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New Zealand Abbeyfield resident hang glides on her birthday
Joan, a resident of New Zealand’s Abbeyfield House in Nelson; the first House of eight, with ten more planned, celebrated her birthday (the date is secret but she is not a teenager!) by going on a tandem hang glide over Nelson. She went off with her 50ish instructor who happened to be celebrating his birthday on the same day.
“The adventure started with a van drive that zig-zagged up a very steep hill overlooking Nelson, and from the top you could see all around the district and Tasman Bay. The pilot put the machine together and told Joan, “When we start off it’s a 1, 2, 3, so keep your feet moving as we run down the hill and before you know it we’ll be up in the air.”
“So off they went and they were aloft for about 20 minutes. There was a camera in the corner of the glider and every now and again the instructor would tell her to look up into it. Joan held onto the instructor by loops in his jacket and they hung under the glider side by side with their legs stretched out behind them so that they were almost lying flat in the air. It was quite windy during the flight and, no, she didn’t feel at all air sick!!
“Then it was time to descend. “Oh dear” Joan thought, “what now, how do we get down?” but before she knew it, they were shooting along the earth and landed - then she sat for a while to get her breath back!
“It was the best day - a lovely day. Joan is surprised at the reactions of people who ask “Why do you want to do it?”, but it’s just something she did for herself. She says people should do things to try them out, and enjoy doing it for yourself. And then the next day she was off to enjoy a jet boat ride!
“Joan is very happy at Abbeyfield, and enjoys the company of the other residents. I think we are lucky to have her in our family. People who enjoy living are a blessing to us all. I’ll think a bit harder about my own flight, doing it instead of watching and dreaming about it!!!” (Abbeyfield New Zealand Newsletter, March/April 2007)
