Dear Mellaniie,Thank you for taking the time to provide us with feedback. We will endeavor to take your comments on board for future bookings and around our drop zone.In response to your concerns regarding your experience; it seems that the confusion at our end arose from only one of the bookings being prepaid and the other being paid for on the day. This made some of the onsite service difficult in being able to find the non-prepaid booking in our system. In regards to the office staff being perceived as ‘incompetent’, they are long standing respected club members however new to the role and still in training. We have passed on the feedback and done some more training with them in the meantime. We are glad that you enjoyed the Tandem Skyidve experience and that you were happy with the service provided by the Instructor Jamo. We will pass that feedback onto him.As for the DVD (video) the price is $129 as advertised on our website, not $179 as you have stated. Could you please elaborate your concerns regarding the DVD product via email to us (info@skydivingmelbourne.com).Our normal service for the dvd is a 6-8 minutes video of your skydive and a promo of skydiving.Any further feedback would be great to assist us in avoiding future customers having a similar experience.Thanks again for you feedback.Blue Skies,Ian MatthewsOwner
Accelerated Free Fall (AFF) course was the only reason why I travelled to Australia.I did a few fixed-line jumps whilst in the armed forces many years ago, so I thought I would like a short trip down the memory lane..Anyway, the preliminary communications were promising, the school responded OK and was keen and everything looked good.Right from the outset the owner was pushing the idea of paying for the course in advance, in full because of the 'forthcoming carbon surcharges' (no idea if this was true or just a sales trick), etc .. and I paid AUD 2640.00, as advised.I arrived in Melbourne early in the morning, at the end of September 2012 (Australian winter). Not too cold but not warm either.. Had to hang around the unknown town for a whole day as I was supposed to arrive at Euroa train station in the evening. So, no airport pick-up service or anything to make you feel welcome.Euroa is in the middle of nowhere and at the station I met another foreign AFF student, however he was touring Australia whereas I was on a specific mission.We were picked up at the station and taken to the DropZone, which is just a 5 minute drive away..There we found a reasonably nice common area used for socialising and parachute packing/training and a few derelict cabins scattered around - this is where we were told we would stay. No reliable power supply, no lights in cabins, no heating, outside shower/toilets, no running hot water as they use solar heating there - no sun, no warm water.. This is why everyone is asked to bring a flashlight and a sleeping bag...EXTREMELY COLD nights, so most of us were rather ill.. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is the problem of a student. The town is not far, so if someone was going there by car you could ask to get a lift. Basically, very spartan conditions.Safety-wise, there are no obvious problems there. The gear is looked after, the students are properly instructed - everything is drilled into their heads again and again.. Aircraft is OK, serves the purpose.. If you are not used to any kind of exercises, you might find those rather cramped and uncomfortable whilst on your way up..I managed to make only 4 jumps due to the old shoulder problem that unexpectedly surfaced, thus making it impossible for me to safely control a parachute and therefore continue the course.. Local doctors got involved and I had no other option but to cut it short.When it came to discussing the remainder refund, the owner just 'disappeared'.. My emails remained unanswered for months.. and there is still no refund. There seems to be no intention to work out a mutually acceptable solution either - he just wants to hold onto the cash regardless, hiding behind convenient clauses and policies..He eventually replied saying, 'come and do the rest of the course when you can'. Sweet, and this could have been acceptable, but hey, I just happen to live only a 7-hour flight away, a tad too far; oh, and there is another little annoyance called work commitments..So, the owner is not a s straightforward fella to do business with, which leaves some bitter aftertaste.. sadly..All in all, the crowd is great - I made some good friends there. The experience was pretty OK-ish overall, just avoid the cold seasons at all costs. If you are not familiar with Australian Insurance, it is advisable to research and arrange for your own policy to cover medevac/hospitalisation in Australia.You still can go and do your tandem or solo jumps and have heaps of fun, however I would strongly recommend not paying anything in advance in full. I cannot stress this enough.Pay per jump, keep an eye on your balance and everything should be fine.Would I visit Euroa Parachute School again? Highly unlikely, sorry..
The 2 hour roadtrip from Melbourne was an easy drive with a car full of people we didn't stop talking in anticipation of what was to come. We were greeted by very pleasant staff that dealt with all our question, no matter how strange. The build up to the jump is amazing with a wave of different emotions felt by our group of 5. We all decided to get the video of our jump which made it more exciting, with Jarrod & Flip chatting to you through out the experience. If i could give one bit of advice it would be to enjoy the view on the flight up to 10,000 feet and then scream your lunges out with all the animal that is in you with this pure adrenalin rush as you jump out of the plane with Flip strapped to your back and Jazza out in front filming the whole thing. WHAT A RUSH.....and when you touch down like a butterfly with sore feet, you embrace your mates screaming and shouting. I will be doing this again. A special thanks to Flip & Jarrod who are bloody awesome blokes with a great attitude. All the best. Highly recommended.
Bought it as a 30 birthday pressie to myself and a few friends joined with me. Weather cancelled our first arranged jump date and the second arranged date didn't look to good either. But after waiting around until 3.30pm we finally were able to jump! One of the best experiences of my life and dont really remember the start of the freefall as I had my eyes closed!The fire in the barn was great as it was a cold day! The only thing that was missing was toast and marshmallows!
The staff at the parachute school know what they're doing. The chief instructor has over 14,000 jumps! I did my theory course without any other students and found that this wasn't an issue. Throughout the practical training I received guidance from a variety of instructors who all gave clear and concise critique. This greatly assisted me in achieving what I needed to do without too much fuss. Yes, the place is a little remote and far from 5-star accommodation, but if you're not a prima-donna and like the company of fellow thrill-seekers, then this could be the place for you!
Friendly atmosphere, professional staff and the best weather in Victoria. If you are after a tandem skydive, AFF course or an adventurous weekend away from the big smoke this is the place for you, what are you waiting for?GO JUMP!
I took my AFF course at Euroa and it was so much fun! When I first arrived I remember thinking: "I can't do it all." But Ian and the crew changed that for me! I had so much fun on the course, Joel is awesome to help with packs and pick-ups, and there are so many amazing AFF instructors! Two thumbs up, will jump again!
I did a tandem skydive with Joe. I would recommend The Parachute School, the instructors were friendly and experienced and the jump itself was a fantastic experience. Definitely one to give a go!!
My friend and I were stuck in traffic and were 40 minutes late to start off - but they were very understanding which was great!Unfortunately in our panic we forgot our Groupon print-out but had the email on our phone - which was not well received. Already stressed and being given paperwork and a video, trying to sort out all three was pretty uncomfortable and both me and my friend didn't actually get to watch the video. Not that we really needed to as there were only 3 simple things to learn.It was just a bit stressful being snarkily told 'did you not read the groupon!?' when we can simply forward it via email.My friend had a really friendly Hungarian instructor and they jumped first and had lots of fun yet I was on the ground a good minute sooner than them, watching as they had more fun with their parachute. I felt rushed as the next group were coming which was unfortunate.Overall most people were really friendly and I just wasn't getting that from the owner who I felt was perhaps 'over it'. I certainly felt like just another customer with a groupon.I thought their setup looked cool in its day, had a bar, bbq area etc but after we went to the Euroa Hotel which was awesome!! :)
I did my first tandem skydive in New Zealand, and since then I wanted to get my own A License. Melbourne was my next stop on my journey and Luckily Euroa Skydive had the perfect dates for me to start an AFF course.As soon as I landed in Australia I went straight to Euroa and my course commenced. The instructors are extremely professional and the community at the dropzone is just amazing. Although I had to continue on my travels before I finished my A license, the experience and memories made at Euroa are truly priceless. I have met amazing people and made good friends throughout my week stay at the DZ's accommodation. Had a few BBQs and beers after a long day of jumping out of planes. Shoutout to the amazing instructors who never gave up on me and all the fun jumpers at the dropzone. Safety is #1 priority at the Parachute School.