Zippity do dah!

Radio host Paul Flynn tries out Eden Park’s newest attraction

Sitting on the edge of the stadium roof, wind cutting through a hot and sunny Auckland morning with nothing between him and the grass 35m below, radio host Paul Flynn felt more frightened than he’d expected.

Yesterday morning, Flynn, of Stace and Flynny’s weekday show on the Hits, was trying out Eden Park’s newest attraction, a 50m zipline across the stadium.

Tackling the zipline was terrifying at first but a special experience, Flynn told the Herald. “It was pretty incredible.” A huge rugby fan, Flynn said the location added a special something to the experience.

“To fly over a place where I know the All Blacks have won the World Cup twice . . . it was really special.”

He took a lift and climbed a ladder to reach the top of the stadium roof, with clear views to the Sky Tower, Mt Eden and One Tree Hill.

Flynn had bungee jumped in Queenstown and ridden a zipline in Melbourne before — but those past experiences did not stop the nerves from kicking in.

“While I was sitting there waiting to go [the fear] was getting worse and worse.”

Then, with a whoop, Flynn was off over the side, rushing through the air and across the stadium ground.

As soon as he was in motion, the thrilling ride wiped out all fear.

“When the fear factor is high enough, it makes the experience better,” Flynn said.

After rushing with speed from the North Stand to the South Stand, he

To fly over a place where I know the All Blacks have won the World Cup twice . . . it was really special. Paul Flynn of the Hits radio

came to rest in the middle of the zipline above the centre of the pitch before being lowered to the ground.

The 35m-high zipline runs across the length of Eden Park.

The new feature at the iconic spot is a joint initiative between the Eden Park Trust and Total Property Services (TPS), which are discussing which days to run the zipline before international and national fixtures.

Hours of operation are yet to be decided.

Riders have to be manually lowered at the moment, but division manager and height access specialist Thomas Croft said he hoped to get a winch system in soon to speed the process up.

Croft has been putting in long hours pulling the project together, working constantly through the past week or so in the hot summer sun on the stadium roof with little in the way of shade.

He has been doing this kind of thing for more than three decades, and was a senior rigging manager at SkyCity for years.

Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner said the stadium was a “bucket list” destination for cricket and rugby fans, and discussions for running the zipline as an ongoing attraction were under way.

The possibility of guided rooftop walks along the edge of Eden Park was also being explored, Sautner said.

TPS had “a long relationship” with Eden Park, TPS director Ash Taylor said. The company had looked after height requirements and key projects like the Rugby World Cup Spider Cam.

Naming rights for the zipline are yet to be confirmed and any businesses interested are asked to contact Eden Park.

The cost of a ride has not been set.