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Published: June 19th 2015
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Sunrise over Sydney Harbor
We were awake early and headed up to the recreation deck again to take in the sunrise and snap some photos. Still not really on Sydney time, Sonia, John and Andrew were up early to take some photos of sunrise over the harbor on the viewing platform just upstairs from our room, and to check out the swimming pool. Although small, the indoor pool is very pretty, has a window so swimmers can enjoy the view, and has an aquarium-style window allowing observers to watch swimmers from below the water. Back in the apartment we collected Lauren and after a breakfast at Starbuck’s we headed out for our big adventure for the day. The Bridge Climb is an opportunity to climb along the arch of the Sydney Harbor Bridge to the peak (and back down). It took fully an hour to complete preparations, which consisted of donning jumpsuits, safety harnesses and attachments for all of our gear to ensure nothing could be dropped. From the start, everyone is clipped onto a safety cable that runs the full round trip to the top and back. To get to the start of the arch, we navigated a series of catwalks, narrow passageways and steep ladders. Once on the arch the climb was a series of very easy stairs, gradually leveling off to a shallow
Good morning kiss
Andrew came up to the recreation deck to check out the swimming pool and snapped this photo of his parents. ramp as we neared the summit. We learned a bit about the bridge construction. Unsurprisingly there was little in the way of safety gear for construction crew that built the bridge in the late 1920’s. We imagined them scrambling around the crossbeams without netting or railings to protect them, tossing and catching the white-hot rivets and quickly hammering them in place before they cooled off. The climb was neither strenuous nor scary – the most difficult part being the descent of a hundred or so steps down a ladder with plenty of hand holds and platforms for added safety. Skies were overcast and threatened rain but the views of the harbor were wonderful and the novel experience of climbing the bridge was totally worth the time and money. Because we were not permitted to bring our cameras, we had to rely on the photography provided by the Bridge Climb staff and consequently we have 10 photos of our climb rather than the 200 we would have taken ourselves (arguably, we are better off!). Given our safety clips, the climbing order was permanently established and during one of the breaks Sonia struck up a conversation with a father & daughter visiting
Swimming pool
The pool was small but very pretty, with great views. from Seattle, exchanging notes on our respective Australian vacations. We were very ready for lunch and stopped at the first pub we found and sat down on their rooftop deck, where we were accidentally reunited with the father and daughter from Seattle and exchanged some additional vacation plans. After lunch we headed back to the hotel, but finding housekeeping in our room we headed back out to walk around the iconic Sydney Opera house. We opted against the tour, but walked around the grounds, admiring the architecture and the fantastic location. After threatening all day it finally began to drizzle, but we headed for a short walk along the edge of the harbor and into the botanical gardens, having a nice talk along the way. Back in our hotel for the late afternoon, we had some snacks and John and Andrew returned to the pool. Lauren opted out of dinner for an early bedtime and the rest of us took a short walk in the drizzle to a nearby restaurant for a quick dinner followed by bed.
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