Mother Nature & Grandpa Gravity

9/8/10
It's really loud outside, like a rave in the alley below. Dance music and obnoxious screams echo off tall city buildings. These are the wild sounds of nature that lull me to bed tonight. Who rages on a Wednesday? Aucklanders.

Today I scaled the earth and walked in the sky; drops of rain mixed with the sweat of fear. As I lunged from the platform 192 metres above ground, I let go of the rope and raised my arms. Every second felt like forever, but forever didn't feel like long enough.

When Denise said let's go to the Sky Tower, I agreed. Five minutes later I was tightening my harness, only knowing that whatever I was about to do involved being high above the ground.  Like, 'I should be buckled into an airplane seat high' not 'strapped into a few slack ropes' high. With only the gentle tug of a safety harness to trust, I walked the external circumference of the Sky Tower. The one metre wide platform was our runway and Brad, our guide, taught us to work it. Lean off the edge, straighten your legs, head up, look forward, and then look down.  With our two new Austrian friends insane enough to also pay for this escapade, we walked above the city of Auckland.

Hanging off the side of a building made the world so small. Today I was a giant.

We also climbed Mt Eden, the largest volcanic cone in Auckland. It rained when we got there but the sun stayed with us, setting in the brightest reds.  We lingered a little too long, mesmerized by 360 degrees of water, city, sprawl, and beyond.  Did I mention the sun set?  We climbed down a muddy mountain in the dark with two dim flashlights and a vague sense of direction.  We made it, we did.


I've been journaling in the note pad app on my iphone. So modern, I know, right? No wifi. No updates. There is no internet in the future.  I tried texting to blogspot.com and it broke this entry into about 15 parts. Also, I can't attach photos yet.  Just you wait though. More to come!

current location: Bay of Islands, NZ