The Oranga Tamariki Ministry for Children youth justice team supervisor said his boss came in and said he just wanted ‘‘to catch up with me’’.
‘‘But he had some bits of paper with him from Toss the Boss.’’
Before he knew it, Mr Cavanagh’s boss had him signed up to abseil 37m from the roof of Forsyth Barr Stadium to the field below.
‘‘Then he [the boss] just slinked away and left me to it.’’
Mr Cavanagh said he had done a bungee jump and a skydive before, so he was ‘‘OK’’ with heights.
‘‘But that was over 20 years ago.
‘‘I was pretty nervy going up there this morning, for sure.
‘‘It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything like this.’’
‘‘Apparently it’s 37 metres, but it looks like a hundred when you’re stepping over. It’s still a long way down.’’
After the descent, his adrenaline kicked in and he was left with ‘‘a bit of a buzz’’.
‘‘It’s got the heart going a bit. Yeah, so it was fun.
‘‘It’s always good to do something to sort of get the heart rate up at the start of the day.
‘‘This might be a bit on the extreme end of that, but yeah, I recommend it.’’
Mr Cavanagh said he participated in the event to raise funds for the upcoming Otago Polyfest.
‘‘It’s an awesome cause to be contributing to and supporting.’’
He had already raised his goal of $500 for the event, but donations were still open for another week and he hoped he could raise even more.
Event organiser Desiree Mahy said 42 bosses from the corporate, community and education world took part.
She said it was the first time the event had raised money for a specific community event.
Otago Polyfest is a celebration of language, culture and identity.
It is a high-energy festival, showcasing the rich heritage of Otago’s Māori and Te Moananui a Kiwa communities.
Each year, it attracts more than 9000 students, who give performances over five days with more than 15,000 people watching in person, and more than 50,000 online.
The goal is to raise $30,000 for the event. So far, more than $24,100 has been raised.
