Advertisement
Published: January 29th 2018
BridgeClimb1
A copy of our official Bridge Climb photo......sorry about the flash!In Dorothy's adventures up the yellow brick road, OZ is a fantasy land, of course! And as we headed out of the hotel on our first morning in Australia, it all seemed like a 'fantasy', to us. We were off to see the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House today, two iconic landmarks that we've all seen many times on film and TV, but this time we were going to see them for real! We couldn't quite believe it!
But, if we were in a dream world, we were soon woken up with a bang.......by the nightmare that is.......Sydney traffic!! Our first stop today was Sydney Harbour Bridge; not just to see it, I hasten to add.......but to climb it! Yep, you heard me correctly, these four intrepid old timers, were going to scale this famous construction to it's peak point, 440 feet above a watery grave below! Our climb was scheduled for 9.35 am, so we jumped into a taxi at 8.30 for the 10-15 minute ride to the bridge.
Firstly...........our driver didn't seem to know where we wanted to go!! We reminded him that the bridge is that huge great cast iron construction which spans the
BridgeClimb 2
Not us of course......but this is what we would have looked like at the top! harbour, but to be fair, he wasn't sure precisely where the BridgeClimb company is based. Luckily, I came prepared and had the exact address, so off we trotted. Well, more like, we drove round the corner, went through our 4th set of traffic lights in about 100 metres and then ground to a halt in a queue of traffic, waiting to turn right at another set. And we waited and waited and very little moved - over ten minutes later, the lights had changed several times, but we hadn't shifted! We had to be there by 9.15 and we were starting to get a bit edgy. After a bit of cajoling from us, our driver tried another route (obviously a complete mystery to us!) around lots of back streets and, good man, he did get us there in good time!
As we walked through the doors of 'BridgeClimb HQ', we all felt a certain degree of trepidation, especially after it took a fair effort to clamber up the two flights of metal stairs to our waiting area!! Have we bitten off more than we can chew? Mandy particularly, was more than a little nervous, with heights definitely not being
The Bridge 1
Looking good from the Opera House.... her favourite thing! Sitting in the waiting area, watching a video of all the pre-climb preparation, didn't help too much with the nerves - the Kilboran Clan was unusually quiet!
Then, it was our turn and into the prep area we went. This is an amazingly slick and professional operation, with everyone's safety, but also enjoyment, paramount. Our first task was to complete a medical declaration - there are some obvious exceptions, but pretty much anyone with a reasonable level of fitness should be able to cope. We only have the one picture of the climb available for the blog (we have a bunch of others on a USB), because we weren't allowed to take cameras or any other other items that we could drop, out to the bridge. This included watches, bracelets, wallets and hats all of which went into a locker. It even included Mandy's asthma inhaler, which she had to give to our climb leader to look after!
We were togged up in a special boiler suit (very attractive!) undressed to our underwear underneath, a belt around the waist which included the zip line clip for use during the climb and also had a pocket
The Bridge 2
....and looking fantastic at night! for a radio and head set, so we could hear the climb leader during the climb. We were also given a BridgeClimb baseball cap, which was hooked to your suit and a hankie (again hooked to the suit) to either wipe your fevered brow, or soak with water at different points to cool yourself down. We then went through a practice climb on an indoor simulator and then, after about 30 minutes prep, we were on our way.
Our climb leader was a young guy called Jackson and he was absolutely terrific, with the right mix of professionalism and humour. He had been doing this job for six months after working 6 years for a betting company and, as he described it, effectively moved from one form of gambling to another! We were a group of 13 and he had memorised all our names before we were out on the bridge proper. The climb and descent took about 3 hours in all, but this included a number of photo or information stops and Jackson effectively went at a pace that seemed to suit everyone.
The only section that Mandy found particularly off putting, was at the very start
The Bridge 3
......and the arty shot as well! and end with a long flat section over mesh steel where you could see through the mesh to everything below and also four vertical 20 foot ladders, which were a little tricky. Other than these, once on the arch of the bridge itself, she was fine as we climbed to the peak point where the flags are on the pictures. It wasn't overly strenuous and the views were incredible and the weather was absolutely perfect. We got back to HQ about 1pm, totally exhilarated and blown away (fortunately, not literally!) by the whole experience. Mandy felt a massive sense of achievement but, definitely wouldn't do it again!!
Jackson recommended a couple of pubs to celebrate and after lunch and a beer, we walked around Circular Quay to Sydney's other iconic landmark, the Sydney Opera House and as it came into view, it really did make your heart leap. Once again, it was great picture weather, but there were a few surprising things about the building, such as the fact that the colour is more cream than the white that it looks on screen and it is actually two buildings joined together by a low level walkway. Also, the roof
The Icons 1
The two iconic landmarks together! is made up of mosaic tiles as opposed to the smooth look it appears to have in photographs and inside the foyer and reception areas there is a lot of exposed concrete, which may not be too everyone's taste.
Having said all this, it is a fantastic structure and more importantly, it was opened by The Queen on my birthday in 1973, no wonder she wasn't around for my 20th birthday bash! In fact, I remember that birthday very well, spending it in The Windsock Pub in Dunstable (long since demolished!), drowning my sorrows at no longer being a teenager!! Such a lomg time ago!
While at the SOH, there was time for a little bit of retail therapy, with Mandy and Sue buying themselves an Aussie Pandora charm each: we could have bought a LEGO model set of the Opera House, but it was just too big to try and get home, which is a shame cos it was an absolute steal at 500 Dollars!!!!!! Then, Sue dragged us into an UGG shop - natural reaction is, of course, ugghh! But, here's a thing......as it happens, I was the only person who bought something; a new Aussie
The Icons 2
......and with a ferry as well! style 'Drover's Hat' to replace the trilby style titfer I acquired in NZ, a titfer that had seen better days - I tried to do a trade in against the cost of the new hat, but the lady didn't seem that impressed by my previous purchase! So, I asked her to chuck it in the bin instead.
As we wandered around SOH, workers were busy setting up the stage and sound system in the approaches to the building for the Australia Day concert in a couple of days time, but more of that later. After taking far too many pictures, we bought Sydney's version of the Oyster Card, an Opal Card and caught the triple decker train (a double decker plus a mezzanine level as well) back to our hotel. After a quick change Mandy and I were meeting up with Kirsty Alexandrou, our friends Chris & Jackie's youngest daughter, who lives in Sydney with her husband and two boys. If you remember (and if you don't.......why not??!), we met Kirsty's older sister Roz when we were in Auckland.
We had a lovely couple of hours with Kirsty, catching up on the 11 years since we last saw
The Opera House 1
A classic shot from the water... her and learning all about her life in Sydney, which she loves. It was so nice to see her and just a touch surreal doing so on the other side of the world! Kirsty was also very handy in being able to give us some good tips for our remaining time in the city.
Tim and Sue had been out while we met with Kirsty, so Sue could get a haircut - you will notice the change in the photos! Kirsty left us after big hugs, to get home to the kids and we hit Cockle Bay Wharf for dinner,
The following day, we did the hop on, hop off bus tour of the city; two routes scheduled to take about 90 minutes each. I say scheduled, but in the Sydney traffic, they didn't have a prayer! Of all such tours we have done around the world, this was one of the worst. Not only was the traffic an issue, but the pre-recorded commentary, while informative was in such a droning voice, it soon became boring. In addition, in the gaps between sessions of commentary, it played music, either Waltzing Mathilda, Men at Work and Down Under or
The Opera House 2
......and on the approach from Circular Quay... INXS and Need You Tonight. Now, I don't actually dislike any of these songs, but after hearing them again and again and again, they were driving us all nuts!
The waterfront areas around the many bays and harbours are really lovely and there are some very nice buildings around the city, particularly if you looked above ground floor level, but I don't think that the bus routes show the city at its best. One route does go out to Bondi Beach and we got off there to look around. We had been told that the Bondi Beach area was a bit sleazy and we were going to give it a miss, but Kirsty recommended that we went and also that we actually walk to Bondi from Bronte Beach 3 km down the coast.
As it turns out, the beach is beautiful and whilst the main drag is a bit tacky, there are some interesting cafes, bars and restaurants if you go back a few streets. We actually did the walk Kirsty suggested but in reverse, and it was excellent - some great views from the cliffs, some fascinating rock formations and about halfway along, we were able to
The Opera House 3
.....the mosaic roof... see Bronte beach about a kilometre away at which point we headed back to the bus stop at Bondi, stopping off for a quick beer at the legendary Bondi Icebergs Club.
This club (established in 1929) has a world renowned restaurant and an Olympic Size outside swimming pool and was originally formed by a group of life savers who decided that to become and maintain membership, each individual person must compete in swimming events at the club for 3 out of 4 Sundays for a period of five years, i.e. in all weathers! Yet another iconic landmark.
The hop on, hop off bus didn't endear itself to us any better back at the Bondi bus stop, by taking over an hour to arrive (should have been 20-30 minutes), following which, it was a bit of a scrum to get on and it then crawled its way back to the city. However, once back and freshened up we went to the Golden Century restaurant in Chinatown (recommended by the concierge) and had some fabulous food. The restaurant was heaving and very, very noisy, but the food was excellent, although we, inevitably, ordered far too much! A tiring day with
The Opera House 4
...from the quayside between a cruise ship and a ferry... some very high points, but also a few lows.
Our last day in Sydney was very special indeed. The city was buzzing with celebrations; in fact, the whole country was celebrating. This could have been a wonderful way of greeting our arrival in OZ or sending us on our way to Melbourne tomorrow. It could even have been a beautiful way of marking England's trouncing of Australia in the ODI cricket series. But no, it was none of these. These events couldn't have been further from their minds, because this day, Friday 26th January 2018 was Australia Day!! The day when all Aussies come together to mark their National Day, the day in 1788 when British ships first landed at Port Jackson in what is now part of Sydney Harbour.
There were loads of events going on, culminating in a live concert next to the Opera House and a firework display in the harbour. Our plan was to take the ferry over to Watson's Bay in the morning, something you would think should be 'elementary', if you know what I mean! But no, there were no ferries to Watson's Bay today because of events going on in that
The Opera House 5
The stage getting ready for The Australia Day concert. part of the harbour. So, a change of plan and we took a ferry to Manley Beach instead. The idea was to spend a few hours on the beach, then come back to the city later in the afternoon to join in the fun.
We got to the ferry by metro and.........here's a thing, the metro was free to ride for Australia Day! The ferry wasn't free, but the return ticket was about 13$ or £7 for a 35 minute trip each way, with great views of the city and the harbour. At Manley, it was a 5 minute stroll to Manley Beach itself and another fabulous beach it is once again. Quite a lot of people on the beach, but it is massive and it didn't look remotely crowded. While Tim and I went straight to the beach, Mandy & Sue had a wander down the shops and by the time they joined us, I had been in the Tasman Sea for a dip - it had to be done. The water was a bit chilly to start with, but lovely once in and there were some great waves and it was for this reason that I fell
Darling Harbour 1
Tim checking out his colour scheme against the flags for Australia Day taking place in a couple of days! foul of authority once again and got told off by a lifeguard - in actual fact he was very polite, but just said that it was fine to paddle, but the sea was too rough for swimming, unless we went further down the beach. I've lost count, but I think that's the fifth time we've had a reprimand! One more and we'll probably be transported back to England!!
When the girls joined us, we actually walked the other way down the beach to what looked like dragon boat racing from a distance. In actual fact, it wasn't dragon boats, but surf boats modelled on old fashioned boats used by the lifeguards. This was a really serious event, with teams transporting their boats from up to 90 minutes away in each direction down the coast to compete. There were over a hundred boats, with male and female teams consisting of 4 rowers and a steerer with a longer oar on the back, a bit like a gondolier.
They raced in groups of five boats from the shore, through the breakers to buoys about 200 metres or so offshore and then back again and boy......did they shift. It was quite
Darling Harbour 2
Some of the view around Darling Harbour.... a spectacle, with the boats really motoring and we watched quite a few races, before retiring to a local Mexican for lunch. Manley was well worth a visit and if you wanted to spend serious time on the beach, it is perfect. But we were on a deadline once again, so we got the ferry back to the city, returned to our hotel to freshen up and change, before heading back out late afternoon.
The concierge had managed to book us a table at the Sea Rock Grill for dinner in the perfect place to watch the firework display on Circular Quay and when passing the restaurant the previous day, we had asked the lady maitre 'd if she could ensure we had a table in a good position on the quayside. After watching a few songs at a live music concert in Darling Harbour, we headed over to Circular Quay getting there around six, with the entertainment scheduled to start at 6.30. The crowds were starting to build up, with people grabbing key viewing points around the Quay. Everyone seemed to have their own Aussie flag and many had flags painted on their faces or were wearing, Aussie
Darling Harbour 3
Darling Harbour at nighy. flag shirts, tops and dresses. It was a real party atmosphere. The live concert was an all ticketed affair around the corner of the Quay by the Opera House, but a giant video screen was floating in the harbour to televise events.
We were shown to our table at 7.30 and the Maitre 'd had done us proud. We had an excellent view of the harbour, although the crowds were growing all the time. The show itself comprised Aussie 'star' singers and.............pretty good they were too, but no Kylie or Keith Urban, I'm sad to say! We had a great meal, albeit our most expensive of the trip, but the whole experience was well worth it, culminating in a truly spectacular 20 minute firework display that was just breathtaking. It really was quite emotional and when they launched into a rendition of the national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, it seemed as though the whole city had joined in and it bought a tear to the eye.
There is little doubt that the people of this massively multicultural society love and are very proud of their country.....something many of the 'knockers and Britain haters' back home could probably learn
Darling Harbour 4
The flags out at dusk on one of the harbour bridges. a thing or two from. But, as I step down from my soap box, let me close this entry by saying that we caught the metro back to the hotel, totally exhilarated and full of admiration for the great show that we had seen. Being in Sydney (or even OZ) on Australia Day was a complete accident, but such a memorable and happy accident!
Tomorrow, we leave for Melbourne, with an early morning start to catch our 9.30 flight..........really a 90 minute hop compared to what we have done already! So it was off to bed to try and sleep! But, I did drop off, there was just enough time to come up with a couple of loosely based, Sydney themed quiz questions and here they are:
* We stayed in Darling Harbour, but which actor played Captain Darling in Blackadder Goes Forth?
* Sydney's version of the Oyster Card is called the Opal Card, but what did Opal Fruits change their name to some years ago?
* We went to Bondi Beach, but who sang the theme tune to the Bond (Golden) Eye movie?
I did say they were loosely based on Sydney!
Darling Harbour 5
The entrance to Chinatown. Finally, finally........how can you get eight letter 'o's into a place name, with no other vowels? You call it Woolloomooloo, a suburb of Sydney, that's how!
That's all folks!
TTFN
Advertisement
Tot: 0.116s; Tpl: 0.016s; cc: 11; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0573s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
The Forbos
non-member comment
Paul, we continue to marvel at your planning & organisational skills. Your powers of exploration would have even put Capt James Cook to shame, I certainly don't remember him shinning up Sydney Harbour Bridge in his underwear. Well done all, especially Mandy Darling. And now Daaaarling, errrrr that is Lord Melchett's PA Capt Darling... Baaaaah... was deffo played by Tim the Mcnificent McEnnery. Could the singer of Golden Eye be Ell eye Golding, & whatever became of Opal Fruits, I just hope they are still made to make your mouth water. And so to bed, it's a big day for us tomorrow, we've decided to join in Dry January