KEY POINTS:
I presume the view of Auckland from the top of Sky Tower was stunning. The photos certainly suggest it was. But I was too scared to look.
Instead I was studying the fragile-looking metal grille under my feet, the one making up the 1.2m-wide circular walkway that now runs all the way around the tower 192m up, wondering if it really would take my weight.
The experience wasn't helped by the fact that through the holes in the grill I could see tiny cars and ant-sized people moving around on the street way, way below.
I was also focussing very hard on retaining my balance and trying to tell myself how easy it would be to walk a 1.2m-wide path at ground level.
It was a stunning day, with almost no wind, but it still seemed as though the tower was swaying around ... or maybe it was just that my knees were shaking.
Welcome to SkyWalk, Auckland's latest terrortraction, which officially opened on Saturday as part of the tower's 10th birthday celebrations.
My visit was a sort of test run which allowed operator Steve Weidmann to make all sorts of jokes about how they hadn't tested the safety gear: that Emma, the young woman who was guiding us, had only started work that morning; and that the last visitor fell off and landed in the hotel pool shimmering on a rooftop far below.
But he didn't scare me - I even managed a few nervous laughs - because I was too terrified to really take in what he was saying.
I did the SkyJump from the top of the tower earlier this year, and that was certainly an adrenaline-boosting mix of terror and excitement. But the SkyWalk is even more of a buzz, partly because it takes a lot longer, but also as there are so many aspects to it.
First you've got to adjust to strolling round such a narrow walkway, 6m out from the walls of the tower and with no handrails, so high up. Oh, sure, my brain knew I was tightly strapped into a safety harness and fastened to two safety lines, each capable of holding several tonnes, but it took my body a while to accept that it wasn't in mortal danger.
Then, when my knees finally stopped shaking, my pulse rate eased to a gentle gallop and my eyes went back into their sockets, there was the amazing view to enjoy: the jagged peaks and tarsealed valleys of the city centre in the foreground, the blue waters of the Waitemata Harbour glistening in the sunlight just beyond and the green shapes of Devonport, Rangitoto and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf further out.
"Coming up here reminds you what a beautiful city we live in," said Steve cheerfully, and then, in case I was getting too relaxed, proceeded to demonstrate how you can use the safety harness to lean out over the edge. "Want to try it?"
"Err," I mumbled, "I'll think about it." But there was no time for thinking because seconds later he had me with my toes sticking out past the edge of the platform, leaning out over the city, looking down at the tiny pedestrians walking past below, blissfully unaware of the risk of being flattened by a falling travel editor.
It felt as though I was leaning at an angle of 45 degrees - though I see the photos seem to suggest it was more like 1 degree - but luckily the safety harness held firm.
After that, as we strolled round the walkway, there were more amazing views to enjoy: the harbour bridge looking amazingly small, Spaghetti Junction crawling with cars, the Manukau Harbour gleaming in the distance, the brightly coloured gardens of Albert Park, the grand old Auckland War Memorial Museum shining white in the green of the Domain ... and back to the spires of the central city again.
As we wandered along enjoying the spectacle - apart from the occasional panic attack when my body suddenly remembered where it was - Steve explained that the SkyTower's SkyWalk was "unique, one of a kind, the best in the world".
Almost all the other similar skywalks are enclosed or have safety rails, he said, and the most similar, the walk round the top of the Macao Tower, has a wider platform "so it's not quite as big a buzz to do it".
While I was feeling good about having nearly completed the most frightening SkyWalk of all, even maybe a weeny bit brave, Steve casually asked if I'd like to walk the plank. "Okay," said my mouth, before my brain had time to get involved, "I'll give it a go."
The plank, it turns out, is only 20cm wide, 5m long and made of glass, like walking on nothing really, and rather similar to walking the plank on a pirate ship, I'd imagine, except this one is so high up you can't see any sharks waiting below.
I must have walked across because all of a sudden people were shaking my hand and saying, "Well done", and I was back on solid ground and buzzing with adrenaline. Wow.
SKYWALK
Skywalk is at Skycity, at the corner of Victoria and Federal Sts in Auckland, and costs $115 for adults with group and student discounts. Ring 0800 759 586 or visit www.skywalk.co.nz.
