Wednesday 8th April Sydney
UNITED KINGDOM | Wednesday, 8 April 2009 | Views [139] | Comments [2]
Paul cooked fabulous sausages and mash for supper last night and we sat at our dining room table, watching television, eating our meal. We were both so full that a walk along Darling Harbour was called for. It was interesting to see so many restaurants on the harbour and none of them very full. Darling Harbour seems to us a very gentle place, not at all threatening and a lovely place to just stroll around and 'people watch'.
A good nights sleep was followed by another masterpiece breakfast from 'Paul's Kitchen' to set us up for the day. We left the hotel just after 9.00am and walked to Circular Quay, then onto the check in area for THE SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE CLIMB. Yes, today is the day we have been looking forward to ever since Nicola and Steve came home 4 years ago talking about it.
WOW WOW and a few more WOWs. How many more WOWs have we got left in our adventure?
After we checked in we were kitted out in jump suits, safety harnesses, radio receivers and head phones so our guide Kelly could communicate with us. Also we were given handerkerchiefs with wrist bands, hats that were clipped on and our spectacles had straps attached to them to prevent them falling off. We were breath tested for alcohol and scanned for metal items as we were not allowed to take anything onto The Climb in case it fell onto the road below. It would be like a falling missile and a camera would easily penetrate the roof of a car.
We were given a full briefing and safety instructions, and had to climb a sample ladder both up and down in the correct way. Then our harnesses were clipped onto the never ending line and we were off on our way.
It took 3 1/2 hours in total to complete the climb during which time we walked for over a mile and climbed over 1400 steps (ladders and staircases). What fantastic sights we saw of Sydney and the surrounding districts. We even saw The Blue Mountains today as the weather was so clear, sunny and warm. To give you some idea how high we climbed - the top of our climb is the same height as the Giant Pyramids in Egypt and the top of the London Eye. A 10 storey building could easily pass under the Bridge.
The arch alone weighs 30,000 tons. The span of the Bridge is 503 metres long, 134 metres high and 49 metres wide. The total length of the Bridge is 1.15kms. It was designed by Dr J J C Bradfield. Construction started in 1923 and it was officially opened in March 1932. Today the Bridge carries many lanes of traffic, railway lines and a pedestrian footpath.
This is one of the MUST DO THINGS in your lifetime - you will not regret it. It is an extremely well run organisation and you feel very safe in their very capable hands. See http://www.bridgeclimb.com
After The Bridge we again wandered around The Rocks and Circular Quay (McDonalds ice cream in hand) and walked back into town to the free Apple Mac shop which we have found, where there are well over 100 computers connected to the internet, which are all free to use.
Australian fact of the day - Australians are the biggest gamblers on the planet. There is less than 1% of the world's population living here, but more than 20% of the world's slot machines are here in casinos and in 'pokies'. We kept seeing signs saying 'Pokies' and have now discovered that these are Poker slot machine arcades.
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