Has to be the best thing I've done so far during my trip!
Got up early to catch the ferry into the city this morning before making my way through "The Rocks" (an area of the city not actual rocks) to the Bridge Climb Centre.
Once there you have put on a silly Grey and Blue Jump Suit and harness. Next you go through a climb simulator, which is basically a small section of the gang ways indoors so you can get used to the way your attached to the static line on the bridge.
Once thats complete, you get given your climb radio, which very cleverly works by vibrating through your skull rather than normal earphones in your ears.
Then we where off, the first obstacle, walking through the streets in silly jumpsuits without getting laughed at by the general public!
Once inside again we quickly attached ourselves to the static line and the climb could begin. We made our way underneath the main bridge approach which gave very good views of the buildings surrounding the bridge and the construction of the approaches. This took us to the pylons, the large concrete and granite posts at the ends of the bridge that are actually just there for show, they don't take any of the weight.
Once out of the other side of the pylons you suddenly walk out onto effectively a wire mesh gang way that leads under the first section of the bridge with the cars about a foot over your head. This is the only scary part of the climb as you can see right through the mesh to the ground below.
Next we turned the corner to the ladders that lead up to the main arch, once at the top you can see the main arch stretching away ahead of you with the city behind you. The arch itself is quite wide and slowly slopes its way over the bridge so its not too dificult to climb. Its amazing how quickly you climb though, with every stop giving even more spectacular views of the city and beyond. Its incredible to think that the men who built the bridge did so without any harness or safety gear at all, often running and jumping over the structure as they built it. Even so, in 8 years of construction 16 men lost their lives, 2 of whom died by falling from the bridge itself.
The climb to the summit is quite slow and steady but once at the top the views are spectacular, and I still can't really believe i walked over it.
One last treat though is to cross over the centre of the bridge to the other side, this crosses a much narrower gang way and enables you too see just how far up above the road you are.
Then we traced our wak back down the other side of the arch to return to the climb centre.
Overall it was a fantastic experience, not cheap but worth every penny, even if you do look a prat in the costume they make you wear!
Liam
