New Zealand Travels (March 18th, 2003)

"Awoke and discovered that Inma was in the same lodge as me. This came as a complete surprise when I bimbled out all bleary eyed and hungover. Still, it meant that we could spend some time together so we agreed to visit Sky Tower. A quick trip up the side in a glass-sided elevator and we were some 300m from the ground. In addition to the large windows, Sky Tower several very interesting features: glass floor panels. Yes, you stand on a pice of glass 38mm thick and can look down on the street below. Talk about sweaty palms. I had to force myself to walk on them in the first place. Then I had to take the photo of my feet showing the scene. I felt very nervous placing my faith in the signs that assured me that these glass plates were as strong as the neighbouring concrete floors. I did a few times to assure myself that I was in control of my ertigo - but I couldn't shake the nagging doubt that although the glass was tough, what about the supporting mechanism that held the glass in place? Inma bottled the glass walk (she later confessed) but had overcome her vertigo by the time we reached the next level (some 30m higher). The views we the same, but here to glass panels we angled out inviting one to lean on them. Very scary, especially when Inma remarked that if the glass broke you would probably miss the top of the floor below and instead surh all the way down to the street. Not helpful. But we got our photos.

Next on the agenda was the War Museum which Inma had already visited so I caught the bus and had to walk a fair ways to find it. To be fair, once I had found it, the place was worth the effort to get there. The floor was devoted to Polynesian culture, not just Maori which was refreshing. The other floors covered the New Zealand flora, fauna and local history. Finally, the top floor gave record to the events of World War 2 and the parts that New Zealand played in it. Informative."