The day started wet, but relatively mild. The flag was flying rather limply:

And as we are moving on to the U.S. of A. tomorrow, it was time to find it a new home in Hokitika, so here's a last view of it:

As we're on the outskirts of Auckland, we couldn't leave without doing all the things tourists in Auckland do. So we found the relevant bus into town and an hour later we were wandering around Downtown Auckland.

You can't help seeing that there's a rather noticeable building in Auckland:

(http://www.skycityauckland.co.nz/Attractions/Skytower.html)

It's called the Sky Tower and is “the southern hemisphere's tallest tower”. Looking at it closer up, it looks rather high:

And has an interesting structure right up near the top, a sort of walkway and platform:

So I went in the doors and spoke to a nice young lady who gave me a rather fetching yellow and blue suit to wear and then strapped me very tightly into something like a parachute harness. She then put me in a lift and told me to get out at the very top floor. She didn't warn me that when you stand in the lift and look down, you can see all the many floors of the Sky Tower, rapidly disappearing below your feet through the glass floor:

So I got to the top in about 40 seconds, and after admiring the view:

tried to find which of the many glass panels was actually the door to the great outside. I found it eventually and two enthusiastic young men welcomed me onto to a platform some 630 feet above the streets below:

They suggested that I peer over the edge, which I did and saw this:

It looked to me as though the crossroads with the large red bus turning, was directly below me, but I was assured that in fact the red target area below that in the picture was actually directly below us:

Then it was time to prove that I was the only person in Auckland on the 25th May 2009 who was brave (stupid) enough to jump off the Sky Tower on a rather cold, windy winter day. So I jumped .....

and then I stopped!

I was suspended a few metres below the platform by two blue cords holding me in position, but facing basically downwards. Look up for the camera they said, but it wasn't very easy, my neck didn't bend that far.

Instead, as I spun round and round, I became aware of rather a lot of people in the restaurant below the floor I'd been on a few seconds previously, taking photos of me as I hung there 20 feet away from them with a 620 foot drop below me:

I was expecting that the (hopefully) strong cable I was attached to would allow me to descend at a reasonably controlled rate.

It didn't! So far as I could tell I was in freefall and the target area was approaching very fast, but the guys up top knew what they were doing and I rapidly slowed to a halt, still in a horizontal position, onto the target platform feeling a bit foolish that I hadn't landed on my feet like all the youngsters in the promo videos! (http://www.skyjump.co.nz/)

But the nice young lady on the target area:

was very polite and helped me to my feet and asked if I'd enjoyed it.

When I'd recovered my breath, I said that I thought I had enjoyed it and she then told me that as nobody else was idiotic enough to jump off the tower today, they'd be happy to let me jump off again for free as they needed the publicity of people being seen to jump!

Actually, that's not quite accurate, but I did go up for the free second jump and this time went off the platform backwards and without the pause for the diners. It was every bit as exhilarating as the first jump and I landed just as embarrassingly.

Then I managed to find Barbara, who'd determinedly ignored my flying lessons and had gone off to find a post office to send the flagpole off.

We had a nice cup of coffee, especially well decorated:

And went back to being normal tourists, looking at the gift shops, walking around the harbour, etc.

Off to LA & San Francisco tomorrow, so reports of our progress may be delayed.

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written by  Saros on May 25, 2009 from Manukau City, New Zealand
from the travel blog: The Hairy Animal 2009 World Road Trip
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I did wonder if you were mad when you did your first bungee jumps, now I know you are!
Well done Charlie
Liz

written by  Liz Lyne on May 26, 2009

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