"Watching a plane - I had ten seconds prior been sat on - crash and explode into the lake below me whilst I was still suspended mid-air was perhaps one of the most surreal moments of my life."
Ms Millichip said her experience of travelling on light aircraft told her something was wrong when she heard strange noises.
"After hearing the engine blow and the grinding which then followed, I knew the situation was incredibly serious," she said.
Ms Millichip was quick to praise the quick-thinking instructors and said the emergency procedures were carried out instinctively.
Not even the near-death experience would put her off future jumps, she said.
"Since arriving in New Zealand I am simply enamoured by the place, and it is my intention to return one day in the future and complete that particular skydive."
The tail section of the mangled plane is lifted out of Lake Taupo. Photo / Alan Gibson
Another tourist who was forced to make an early exit from the plane was Scott Burnett.
The 28-year-old Adelaide truckie described his ordeal last night.
"I survived a fricking plane crash. Nope, I'm not even kidding," he wrote on his Facebook page.
"I am so glad that we're all still alive and well. What was originally meant to be a 15,000 foot jump soon turned into a 1500 foot jump for myself. The others jumped out anywhere from 1800ft down to the pilot who jumped out last of all from his escape hatch at around 1200 feet or so.
"This will be a story for the grand kids. Turns out the engine shutting off wasn't some sort of sick-twisted Kiwi joke to scare the crap out of us."
The tourists were booked onto the skydive though New Zealand tour company Stray.
Operations manager Jimmy Brown visited them at the isolated Blue Duck Station in Owhango, 150km south of Taupo, from where they had decided to continue their tour as normal.
Mr Brown said the three men and three women expressed a range of emotions.
"They were in pretty high spirits. Some were quiet and quite happy to listen and see how everybody else was feeling and some were very comfortable to share their experience," he said.
"It's still fairly early days and it will take a while for what happened to really hit home and sink in.
"One or two were quite shaken up, more with the idea of what could have happened rather than what had happened. They were comfortable at the time [of the crash], but upon reflection it was something quite big to take on board.
"They were all just very, very happy that they're still here and that everything went as well as it did under the circumstances."
The group recuperated with local wine and food at the station where they were enjoying an authentic New Zealand farming experience.
"It happened very fast, so it was quite hard for them to pinpoint the exact details," said Mr Brown, who joined them at the farm.
"They told me that there was an unknown issue with the engine of the aircraft; once that became clear the pilot executed their emergency procedure instantly, which they have no doubt made all the difference.
"They did say there was no luck involved, it was all thanks to the skill and preparedness of the company. They were singing their praises to how well they dealt with it."
The pilot made sure everybody was off the plane before he exited the aircraft himself, Mr Brown was told.
"They were all extremely grateful for the pilot. They did say it was very apparent these guys knew exactly what to do and there was no hesitation whatsoever."
Stray organised Skype access for the group to contact friends and family around the world. "We tried to get them back with their friends as quickly as possible so they could have some support with people that they know."
The tourists were travelling with Stray around New Zealand for a month to six weeks.
