Post-Sky Jump updates!

Well folks, we did it! Jude and I jumped off the Auckland Sky Tower and survived! It was a really neat experience, and the nerves definitely got going when I stepped out onto the platform! The view was incredible, and the first couple seconds of freefall were pretty scary, but to tell you the truth I bet it'll actually prove to be pretty tame in comparison to some of the other things I have planned for this trip (sky diving, bungy jumping, etc.). I guess that remains to be seen! It was really neat, though, that after we finished our first jump they let us go back up for a free 2nd jump because they weren't busy and they wanted to keep the viewers in the observation deck entertained! Heh. 2 jumps for the price of one (or 4 for the price of 2, I suppose)! I will try to post videos later when I have a bit more time.

After the Sky Tower jump, Jude, her boyfriend Scott, and I went out for lunch with Jude's sister-in-law at a cute little coffee shop just down the road from the Sky Tower. We then went shopping a bit on Queen Street before heading out to Tauranga to visit Roger Stevenson, our former Wellington Youth Choir director. It was SO wonderful to see him again. His wife Denise cooked us an amazing meal, and we stayed over there for about 4-5 hours just visiting, singing, playing piano, and catching up after 3 years apart. It was just awesome.

Now I'm sitting at Jude's sister's place in Tauranga, FREEEEEZING my butt off (how could I forget the uber low temperatures inside New Zealand houses in the winter?!) and am about ready to head to bed. We've had the heater and electric blankets warming up in the bedroom for a couple hours, so it's just about time to climb in there and drift off for the night. I've had an amazing first day in New Zealand and can't wait for more adventures to come! I even fit in a pub quiz at Cardrona Ale House with Jude and Scott on the first night here (although I fell asleep on the table at about 9pm, as it would have been 3am back at home - still just adjusting to the time change!).

Here are a couple pics from our day!

Suited up and getting ready to jump

The view from the bottom

Posing in Paeroa with the giant Lemon & Paeroa bottle en route to visit Roger