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| Long live Banana Man, a superhero much missed from the 80s. |
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| The lift - the scarey view down to oblivion. |
Our first day in NZ and we took the ferry from Devonport (only similar in name – this one has painted weatherboard homes, boutiques, coffee shops, actually looks more English -no hoodies) to downtown Auckland (sounds like oak-land when the locals say it). By the wharf people were handing out seared tuna canapés with wasabi mayo and moist bbqed mackerel as a draw for the weekend’s seafood festival. After this, there was a man handing out lollipops. Cheers, lunch done. We headed towards the skytower and saw someone fling themself off all 192m of it. Digs started to get keen.
Just as we arrived at the bottom of the tower, a chap called Julian, who turned out to be one of the team, flew down the outside of the tower, because he was “bored”. 10 minutes later Digs and a chap called James from Liverpool, got dressed up in a fake superhero outfit, with it's crude lighting flash across the chest and bananary yellow splashes of colour. We went outside at waited at the X that marked the spot – a big crash mat with a red bullseye on it. I lay on my back of the steel mesh with my camera poised on the jump deck at the top of the building watching the people who had chosen to walk around the outide of the tower on a 1m walkway with no handrail, dressed in orange boiler suits, that can only be described as Guantanomo-chic. Apparently, this activity is all the nerves and non of the thrill. OK, let's see the thrill then.
Just as we arrived at the bottom of the tower, a chap called Julian, who turned out to be one of the team, flew down the outside of the tower, because he was “bored”. 10 minutes later Digs and a chap called James from Liverpool, got dressed up in a fake superhero outfit, with it's crude lighting flash across the chest and bananary yellow splashes of colour. We went outside at waited at the X that marked the spot – a big crash mat with a red bullseye on it. I lay on my back of the steel mesh with my camera poised on the jump deck at the top of the building watching the people who had chosen to walk around the outide of the tower on a 1m walkway with no handrail, dressed in orange boiler suits, that can only be described as Guantanomo-chic. Apparently, this activity is all the nerves and non of the thrill. OK, let's see the thrill then.
Julian gave us a 4minute, and then a 30 second countdown, and then said he didn’t cactually catch the name of the jumper! I filmed someone plunging off the steel gangplank, hang around outside the restaurant window for 5 seconds and then freefall, while Bear shouted out, “Dad, do your superman move”. It was Digs, and I did manage to film it (will upload when I have a high speed connection). They both did it for a second time - backwards.
As we waited for the photos and dvd etc, Magi spotted a T shirt with a large chicken on it that read “Nearly jumped off the sky tower”. We all went up to the viewing platform in the lift, that digs had twice gone up, but never come down, and from the restaurant on the observation deck we saw some of the team and some punters fling themselves off the tower and dangle for our pleasure nearly 200m above the road below.
As we waited for the photos and dvd etc, Magi spotted a T shirt with a large chicken on it that read “Nearly jumped off the sky tower”. We all went up to the viewing platform in the lift, that digs had twice gone up, but never come down, and from the restaurant on the observation deck we saw some of the team and some punters fling themselves off the tower and dangle for our pleasure nearly 200m above the road below.
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| First night in the new camper opposite Rangitoto. |
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