Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Climbing That Bridge......
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Ahhhhhhh Sydney.......that 'Other' iconic symbol of this great city is The Sydney Harbor Bridge. I'll never forget when I first saw it, it took my breath away. Let's just say you had to be there to get the gist of the story, but it's one of those pinch me moments.
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It took nine year's to build the bridge to what it is today. It has been perched over the harbor since 1932. To give you an idea of size of the bridge, the arch spans 503 meters, the top of the arch is 134 at sea level (that's about 440 ft to the water), clearance for ships to pass is 49 meters. There are 6,000,000 rivets that hold the bridge in tack. The bridge weighs about 52,800 tons.
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The bridge is often referred to as 'The Coat Hanger'
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If your daring enough, you can take the nearly 4 hour hike up the bridge for a
unique view of Sydney. Groups of up to 14 people make the trek together with an
experienced guide who gives you the history and answers your questions about the bridge. You can take the tour during the day, or if you'd like things to be a bit dark so you don't see down below so much, you can also climb at night.
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On the right is the visitor's center where you can find souvenirs, or purchase tickets for the climb. The above catwalk is where the tour starts off. After you take a short class on safety and are given the proper gear to be worn, you strut your stuff across the catwalk and begin the journey out to the bridge.
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Months before our trip, I'd been thinking about doing the climb, but I knew I'd be going it alone as Marty is not one for heights. For that matter, neither am I, but this was one of those things in life that I felt like I had to do. I was back and forth with the idea as I wished I had someone to share the experience with (other than strangers). I knew I couldn't go all that way and not do it, else I would never forgive myself so prior to our trip, I made my booking. I'll be honest, it's not exactly cheap, but when you consider the experience, it's well worth every dollar spent. Here I am checking out the bridge just before my A.M. climb.
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Some have asked me if it was scary making the climb? Oddly enough, this photo above is what got to me the most. It's not the best photo for showing what I'm saying, but if you look at the beam in the center of the photo, you can just barely see the heads of some of the climbers. The thing that got me here is that you are walking on wood planks along the walkway, where you can see down below cause of how the planks meet up to one another......an this is all leading out to the bridge, so your not even at the highest point. I am not a fan of heights, esp. when I can see down below, but the guides are good at keeping the walk moving, they are well trained in helping people overcome their fear of heights. And by the time you make it to the actual bridge, your on this larger platform of space, you don't feel like your on the edge ever.
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Meanwhile as I'm taking the climb, Marty and Eprham were over at The Opera
House looking around.
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I have to give prop's to Marty for making me smile.....he managed to get some photos of me as I did the climb. Due to the fact that your up above cars, you are not allowed to take a camera, or for that matter anything else with you on the climb. Each climber is given a uniform to be worn over your clothes, in addition to your bridge suit, your also given a hat, a latch that attaches you to the bridge at all times, and a headset so that you can hear the guide. So granted it's hard to tell it's me unless you zoom in, but it's a really cool photo in my book to have this little keepsake memory.
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After my climb, we went on one of the ferries around Sydney Harbor to take in the sights. It was an awesome experience and one I would highly recommend. I plan on doing it again one day! So glad I did it!
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Did you think you wouldn't get that vantage point? Well here's the proof I did it!! This will be one of those photos that will stand out in my massive photo album of life. I always think back to that scene in Titanic when the old Rose is lying in her bed, and the camera pans the room of photos from her life and all the thing's she did. This will forever be one of those special photos.

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Written at 7:46 PM by Kama.
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