I've Had the Climb of My Life

We started off the day by taking the Sydney Explorer to the Rocks. The Sydney Explorer is a bus that makes 26 stops around the major tourist spots of Sydney. With our pass, we could hop on and off as we pleased. We jumped off at the Rocks for some breakfast. The Rocks is the historical section of Sydney. The residents of Sydney lobbied together to make sure that the historical buildings were preserved since the government wanted to tear it down and make way for skyscrapers. It’s probably the only part of Sydney that made us feel like we were in a different country.

We walked around for a while but all the cafes were outdoors. The one thing about Australia is there are a lot of flies. But the difference with these flies vs the ones at home, is they sit on you and ride on your back. So, it looks like you have a fly party going on in your body.

So, we decided to keep walking to Circular Quay (SF’s equivalent to Fisherman’s Wharf and pronounced “key”) and had breakfast on a sidewalk café there. Yes, it was still outdoors but I’m glad we stopped. The food was delicious. Other than kangaroo, emu or crocodile, there is no real distinguishable Aussie food. We did notice that they eat a lot of roasted tomatoes for breakfast and mushrooms with everything!

We had to be back at the Rocks by 430pm for our Bridge Climb so we decided to hop on the Bondi Explorer after brunch. The Bondi Explorer is much like the Sydney Explorer except it only has 19 stops and takes you to the coastal/beach part of Sydney. The Bondi Explorer is blue and the Sydney Explorer is red. We caught it in the nick of time. Since they only leave every 25 minutes, we needed to catch this one in order to get back on time.

Along the way, we made a couple stops at some picturesque spots for the obligatory photos. The route took us through some multi million dollar neighborhoods. Picture Sausalito and Tiburon with views of gorgeous harbors.

When we got to Bondi, we went to a convenience store to buy some towels and off we went to the beach. It was a gorgeous day! We had an hour before we had to catch the next bus. It was just enough time to soak up the sun. We had to catch the 255pm Bondi Explorer to get back to Circular Quay in time for our climb. As we were headed to the bus stop, we saw it there and ran to catch it…..but we missed it! Luckily our passes were also good for the regular city buses and we were able to catch one that got us there in enough time.

We got back to the Rocks in time for our orientation. The Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb is a 3.5 hour tour that takes you 440 feet to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. On one wall are pictures of celebrities that made the climb. The first half hour was basically spent suiting us up: a jumpsuit, a belt with the contraption that keeps us hooked up to a wire line the whole time we’re climbing, a baseball hat, a hanky (because your nose gets really runny while you’re up there), a scunci for the girls, radio packs and head sets. They took us through a sample catwalk and rules on how to climb up and down the ladders.

This had to be one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had in my life. If you ever go to Sydney and do one thing….this is the thing to do! The scariest part was climbing up 4 ladders to the arch of the bridge. Basically you are coming up these tiny steps and you’re coming up as traffic is whizzing past you on one side. Coming down, a train can speed by you at any minute. Once you are on the arch, it’s a breeze. The views were incredible! We didn’t pay for the sunset tour which is $80 more but we still got the sunset. Gorgeous! Our group was small: 2 Americans that lived in Sydney for 2 years but were moving back on Saturday, and their 2 friends that visited from Florida. They just got engaged while visiting Cairns. Our guide, Nick, looked like Tom Cruise. He was hilarious and I think his sense of humor kept us all at ease. By the time we were done with the climb, we climbed approximately 1200 steps. But you don’t realize it until you start taking off your gear and feel how sore your body is. Their motto is “Get ready for the climb of your life.” That it was!

After the climb, we headed to dinner on the Circular Quay at an Italian place and headed back to the hotel since tomorrow would be an early start.

PICTURES: Sydney Day 2