Sky Tower, a distinctive needle like futuristic structure on the Auckland skyline is at 328 meters the tallest free standing structure in the southern hemisphere. This iconic tower is part of the Sky City casino complex and is one of the most visited city destinations attracting 1,500 visitors a day.
The upper portion of the tower contains New Zealand’s only revolving restaurant that rotates 360 degrees every hour. At 190 metres off the ground it is definitely one of the best places in the city to dine if only for the gorgeous views. 360 degree city views can also be had from three observation decks at three levels. Viewers are whisked up here on glass fronted lifts that can accommodate 225 people. Thick glass sections extending out from the observation platforms show what the ground looks like from varying heights. The topmost observation deck located just below the antenna named Skydeck gives views up to 82 km.
Tower attractions include the Sky Jump a cable controlled jump where daredevils can take a leap from a height of 192 metres and experience speeds up to 85 km/h. The Sky Walk is the 1.2 metre wide platform 192 metres high on which hardy souls can walk, in body harnesses and attached to a wire, on the edge of the tower’s pergola.
As Auckland’s entertainment hub Sky Tower offers hotel accommodation, a selection of restaurants on various levels offering dining experiences ranging from 5 Star with a celebrity chef to casual and relaxed. For gamers Sky Tower is the place to head to where a large selection of gaming machines, table games, live entertainment and great food and drink is on offer 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The most important function of the tower is its use in telecommunications and broadcasting with the aerial atop the tower being the largest FM combiner in the world combining 58 wireless microwave links to facilitate television, wireless internet, RT and meteorological services. The tower is also Auckland’s main FM transmitter and its second major terrestrial television transmitter. Even as the sun goes down this structure remains the most distinctive attraction in Auckland, lit up in a range of colours, sometimes to promote various causes and in celebration.
As one of the largest owner-operator of hotels in the country, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels NZ has properties in excellent locations throughout New Zealand that offer a range of accommodation choices to business and leisure clients. These New Zealand hotels continuously strive for consistency in standards to meet the requirements of modern travellers. The Auckland hotels of the brand offer convenient locations, well appointed accommodation and services that are much appreciated by their clientele.
Pushpitha Wijesinghe is an experienced independent freelance writer. He specializes in providing a wide variety of content and articles related to the travel hospitality industry. Google+