Climbing Sydney Harbor Bridge- Legally!

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  Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Sometime in the last year, Tom saw a TV show on the Travel Channel where a company would take people up to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.  They throw you into a grey jumpsuit, which is the color of the steel, so you blend in with the bridge and passing motorists aren't distracted by the guy up on the bridge in the bright yellow shirt about to jump off.  Plus, they can charge you lots of money to dress like a Ukrainian astronaut.  Anyway, it's a pretty thorough operation.  You have to read all the warnings, sign all the waivers, and watch the video.  Then you strip down, removing any and all things not attached to your body that might fall from several hundred feet up and through the top of some hot shot in a convertible's skull.  Then they adorn you with all the safety gear and communication devices and teach you how to use it- makes sense.  Just before they put you up on the bridge, they ask if you're afraid of heights, and if so, you go to the front of the pack of twelve (near the leader).  Your safety harness is attached to a burly gear-like mechanism that fits onto a steel cable that runs the entire length of the climbing route- it's 100% safe- maybe a little too safe. 

You start off walking under the bridge for a while, with cars and trains rumbling overhead.  Then you reach the suspension arch and begin to walk on top of it until you are 134 meters (440 feet or 44 stories) above Sydney Harbor, the largest natural harbor in the world.  Most of the time you are listening to commentary about the bridge and the scenery you are viewing, history and factoids- the good stuff.  Our leader was Mandie, a native Sydneysider.  She was very enthusiastic and fun, very knowledgeable about the area.  In talking to her afterwards, we found out she would probably be in Thailand around the same time as us in the same town... small world.  The whole experience start to finish was about 3.5 hours and well worth it.  It's an incredibly unique experience that you can't get anywhere else.

p.s.  the photos are actually from the top of one of the massive concrete and granite pylons that support the arch.  Our admission included going up to the top of it afterwards by way of another 220 stairs.  Since you can't take your own camera on the bridge walk, this was as close as we could get, besides the one photo we bought from them.  The pylon was half as high as the top of the arch.

Merry Chrissy Everybody!

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Circular Quay (Key)	Island Prison	nice real estate	Picture of a picture
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