On Top of the Southern World

At 328 meters in height, the Auckland Sky Tower is the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere. Impressive, eh? And for the princely sum of NZ$25 you can experience the dizzying view. Truth be told, you are only allowed to go to 220 meters where the Skydeck Viewing Platform is located. Before you get there, you start on the Main Observation Deck that is a piddling 186 meters and then pay the extra $3 to get to the top.

One of the fun things to do is to stand in the middle of one of the glass panels situated in the floor of the observation deck and look down. It's a little weird to feel like you're hovering in the air above the ground, but it does make you a little nervous. Looking out at Auckland and to the horizon through 360 degrees is impressive, but not as scary as looking straight down. The picture below is the view you get on a panel.

I was able to take a picture of Mount Eden, where I had been the previous night looking in exactly the opposite direction. There were glorious views of the bay, the Harbour Bridge, and even one of Auckland's youngest volcanoes, Rangitoto. I was also to experience the obligatory "Cappuccinos-around-the-world" from the Sky Lounge Cafe. Sure, the chicken sandwich was a little dry and not as think as a hungry man might prefer, but on a sunny day at 182m, the lounge is still an experience to be had.
Meanwhile, back in Second Life, imagine my surprise to discover that my oldest friend - as in "friend I have know the longest" not "friend who is fast approaching senility" - is going to be partnering up! If someone had been holding the proverbial feather, I could quite easily have been knocked over. I knew that Merry Felwitch and Cap Carver had been friends for some weeks now but I had absolutely zero clue that things were that serious. So I now have to go shopping for a new suit for a wedding - and presumably Cap will be thinking about doing the same thing. My guess is that Styles of Edo will be my first stop. They do some great men's tuxedos. At the same time, I suggested Merry go visit Simone! for the wedding dress.

And maybe, just maybe, I'll get to see Mony Markova in a pair of shoes. Well, I can dream, I suppose.