Got up early today too as I thought my first activity was at 9. But when I got there at 8:45 I was told it was at 9:55. So I returned to my hotel room to relax. :) yeah right? I had already pscyhed myself up and was going to have to wait? I could have backed out then.
Went back to the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb for my 9:55 departure :) Only had a banana and half a muffin but that was all I could stomach on my torn up stomach (I was a tad bit nervous about this adventure). Sent emails to all I knew telling them adios just in case (they didn’t know that).
When I got there, I went upstairs and they had a waiting area -- a TV was playing what you were to do in preparation for the climb. An older man from the UK was there waiting with me. He was on the 10:00 climb. The video was very helpful and I took off my watch, but I was still nervous. (We couldn't take our cameras on the climb.)
Inside the next ante-chamber they had us fill out our releases (a truly American thing for them to do), and checked on our health issues (I have high blood pressure and they wanted to make sure I had taken my medicine etc).
The next room had big yellow dots on the floor for you to stand on. The hostess then checked us all out and gave us flight suits and overpants. Mine looked a little small. Also this is where the temperature gauge said it was 8 degrees outside with a 5 degree windchill. She then showed us to the dressing rooms to put these on over our clothes.
We deposited our handbags and coats etc in lockers. As we were suited up, they then started attaching everything to our flight suits -- caps and sunglasses had attachment strings. We met our climb leader -- Bernie from Newcastle. He had only done this a few times in his life -- 7 years about 3 times a day :). We got an experienced guide.
Our next stop was for out “work belts” -- we put them over our heads and made them tight -- this is our “safety” belt -- had a safety attachment that would hook us/anchor us to the safety cable on the bridge. I was the only one who got gloves but we all got handkerchiefs that went around our wrists (I guess so if we were moved to tears on the climb?). We did a practice run up two sets of ladders and down two sets of ladders (this made me feel more comfortable). We were hooked on and couldn’t be on the ladder if anyone else was. They are very safety conscious here.
In a line we all attached sound boxes to our backs and headsets over our ears (I was the model so Bernie hooked me up). After we were all geared up -- off we went. In a space ship like waiting area, we got some water from a fountain and got in line. As I am not exactly comfortable with heights (I don’t get vertigo like some people I know, I am not keen on heights and do suffer from high anxiety), I let him know. There were four of us that weren’t all about heights - so he put us up front. I was right behind him. That was a comforting thing also being by the leader.
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can --- was going through my head when I started out on the catwalk under the bridge. Cripes, what was I thinking. (Someone told me long ago just to take one thing at a time and look ahead - now this was someone who gets vertigo and couldn’t possible ever do this climb). I kept my eyes in front only looking to the sides (NOT DOWN). Bernie’s back was my focal point.
We made it through a lot of catwalks underneath the bridge. Then we hit the ladders -- they had three workers there to assist us if there were any problems -- keep my eyes ahead, keep my eyes ahead. I was the first one up after Bernie. I took it slow (it didn’t matter Helen, behind me, was slow too) and didn’t have any fits too bad going up.
At the top Bernie was waiting and he took some photos of me, then SURPRISE he asked me to go up to where his safety clip was (he had two) and then take it with me up about four more positions. OMG, all by myself and I was on top of the bridge??? I checked out the view and then steeled myself to the challenge (I had done more dramatic things on this trip, why not this?). Off I went. One step at a time, got his safety ball and climbed and climbed about four more posts. Stopped, all alone on top of the world -- had a MAGNIFICENT view of Sydney - the Quay, the Opera House, the Gardens, the downtown, the bay, the outlying areas etc. It was a clear beautiful day (didn’t need those gloves I had brought, they stayed inside my sleeves the whole time) and you could see forever. I had picked a perfect day to stand on top of the world. I wasn’t as upset as I thought I was going to be up that high. Thankfully you couldn’t see through the slats you were walking on.
On the way up (and down) Bernie told us about the building of the bridge during the depression and stories of the workers on it and others associated with it. (Felix, who tragically died due to poor work conditions and safety features, and Lenny, who rode his horse from Melbourne to see the grand opening). He noted that the steps we were taking probably were laid by the people who had built the bridge to begin with.
As it was peaceful at the top alone, I thought about my trip and how much fun I had, the people I had met, the things I had lost (one irreplaceable and very dear to me, but I will get over it and move on as instructed), and the stories I had (kangaroo killer that I was). Thankfully I didn’t think about all the money I had spent nor the work I was going to have to do to make up for this (I saved that for this moment at the airport, as I am typing this waiting on my last flight home -- almost 24 hours from when I started.)
On top of the Harbour Bridge I knew this was one of a few “Trips of a Lifetime” I had. On those other trips backpacking in Europe, temporary living in London, many trips to England, France, Croatia and Italy, I had travel buddies. So I didn’t really have to do it on my own. I did take a “Trip of a Lifetime” to New Zealand and did the majority of that on my own (one week with a local old friend). On this trip I had a travel buddy for 10 days and then it was all me. I had almost done it with only about 48 hours of stress. Good on me!!
Helen and the rest joined me and up we continued just a few more rungs and our group was at the top. We then went to the middle and they all looked down (I didn’t tempt fate). And as we started down the other side, Bernie kept us entertained with stories. We had great views on that side of Goat Island and Luna Park and the bay beside it.
At the end (we didn’t stop as much on the way down), we had to go down the ladders (about 6-8 of them - I didn’t really count). This is where I almost freaked out - because we HAD to look down and you could see through the slats, and it appeared to me that the ladders were slanted. I breathed hard and just kept on going, one step at a time. I stopped a couple of times and looked to the sides. At the bottom, Bernie was waiting on me over across a catwalk.
We chatted as we waited on the others. He told me about how when he was about my age he had a dramatic life change -- didn’t like Newcastle and his life there and he took a class is San Francisco about taking what you have cracking it all up, taking the pieces that worked and putting it back where you wanted it --- Very interesting. He said he was a musician, artist and adventurer. He had a great outlook on life and liked what he did. It was very refreshing to hear someone talk about their passions in life and how happy he was.
Everyone got down with no problems and off we went to the end. I won’t lie, I was very happy to have done it, felt very safe up there and would do it again. But I was ecstatic to be off those catwalks and ladders (the top was the easiest part because you couldn't see through it).
Our group consisted of a Swim School from Melbourne -- their boss had brought 6 of his workers on a “day trip” all paid for to Sydney as a celebration; a couple from Perth in town for a swim event; a couple from the Northern Beaches and their bus driver friend marking this off their bucket list; and a nice young man from London, Aaron.
Aaron and I decided to go to lunch as we were both traveling on our own. He looked about my sister’s age (and he was). He was fascinating. He is a professional photographer who freelances (his photos online were amazing). He was originally from Norfolk and ended up in London after school. He had visited friends in Hobart and Brisbane while in Australia so far. He was headed to Melbourne the end of the week. He was excellent company and just what I needed today-- someone positive to talk to.
We ate at the Australian Hotel, one of the older establishments in the area (or so they claim). He had kangaroo pizza and I had crocodile pizza. If you know me well, you know I only like plain cheese pizza -but as this was my last day -- “when in Rome”. It was good but the kangaroo was better.
We had an enjoyable lunch and then went to the Ghost Tours office and got tickets for tonight’s tour. He proceeded to Bondi Beach, and I ventured to Darling Harbour to pick up a few last souvenirs for people and to use my aquarium and wildlife exhibit tickets I had bought yesterday at the tower.
To save time I took a cab, and made it there quickly. I first went to the Hard Rock (not a cafe just a shop :( -- the cafe opens in a month). Our family collects shirts. Nothing else in here but junk and a mall. So I went across a pedestrian bridge to the other side -- where I could get in the aquarium and wildlife center.
You could tell they were owned by the same people. The Aquarium was surprisingly very good (as I am not a big aquarium/zoo person). I enjoyed it. They had most of the Aussie sea/water creatures there. They had a little bitty platypus (I had seen one in the wild), sea dragons, and a dugong (which I had not seen) that looked like a manatee from Florida.
we call them CRAWFISH and eat them boiled with potatoes and corn ....
They had a lot of Lego figures and backdrops made out of Legos -- looked awesome and you know it took a ton of time to do.
After this I went to the Wildlife center, and had I not been everywhere I have been and seen all I have seen this would be THE place to go. They had Koalas, Kangaroos, Crocodiles, etc. But I had seen so much in the wild I went through it fairly quickly.
most dangerous bird??
My next stop was the Queen Victoria Building, which was a short walk away (I will miss all of this walking outside). When I walked in, it felt creepy to me in the lower level (I found out later that night it was on a site of an old graveyard, ugh). It was a beautiful building and leave it to me to find the mall with the expensive shops-- I wasn’t there for Versace and Dolce & Gabbana. The stained glass was pretty and the building was very pretty. I found what I was looking for and walked on the rush hour street back to my hotel to change for the Ghost Tour.
On my way to the tour, I made it all the way down the 22 floors at the hotel and then remembered my jacket. Back up the elevator. We were supposed to be there at 6:30, and I got there right on time. Aaron was running a little late too.
Maxine, our ghost hostess, didn’t leave us though. It was a tour of only 4 people, so we got individualized service. This was the “South Rocks” tour. Maxine really liked her job. And we learned a lot of the violent history of the area. It was very interesting, but thankfully we had no encounters (like the ones she was recounting of people seeing things, or feeling things and screaming). I am a skeptic but know that there are bad feelings you can have about places. A couple of times you could tell you just didn’t want to be there. We went up to Observatory Hill which had a great lookout of the Northside of town. She took us in the Dawes Point Cabin, which is an excavation site under an apartment building -- can we say -CREEPY. We were alone, in the dark and it smelled funny. And it was cold. Wouldn’t want to spend the night here, it had a very negative energy about it.
painted window because they used to be taxed on them too :)
At the end of the tour, Aaron and I checked out the Harbourview Restaurant. He got some dish that was steaming when it came out. Mine was just a big hunk of meat (which of course I shared with him and I only ate a little of). But the dessert -- date pudding and creme brulee was excellent. We had a very enjoyable dinner and we walked back to our hotels, he was on the block beside mine.
A great last touring day in Australia. See ya later Australia.....
I think he was as pooped from traveling as I .....
cute blue car :)
