I was standing outside a tiny Cessna, 10,000 feet above the earth when Bill, the tandem skydiving instructor harnessed to my back, yelled something in my ear. The wind whipped his command away but from our training on the ground I knew what to do.
Part of my brain was screaming: "Are you *#X*Z# mad!" while another part engaged the motor skills needed to lift my feet off the support strut that held me above the void.
The result was fleeting but nonetheless bizarre. While Bill braced himself in the doorway, I hung from his chest, swinging in the breeze with my arms crossed like a woman who's lost her top in the surf, goggle-eyed as patchwork fields, roads, houses and lakes scrolled by below.
Then the rush! We fell away like a leaf and rolled upside down, turtle-like, for a dizzying moment - disoriented by the infinite expanse of clouds and sky - then the earth came back into view and we reached maximum freefall speed, weightless and ecstatic all at once. We plummeted towards earth at 200kph with adrenalin spurting through our veins - and a grin wrapped round our ears!
Small wonder that people become hooked on adrenalin-inducing experiences like skydiving. The thrill, particularly in the case of airborne adventures, is naturally enough like nothing on earth.
And while skydivers with hundreds of jumps in their log books vouch that the rush does not readily fade, airborne adrenalin junkies can always expand their horizons by taking off in a balloon, hang glider, helicopter, jet fighter or aerobatic aircraft.
Adrenaholics who prefer their brew mixed with water can get a fix fishing for marlin, kite surfing, sailing, scuba diving or whitewater rafting.
And those who don't like to stray too far from terra firma can try abseiling, caving, canyoning, mountain biking, paintball or rock climbing. They could also drive a racing car, go for a burl on a Harley Davidson or climb the Harbour Bridge.
Every weekend at numerous locations around, above, under and off NSW, people are bonding with a bunch of like-minded thrillseekers who have discovered that there is "more to life than hangovers and coffee shops".
They are members of the Adrenalin Club and their monthly calendar of options is guaranteed to resuscitate even the most advanced members of the Living Dead Fraternity. That's one of the greatest ironies of what many would regard as risking your life - the experience leaves you feeling utterly alive.
I remember glimpsing my fatality on a fence post as a passenger in a rally car driven by a kamikaze Japanese driver who had the car hurtling down a dead straight dirt road - fishtailed at right angles to the normal direction - before thumping the accelerator and rocketing us past the fence post with my name on it. He had literally taken us through a right angle turn-off in two straight lines, linked by a precision fishtail that would have wiped out my post (and me) if the car hadn't been perfectly positioned to pass through the narrow gap before fishtailing in the opposite direction.
My heart was not only in my mouth but big as a basketball and pumping with turbo-charged enthusiasm. I hopped out of that car born again.
But rallying is just one of several ways in which the Adrenalin Club can feed its members' need for speed. Other options include an Advanced Driving Course, racing a Formula Ford car or accepting the ultimate challenge - 20 minutes of on-track action in a Formula 3000/Holden carbon fibre cockpit at Wakefield Park in Goulburn.
This is the closest thing to Formula One racing in Australia and instructors give a full briefing on high performance driving attitudes, high-speed car handling techniques, such as braking and gear change points, cornering lines, efficient cockpit work and throttle control before letting you loose on the track.
If whitewater rafting is more your speed, the Adrenalin Club can send you down the following rivers (with a paddle!): Shoalhaven, Nymboida, Gwydir and the Upper Murray. And at Penrith Whitewater Stadium, you can even try your luck on the same rapids that tested Olympic paddlers during the 2000 Games.
Like most adventure activities, rafting can be dangerous and that's why the Adrenalin Club chooses to work with adventure companies with proven professional and safety records.
Some years ago we were rafting the Nymboida (not through the Adrenalin Club) when our raft flipped and my father was dragged downstream under the surface, banging into rocks before getting his head above the water. We had to climb out of a gorge and run 20km to raise the alarm for a helicopter rescue that was successfully completed at dawn the next morning. Dad made a full recovery from that mishap but that was the end of his rafting adventures.
Any activity that gets the adrenalin flowing should be treated with respect and things can go wrong. But in many cases it's true that you are more likely to be hit by a car crossing the street, or struck by lightning, than having a serious accident with a reputable adventure company. So don't be too scared - for most people the rewards far outweigh a risk that never eventuates.
Another popular aquatic outing for the club's adrenaholics is scuba diving with night and shark dives available if you're game. And if you're not too sure you might like to check the Dating the Grey Nurse feature on this site.
"I watched fascinated as the diver's torch lit the head of a large grey nurse cruising less than two metres away. The diver fixed his torch on the head, illuminating a dentist's nightmare of erratically protruding fangs, before letting the beam slide down the body to the sleek tail, an exercise that seemed to take forever."
Or, perhaps you'd like to try your hand at sailing? Not enough adrenalin - think again!
"Moonraker ploughed on keeling over towards 90 degrees - through blurred vision the tip of her mast seemed to decapitate the biggest waves as we tacked into the storm. The deck we had been standing on rolled into an almost vertical wall. We clung to it with the full length of our bodies, anchored by sodden toes and suspended from crooked fingers. The whitehorsed sea galloped past…So this was sailing?"
The Adrenalin Club can inject you with experiences like these every weekend, but be warned, you might just get addicted!
The Adrenalin Club is based at 80 McDougall St, Kirribilli, NSW 2061. Check out their monthly calendar of activities, list of experiences on offer and membership details or call 1800 763 762, fax (02) 9923 1562 or email action@adrenalin.com.au
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