Day 79 - Saturday 23rd March 2024

First up, the video of Week 11 (eleven weeks gone; it barely seems possible!) is now available on YouTube here, covering the end of New Zealand and the start of Australia. It feels very strange to think that it starts in Wanaka and ends in Sydney ..... Wanaka somehow seems such a long time ago!

The day started with my weekly 07:00 video call with Mum; same time for me, but a couple of hours later for her .... as I travel across Australia I may have to rethink my timings due to the changing timezones.

The plan for today is the Sydney Harbour Bridge climb; I've opted for the Ultimate package which includes three hours on the bridge and the photos included as I'm not allowed to take any photographic equipment with me, but more of that later.

I needed to be checked in at 09:45 for my 10:00 event, so I left myself plenty of time and left the hotel at 08:30. A stop off at the cafe next door for coffee and breakfast (a delicious bacon and egg roll) before heading up the hill to Museum station, and here the fun started!

There were no trains on the board heading to Circular Quay, so I queried this and was told that due to engineering works I'd need to go to Central and then get a train round the other side of the circle from there. So one stop round to Central, and then 7 platforms over to get the service to Circular Quay. I arrived at Circular Quay at 09:30, so then had to 'get a wiggle on' to get to the bridge climb base on time .... I was positively 'glowing' by the time I arrived, and took sanctuary under a big fan to try to cool down.

A group of about a dozen of us were called through at 10:00, and the first thing to happen was a 'welcome to country' video by the indigenous peoples, and then a safety briefing during which we were breathalysed as we couldn't partake if we had over a certain level of alcohol in out bloodstreams.

We all passed this test, and moved on to be issued with our climb overalls. The advice was to wear these over our 'smalls' only as it was going to be warm work, so into a changing area to don these stylish onesies ..... mine was a bit overly snug, so I queried it and was issued another that was nice and baggy.

We then had to put our stuff in a locker. As the bridge is an active highway they don't allow anything that could fall onto the traffic below, so no cameras, jewellery apart from rings and small earrings, so the cameras and watch went into the bag. The neck cord on my glasses also had to go, replaced by their cable that could be clipped to my gear.

Once this was all done, we went to be fitted into our harnesses, and then had caps and radio headsets clipped on as well. All checked out before leaving, we were then able to start making our way to the bridge, a full 45 minutes after checking in.

We clipped our harnesses onto a steel cable that was to be our constant companion for the next three hours, and made out way onto the bridge; I've added a photo taken a couple of days ago to help explain what we did.

We started on a narrow walkway beneath the main road platform (from the left on the lower level on the side nearest in the photo), and when we came to the granite tower we took some steps up to road level. Through a trapdoor and a couple of heavy doors, we then made our way up the lower arch, stopping occasionally for photos, and stories about the bridge from our guide, Jess.

At the summit of the lower arch, we then crossed to the far side of the bridge where more photos were taken mid transit. The rest of the group ahead of me all put their arms in the air, and I suggested when it was my turn that it looked like a load of folks who didn't know the whole lyrics to a village people song. Jess thought this amusing, which lead directly to this sequence of photos:-

Up a steep series of steps to the top of the upper arch, we were now absolutely on the top of the bridge. For a normal tour, this is where they cross back and make their way back down to the start point, but not for us as we were on the Ultimate trip.

This meant that rather than turning back, we continued down the far side of the bridge to the north towers (on the right of the bridge photo). We then traversed back to the near side and stopped above the traffic for a chat (and the chance to see how many cars we could get to wave back at us) before starting the climb back up from the north side.

Back up to the summit again for the iconic photos with the Opera House and Circular Quay in the background before crossing again to the far side of the bridge and making our way down to the lower arch (which is interesting when you can see the water way beneath you through the steps), and back down to the walkway beneath the road, and back to the base.

All of the harnesses and equipment unclipped and returned (apart from the cap that I'm allowed to keep), then into the changing area to reclaim my bag from the locker and change back into my clothing before getting the internet link for my photos and certificate of completion.

Away from the Bridge Climb base, and I thought that I deserved a bit of refreshment, so down to the Irish Pub I found a couple of days ago for a couple of pints of very fine Guinness. I then went to find some food at a nearby restaurant, but ordering was so much of a pfaff that I just left ... I should have ordered at the Irish bar as their food looked great.

Anyway, back to Circular Quay, and the train back to Museum and my hotel. I was hoping that the cafe where I had breakfast would still be open, but it was closed, so I'll need to find somewhere to eat this evening.

The plan for the rest of the evening after food is to get all packed tonight so that I can make an early getaway tomorrow morning to go pick up my car for the next couple of months.