Our New Zealand Get Away 10-22nd January 2013

 Stu and I haven't done a big holiday now for a few years.

We have both been busy with our businesses,

and our slow periods are at completely different times of the year

so we have never been about to decide on a date...

or locations for that matter!

But with New Zealand holidays being relatively affordable at the stage

and after lots of people from Gunnedah have come back raving about the place

We decided to give a New Zealand holiday a go.

So this is our first big Holiday post children

For a small town girl like myself, the whole international flight thing was very exciting!

We flew out of Tamworth into Sydney

and Stu let me have the window seat god bless him! :)

Although I did allow him to lean over me to pear out the window (Wedding Singer Reference)

It was all cloud after we got over the ranges and didn't see much until we got into Sydney!

Always blows my mind seeing the Urban Sprawl.

The international airport was such an eye opener!

Duty Free grog!! OMG, is it really that big a thing!

There were tonnes of it!

All kinds of Grog!

Then we flew from Sydney into Auckland.
Once in the sky it was cloud all the way until flying into Auckland when we weren't far off the ocean!!

The movie I watched was "Pitch Perfect". Great Movie!

It was nice to be welcomed into New Zealand with traditional singing and the Tiki Sculptures

We rented a car and came straight to the Sky Tower Motel

We ordered room service

and I went straight to sleep.

Slept from about 7pm to 11.30pm

Got up and had a shower,

and went back to bed until nearly 8am and woke up so tired!!!

You would thinking after living on 6-7 hours sleep a night, 14 hours would have been brilliant!

Nope!

Our first activity for today Friday was to walk to Sky Tower.

We had already pre paid it, and arrived to find that it was closed for maintainance!

So typical.

Maybe you would like to do the Sky Tower Jump instead?

Stu had no intention of doing the jump,

but I thought we are better off just doing to jump as it would take forever for any refunds to work their way though the system, and we got the jump for the price of the walk which was nearly a 40% saving!

So I told her yes, we would both do the jump!

Stu went as white as a ghost!

He has issues with heights

and after being crook from the flight all night,

it wasn't really his choice activity for the first thing today!

But he was a trooper!

I on the other hand was beside myself with excitement!

Poor Stu

He decided to go first, and get it out of the road!

But once he was at the front of the plank.. he freaked and had to come back!

So the other guy with us jumped!
He was pretty freaked to, but just did it!

and then it was my turn!

I was so excited!

There are so many safety checks!

and the harness is on really tight!

What concerned me most was my weight of course,

but also the pressure of the harness and being bruised.

But everything was as tight as it could go so there were no worries about being snapped or jolted or any of those things.

I was guided up to the plank

and all the gadgets attached,

lots and lots of checks.

You had to hold two poles either side of you,

and lean right out over the plank.

I think this was the scariest part as the cord is pulling you forward so hard.

The guide stands behind and counts you down.

3

2

1

Jump!

I didn't jump but, I stepped!

and you just step into nothing.

There was an initial fall of about 5 metres

and then they stop you for photos!

I had no idea at the time cause I didn't see them,

but they stop you right in front of the observation deck so everyone can check you out!

How embarrassment!

 Then they just drop you the 192 metres.

I was a little shocked at first

but then got right into and and screamed with excitement!

I had a good landing like I was supposed to!

And then just waited for Stu!

They sent him off backwards this time with his eyes closed.

He recons he just had to separate himself from the jump and he says he didn't enjoy it!

I think looking back, he will be glad he did it!

I personally cant wait to do it again!

I jumped of the tower and have the certificate to prove it! :)

After that we went out to Underwater World.

Its kinda like the one at Coffs Harbour, nothing at all like Sydney.

But funny enough, this thing really freaked me out!

I dont know whether it was claustrophobia or what

but I was dizzy and felt sick the whole way around...

Weird I know!!

But they had this rotating wall of snow thing.....

The penguins were worth the trip!
They were so cute!!

I was holding up the paper to the glass and they would try to eat it!!

And some sharks...

The Aquarium looked out over the Auckland Skyline

So we took some photos of that was it still astounds us that we jumped from that tall building there!

(I have no idea what I am doing in this photo?)

We come back to the Tower and went up to the observation deck to see if we could watch some more jumpers, but they were done for the day!!

Tomorrow we are doing the bridge walk...

Which after doing the Harbor Bridge walk a few years shouldn't be a problem at all...

But I'm thinking, I probably should jump off that too!

Stu doesn't agree!

 More updates tomorrow.....