Gabriele Steindl: Professional Kitesurfer & Freelance Writer - Action, Lifestyle & Travels

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Superman basejump by wire over Auckland

Every dream comes to an end, right…. So is also my incredible once-in-a-lifetime adventure through New Zealand going into its very final stage.   Yep, schnief, a few days ago I returned my mobile home of the last 2 and a half months  (my sick campervan, check it out !!).  Wow, what a brilliant time we had together 🙂

So, yeah, had to return it to the depot at the outskirts of Auckland where I’m currently spending my days at a mate’s house, pretty much 24/7 behind the computer, desperately trying to catch up with things, soooo much to do !!!

However, a few days ago, I did make some time and went into the City of Auckland.  A true ‘must-do’  for every visitor here is to check out Auckland’s world famous Sky Tower, one of New Zealand’s most exhilarating and spectacular tourist attractions.

The skytower is a truly captivating experience. At 328 metres, it is the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand and offers breathtaking views for up to 80 kilometres in every direction.  Given this height, the Skytower is 4metres higher than the Eiffel Tower in Paris (324m), 24metres higher than Sydneys Tower (304) and 76m higher than the Donauturm Tower (252m) in my birth-city Vienna in Austria.

On travels up in glass-fronted lifts to one of the three spectacular viewing platforms, or for more thrills   –  typical ‘adrenaline-driven-kiwi-style’   there’s more for visitors seeking action  –   and excitement, you can SkyWalk round the pergola at 192 metres or SkyJump off the Tower!

YEP, the SKYJUMP is New Zealand’s highest jump and declared as  ‘base jump by wire  –  192m (630ft) off the ground   –   resulting in a Superman-like flying inbetween the skyscrapers of Auckland, just that it only goes downwards, with a speed of about 80km/h and a freefall of 11 seconds …  SICK !!!

It took me quite a fair amount of time to take ‘the step’ over the edge, the ones who have been following my blogs know that I’m scared of heights (come and bungy jump with me !!!)  but really like to conquer my fears, mind u, this jump was THE hardest and standing 192, above the City centre, busy streets, cars, people, WOW, that was unique and can’t be compared to any bungy jump over a bridge or from a crane or…

SICK joy, I was soooooooooooooo scared, once down, felt so good, though 🙂  and the slogan behind the SkyJump  “FOR DAREDEVILS WHO LOVE LIFE”  proved 1000% right !!