Sydney Bridge Climb

Today was the day for the climb to the top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge!

We were early, so they let us go on the 10:45 tour. There were 13 of us with a guide. People from Australia, Scotland, Germany, and Canada. First, a breathalyzer and questionnaire about health issues. Next, special jump suit and since it was hot, no clothes underneath. No watches, rings, loose glasses, cameras - nothing loose. Then, harnesses that attached to the safety line, holders for our glasses, holders for our hats, hankie for perspiration. They had a microphone, head phone system so we could hear the guide, but his strong Irish-Australian accent made some of it difficult.

We had some training on going up and down the ladders to get to the top of the bridge. Then we were off. Up stairs, down catwalks, stopping for commentary. Then up, up, up the ladders, where there were monitors stationed to insure that we moved safely. Once on the arch, the walkways were stairs, but at a shallow pitch that took us to the top. Along the way, Billy, our guide took lots of pictures to prove we did actually climbed the bridge. And, multitalented guide that he was, he gave information on the history of the bridge and its construction. We walked across the top of the bridge to the other side. Then it was back down to reality and down, down, down the ladders. The guide was very good, very professional. Pictures turned out well.

Here are 2 pictures of us on the bridge.

After the hot climb (that burned an estimated 650 calories) we had a cider and a New Tooheys at the Hero of Waterloo Inn.

The Observatory was nearby, so we went in to check out night star viewings and stayed for a 3D movie about Mars and a tour of the building. Looked through the telescope, but it was too cloudy to see much on the sun. 1800's building looking just like observatories of old and a very nice young astronomer was our guide.

Sydney Part 2

Feb 22 Sydney
Took the bus to the train and on into the city. It took a walk in the wrong direction and a couple of questions before we found the right bus stop. Went into the Queen Victoria Building, a beautiful, very upscale shopping arcade.
Then we walked to Hyde Park to see the Anzac Memorial, an Art Deco building to the service people of Australia and New Zealand.
The Sydney Tower was close by, so we bought tickets to the observation deck. That included a 4d movie - shots of Sydney, with sprays of water on the audience at appropriate times ( I guess that's the 4th dimension ). We also did a skywalk on the upper deck, on the outside of the structure. We had special jumpsuits on, with a harness that attached to a rail. We stood on the glass platforms on the north and south of the deck. Very windy, lovely views.
After lunch, we wandered around the Royal Botanical Gardens. The Tropical Center with giant fern trees and orchids was so hot and humid, it almost did us in. The various gardens are a peaceful green area in the middle of the incredibly busy Sydney.
Then, back to the park where we shared beers and wine with a couple from Calgary who had been traveling around Australia for a year. They're flying out in the morning and gifted us with some things they can't take with them. They gave us a fly hat, fly swatter, huge containers of sunscreen and moisturizer, even peanut butter.

Feb 23
Torrential rains today, so we stuck around the campground, did some laundry and read. There are floods north of Sydney and more rain is predicted tomorrow, at least in the morning.

Feb 24
Sunday morning, not too many people going downtown today.
We went to the Australian Museum where there was an Alexander the Great exhibit from Russia. I never connected the Tsars Alexander with AtheG, but Catherine the Great was an admirer of his and collected items associated with him from around the world. Many of the things on display were found in Russia. Anyway, she named one of her sons (grandsons?) for him and the other for Constantine.

Feb 25
Rv repair day. Back in good shape now.

Sydney

We checked in with the rv people and have to go back to the rental place and have the mirror replaced Monday. It is taped together now and hopefully that's enough for a safe drive back there.
Then we went into downtown and took the city bus tour to get the lay of the land. After 2 hours of recorded commentary that didn't quite synch with what we were seeing, we walked over to the Sydney Opera House and took a tour. It is an amazing structure, but even more striking is the care that went into planning the various halls; concert, opera,etc and the obvious pride that the Australians have for the art that goes on there.

Here we are with the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House.

We made it to Oz!

Our plane was delayed two hours because of a crack in a winglet; according to the captain, the part that breaks up turbulence around the wing.
Got in around 9:30am and took the train out to our hotel. Not easy with all of our luggage, but the train system is very nice and it's fairly easy to get around.

Today we picked up the motor home. Then back to the hotel to get our luggage. One missed turn and we took a side trip up the freeway and back down again.

Then, the trip from the hotel to our campsite. Well, the motor home is fairly large for the traffic lanes and we're driving on the left side of the road and traffic was pretty heavy. And we hit our mirror on a metal fence on the left side of the road. It's sort of back together now, but the big mirror was hanging down and both of them have multiple cracks, mottled, Sam says. We think it will be okay with some duct tape, just in case it happens again.

Now we'll be in Sydney for 6 more days and we'll be doing lots of sightseeing.

No worries, mates!

Preparations for the Big Trip

Here's Samson reworking our trip, because we decided to extend it to four months and reverse the direction. We're going south out of Sydney, then west along the southern coast, up the middle to the north as far as we can go, east to the coast, and south back to Sydney. Sounds simple, but it's a big, big country.

We leave the 14th of the month for LA and fly to Sydney on the 17th.