too far (during travel restrictions) so a lot of people stayed local and we noticed a lot of people holidaying in Noosa, because it’s such a desirable destination and there’s so much to do on the Sunshine Coast.
“So, they’ve stayed for holidays and then thought ‘why not throw in a skydive as well.”
She expected more enquiries in coming months, after domestic border restrictions eased.
“I think a lot of people will come to Queensland for holidays and hopefully we’ll see some of the Sydneysiders who are now able to visit again.”
She said a number of first-time skydivers have returned.
“We’ve noticed an increase in people coming back during the last six months.”
“We find people get a gift voucher for Christmas and come and do a jump and say they want to do it again and they’ll bring siblings or friends to share the experience.”
She said many people were attracted to skydiving because it is self-empowering.
“You beat your fears, push your boundaries and step outside your comfort zone.”
“Once you’ve done a skydive you feel like you can do anything.”
She’s done 28 jumps while many of the instructors have completed thousands.
“People often ask me to explain what a free-fall is like and I just can’t.”
“It’s just one of those things you’ve got to find out for yourself.”
Skydive Noosa essentially took over a skydiving business in the area almost five years ago.
“It’s now a lot bigger than what it was. We had the opportunity to grow skydiving on the Sunshine Coast.”
It’s one of 12 locations for Skydive Australia, which operations as far north as Cairns, south to Melbourne and west to Perth.
There are two skydiving locations on the Sunshine Coast, with Sunshine Coast Skydivers running out of Caloundra Airport.
