Chris Jumps Off Things: Part 1

"Are you really sure you want to jump off that?" These are the words Chris would have to hear me repeat over and over again every time he decided to jump off something during our trip. Today it was Auckland's Sky Tower.

Once upon a time I wasn't so scared of heights or falling... I've even done Dreamworld's Giant Drop three times in a row before. Now, not so much. The mere thought of being up high sends my brain into overdrive imagining all of the different ways I could fall off the edge and remembering that horrible feeling you get in your stomach as you're sent crashing down to earth.

Chris, on the other hand, will try to jump off anything and everything he can. Yes, this does include small boulders at the sides of bushwalking tracks as well as larger jumps from playgrounds. Today he thought he would ramp it up by jumping 192m from the top of the SkyTower. Technically the tower is 328m tall but they don't exactly like people jumping off the top of the spire.

I didn't chicken out completely though. I can proudly say that before Chris did the SkyJump, we both did the SkyWalk. This involves walking around the top of the tower on a 1m wide catwalk, also 192m from the ground. It doesn't sound all that thrilling but it was definitely enough for me.

Trying to pretend I'm not scared (one of the rare times my hands left the rope)

Chris the fearless (I didn't even attempt this)

After we got both feet safely to the ground again, it was time for Chris to suit up ready for his big jump. Meanwhile, I got the hell out of there and went to the safety of the viewing platform to ready to watch Chris take the leap.

Suited up!

And finally, off he jumped!

Look Mum, no hands!

So he survived his first jump. With all the excitement over, we decided to spend the rest of day exploring Auckland. This included a visit to Auckland Art Gallery (where I discovered I don't understand art, particularly modern art) and both Albert Park and Victoria Park, with lots of walking in between.

That night, we headed back to the Sky Tower for dinner at the Orbit Restaurant. Here we got to eat some delicious (and rather pricey) food while the restaurant slowly revolved around giving us 360 degree views of Auckland city. We were hoping to see the sunset at some point during our dinner, but hadn't realised how late this would be when we made our booking. Instead, we headed up to the Skydeck after dinner and waited (quite a while) until 8:45pm when we finally got to see the sunset over Auckland.

Auckland sunset

Bright city lights

xx Kate-Lyn