PERHAPS the world?s most travelled teddy bear, Barnaby, is back in Okehampton after recently skydiving from 12,000 feet over Lake Taupa in New Zealand. The globe-trotting bear is a regular companion with staff or pupils at Okehampton Primary School when they go somewhere special abroad. The worldly bear accompanied headteacher Brian Cunningham on his journey to New Zealand during the Easter holidays. Brian was visiting his daughter who works in Wellington. As well as visiting New Zealand, Barnaby also saw the sights in Singapore on the outward journey and spent two days in Sydney on their return. Mr Cunningham said New Zealand had a very active extreme sports scene, and he decided while there, that skydiving was something he would like to try. Naturally, Barnaby was strapped into the harness too and made the dive with the head. Mr Cunningham said using Barnaby was a way to help all the children gain more knowledge about different parts of the world, through sending e-mails and photographs of his experiences. Barnaby?s next adventure is a trip to South Africa when he will join one of the school?s mums who is running in a double marathon. Media-shy Barnaby had no comment to make on his skydiving experience, but speaking on his behalf, Mr Cunningham described the sensation of free-falling through the sky as ?awesome?.
