They told me 92 metres ago that everything would be fine, but now, 100 metres from the ground, those reassurances seem less believable.
95 metres till impact... 90... 80...
Maybe I should back up a bit.
Like a much cooler cousin to Sydney's overrated Centrepoint Tower, Auckland's Sky Tower stands an impressive 328 metres above the city streets. It's the largest freestanding tower in the Southern Hemisphere. And, we thought, what better way to celebrate our arrival in New Zealand than by flinging ourselves off the 192m high observation deck?
Arriving at the booking desk, everything was fine. Getting fitted with our bright blue jumpsuits and harnesses, everything was fine. Standing on a scale and having our weights written on our hands was humbling, but otherwise fine. Then came the elevator.
At first it seemed like a regular elevator. Right up until we noticed the glass floor. That's pretty cool. Watching the floor recede, seeing the elevator shaft fly past the glass doors, the... What? Glass doors? Ok, that's still pretty cool. I've always been curious what it would be like if you could see through the walls of an elevator. I guess now I can HOLYCRAPWHEREDIDTHEWALLSGO??? About a third of the way up the tower, the concrete stopped, and the reason for the transparent elevator became clear.
...heh, 'clear'... Geddit? No? ...moving on.
As the elevator climbed, we could see Auckland dropping away around us. This did nothing to quell the nausea and apprehension gnawing away at my gut like a small hungry fox. If anyting, it seemed to feed it and get it more agitated. I understand that the view's probably quite majestic, but for the sake of people jumping off the tower, could they please install some curtains?
Finally, though, we got to the top. We made our way to the SkyJump deck and I, bravely deciding to go first, was hooked into my guide wires. So far, still so good. My legs were a little bit shaky, but the deck was sturdy enough. Then came the fateful words that changed everything. "Ok, you're all good. Go over and stand with your toes over the edge of the platform."
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| photo by: sixqueue |
Alright now... Deep breath... 3... 2... 1...
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu...
Hey, this isn't so bad... I can see for miles...
Big grin into the camera on my wrist. Wow, the view's great from up here. I wonder what it'll be like to look down?
...uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!
Concrete. Solid concrete. Concrete rushing towards me at 75km/h. And right there, someone's put out a gym mat with a bullseye painted on the middle. How's that meant to break my fall? But luckily, about 10 metres from the ground, my safety harness pulls its weight. Wrenching the organs in my abdomen out of place, it slows my fall enough for me to hit the mat, fall to my knees and kiss the ground like a travelling Pope.
Finally, unbuckled, with my feet back on terra firma, there's only one thing left to do: watch the safety wires return to the top and wait for Tash to do her jump. The hoots and squeals I can hear from the ground tell me she's having even more fun than I did. And like any dear, devoted husband... I'm loving every minute of it, as I watch Tash plummet giggling to the ground and gracefully fumble her landing.
After going back to the locker room and changing out of our jumpsuits, we were given complimentary tickets back up to the observation deck and some free ice cream. We spent some time on the deck taking photos, but that was that. For all of the anticipation and build-up, the actual jump itself was over in a matter of seconds. I would definitely say it was worth it, though. It was basically a once in a lifetime opportunity, and it ended with free ice cream. Which was pretty awesome.
So kids, the moral of the story is: Jump off buildings, because then you get ice cream!
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