Opinion: Nerves, sweaty palms, crazy thoughts

Some people enjoy flying while others have a fear of it. Photo/File

Well as you read this I am off for a few days enjoying the bush surrounds near the bottom of the North Island.

Limited cell phone coverage can make me take a bit of a gulp, but it is a bit of fun for sure.

Getting to the area though involved a flight from Rotorua to Wellington, before the last stretch by car.

I spent a few days earlier this week stressing about the flight.

I cannot really pinpoint when my fear of flying began.

As a child I remember enjoying scenic flights over Rotorua when the 'Helicopter Line' was based on Te Ngae Rd, where the BMX track is now.

Then there was my mate whose father was a deer hunter and we had weekend flights in his chopper out over the lakes.

When I was about 10 I took my first plane flight to Palmerston North via Hamilton and had a blast.

A couple of years later was my first overseas trip and again I thought it was cool.

A lot more flights have followed, but somewhere along the line, something changed.

Nerves, sweaty palms, crazy thoughts, weird rituals as I board the plane.

The first time we all flew as a family, my children were super excited. I tried, I really did.

But I ended up moving to a different part of the plane so they would not get upset, and Katie had to do all the parenting.

They all love flying by the way, and now put up with my weirdness on planes.

There are now even apps being designed to help out, but that makes me nervous just thinking about having my phone turned on, even in flight mode.

I can do it when I have too, like this week's late night flight after work, but on Sunday I will take the six-hour car drive back to Rotorua over the one-hour flight. Crazy I know.

Charity fun

Sometimes it can feel like we get bogged down in what I term 'charity overload' at the radio station, but let's be honest - it is so hard to say no to a worthy charity!

Over the next week we are supporting the Rescue Helicopter Duck Race - Sunday morning at 1am out at Hamurana Springs - in association with Westpac.

Then on Wednesday night we are involved down at Brew Bar for the launch of their limited-time beer 'Hair Of The Dog SPCAle', which is a fundraiser for the SPCA.

We are doing a quiz night at Brew so that is always a heap of fun.

Also through the latter part of next week, it is 'The Hits Pledge For Plunket' which is a good old-fashioned radio-thon, but we have jazzed it up for 2017 and it is going to be an exciting few days. Make sure you are tuned in and make a donation.

On top of all that we are again asking you to buy tickets for this years 'Harcourts Dancing With The Stars' event for Rotorua Hospice.

See what I mean with charity overload. But so many good causes.

Give what you can, to those you want to support. Every little bit helps out these amazing charity organisations, and the jobs they do.

Hear Rotorua media personality Paul Hickey weekdays 9am - 3pm show on The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM. Follow on Twitter - @paulhickeynz Facebook - The Hits Rotorua.