Auckland Sky Tower Jump

My flight from Wellington arrived at 1 pm, and my flight home departed at 7:40 pm. I didn't want to waste the afternoon sitting in the airport, so I stored my bag, bought a return ticket on the city airport bus, and went to the Sky Center.

My goal was to do the Sky Jump! After psyching myself up, I went to the SkyJump booth and signed up. Sky Jump is basically a controlled jump from a 192 meter platform - 630 feet! For comparison, the observation deck of the Space Needle in Seattle is 520 feet.

I had to empty my pockets and put everything into a locker. Then, I put on a jump suit that velcroed shut around the ankles and wrists. After this, my SkyJump guide (Erin) placed the harness on me, which was similar to a climbing harness. However, this harness also looped around my shoulders.

Then, Erin walked me to the elevator, punched the button for the skydeck level, and told me how to proceed. I rode the elevator up with a group of tourists, and we alternated looking through various windows on the way up. She didn't ride up, and instead went to the landing platform to wait for me.

At the skydeck level, I found the skyjump platform, and was greeted by two more SkyJump guides. They both double checked my harness, attached a carabiner and rope, and we edged out on the platform.

I was a bit nervous throughout this whole process, but standing on the platform wasn't as bad. This was probably because the SkyJump guides at the upper platform were talking to me to whole time, describing what they were doing and what was about to happen.

On the SkyJump platform...


We walked out to the edge, and they switched around the caribiner to attach me to the drop wire instead of the platform. They adjusted the tension on the drop wire, and I felt it life me up slightly. Then, they said to grab hold onto some ropes, lean out, and then let go.

"Ready Karl? 3, 2, 1, go!"

I was still there clenching the rope with a death grip. After about 5 seconds, I swiveled my head and said "I guess I have to let go, right?"

"Yes. Remember, we'll drop you 20 meters, take a picture, then drop you the rest of the way. Ready now... 3, 2, 1, go!"

This time, I did let go and step off... into freefall, for 20 meters or less. I left the harness tighten and heard my name. I looked up and smiled for a picture, waved, and then was dropped the rest of the way down. It wasn't freefall, but it was extremely exciting!!

I'm flying!! Sort of...


I landed on the outside of the target, and Erin asked me how it was. I said it was really hard to let go of the rope, but I did the second time and thought it was really fun. She then said, we aren't very busy today, so would I like a second jump? For free? After a split second I said yes, and she walked me to the elevator again.

Next time, after all the safety checks, I was able to let go the first time. They paused me briefly at the 20 meter level, which was the observation deck level, and I waved briefly to the people inside, before I was dropped again.

It was an unbelievable adrenalin rush - easily one of the most exciting things I've ever done!