While it is common to spot exercisers rowing on or riding around Lake Burley Griffin, onlookers were surprised to see people jumping into it from the sky on Tuesday.
The Australian Defence Force Parachuting School held a demonstration to celebrate its 50th anniversary by putting on a show above the chilly lake.
Commanding officer of the parachute school Lieutenant Colonel N. was the first to jump in the first pass of the static line display.
"[A] Static line parachute from a thousand feet, we did two passes of three jumpers on each pass. Followed by a free fall display from four thousand feet with five jumpers" Lieutenant Colonel N. said.
The jumpers included soldiers and officers with backgrounds in special forces operations, riggers and personnel who enjoy parachuting.
"We had a range of all staff from the Australian Defence Force parachute school, some soldiers who are recently qualified and some people who have been qualified for 25 to 30 years" Lieutenant Colonel N. said.
The last to jump were the free fall Red Berets who are the parachute team for the Australian Defence Force and a part of the parachute school.
The Red Berets' display was filled with red flares as they drew hearts in the sky. They were followed by the national flag and the flags of the Army, the Parachuting School and Special Operations.
"So all the people you saw jumping today are both display parachuters but they also have day jobs" the lieutenant colonel said.
The day jobs range from being instructors in the school, senior parachute riggers but also medics and engineers.
People with the right skills can try out and work their way through the "progression tables and then become a part of the Red Berets."
Both displayed techniques are used in live scenarios as static line allows for a larger capacity to deliver more people whilst free fall provides greater accuracy and is used for supporting disaster relief and aiding in humanitarian assistance, the lieutenant colonel said.
When asked about jumping into Lake Burley Griffin, he described the lake as "being a little chilly but better than doing it in a few months time".
"Canberra is a beautiful city and the weather was turned on... So it was beautiful to see the vista from the north to the War Memorial, south to Parliament House before a dunk into the icy lake," Lieutenant Colonel N. said.
The 65-personnel school is small as all staff are volunteers, but highly popular because "who doesn't like jumping out of planes"?
The ADF Parachuting School is celebrating 50 years since the Air Force transferred the responsibility of parachute training to the Army. The school oversees parachute training for the whole of the Defence Force.
