Climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge

I was a tourist in Sydney recently. Over the June long weekend a friend and myself had a girls weekend. We both had not been to Sydney for a long time, for me it was over 10 years and that weekend I was thinking "why has it taken me so long to come back to see this city?". I should never have left it so long. We had a great time. I wanted this to be an adventure not necessarily a weekend of shopping (Don't get me wrong I love shopping!!) Yes we had a adventure.

I had made up my mind that I was to climb the "Sydney Harbour Bridge" many people I knew had done it. My friend was not to accompany me as she had knee surgery the year before and was not up for it. Leading up to that weekend I kept checking the forecast, being June is the start of winter I really did not want to climb when it was windy and rainy. Unfortunately the climb goes ahead regardless of the weather conditions except for "electrical storms". Leading up to that weekend I had was in full force with running on the treadmill. The day before we leaving I woke up with a very sore ankle. I thought to myself " am I going to be able to climb the bridge?, of course I will, I will soldier on through the pain"

When we arrived at the Bridge Office, wow what a sight to see all the photos of the celebrities that had done the climb, it was very exciting to be there. Even more exciting that we stepped out of the Shangri-La Hotel and strolled down the street to the Bridge Climb office. ( I will do another post on the Shangri-La and its amazing views)
In the end my friend was so excited to be with me when I was checking in for the climb that she joined me as well.

What I must let you know, is you are unable to take a camera with you, as you cannot have anything apart from the suit that you must wear. Photos are taken by the group leader and you can purchase.

The experience was amazing, the weather was cool approx 17c and breezy, the whole process takes 3.5 hours, this includes check in, orientation, preparation with your suit and equipment and training. The actual climb itself is approx 1.5hours. Your are fitted with a head set so you can hear the guide. There are some high ladders to climb. There is cabling all long the bridge which you are attached to and can move freely. Once you are up on the bridge you cannot come down until you finish.

So if you have the urge to "pee and need a toilet stop" It ain't going to happen, you need to hoooooooooold on. So I made sure I had not had too many liquid drinks or eat heavy, you get my drift??

It was an amazing experience and I would like to climb at night to get a fantastic view of the city and Sydney Harbour all lit up. Looked amazing in the photos.

We checked in at 12.30 and didn't finish by 3.45pm. Lets just sat we were "knackered" Aussie phrase for exhausted. My ankle was throbbing but I didn't care.

The photo has been taken by me, I zoomed in on the bridge summit, you can see bridge climbers. I love love love that shot. I was at the Sydney Opera house which is directly opposite the bridge. This photo makes me feel very patriotic. The bridge, such an Australian landmark and the flags. I was thrilled with the photo. Everyone who has seen it loves it.
Click on the photo to see a larger view

check out the actual website to get a taste of the experience

www.bridgeclimb.com

So if any of you are planning to visit Sydney, I highly recommend this.
I will post more on the trip to Sydney