January 2010 looks set to be the most hectic month of my life - 9 days into it I've slept on a bed for a total of 2 nights thanks to a combination of an insane number of overnight bus journeys and my unfortunate tendency to turn up in places that are rammed beyond belief without any sort of bookings. One of the many side effects of this style of travelling is that certain things are forgotten in the old blog - not a problem in general, but definitely something that needs correcting (in the form of a backdated entry) when it involves one of the most amazing experiences of one's life.
Shortly after 11.30am on the 2nd January, I stood atop of Sydney Harbour Bridge, 130 metres above the water, basking in the only 5 minutes of sunshine seen by the city that whole day. The photo of me will appear as soon as I can figure out how to download it off their website (UPDATE: see below!)
The Harbour Bridge climb has only been going since 1998, but the day I went up was the busiest day in their 11-year history thanks to a shift to 5-minute spacing between groups going up. Our group of 12 did what is known as the "Discovery Climb", which takes you up to the very top of the top arch of the bridge via in interior arch - giving you a proper perspective of the quite ridiculous architectural feat the bridge represents. Built in the 1930s as, amongst other more practical reasons, a way of injecting a massive fiscal stimulus into an economy that was collapsing under the weight on the Great Depression, the bridge was built for either side simultaneously - two massive structures floating in mid-air over the water held in place by thousands of steel cables buried 25 metres under the ground on land either side. In under 2 years the two sides met in the middle, thus supporting each other's weight, and 75 odd years later the Bridge has been declared fit to stand for eternity (given proper maintenance).
The climb is just awesome. You're walking up the side of a huge chunk of metal, with the crisp blue water of the Harbour getting progressively further away below you every step you take towards the summit. The celebrated view looking down to the Opera House is indeed as fantastic as everyone suggests - equal to the feeling of standing on the tiny little gangway that adjoins the two sides of the bridge right in the middle - you are standing with nothing but an inch of steel mesh separating you from 6 lanes of highway traffic 90 metres below. Awesome.
Before doing the climb, I went for an early morning walk back to the Botanic Gardens to get the cheeky "Back the Bid" photo you see above, and after the walk managed to hop over to Bondi for a quick dip in what is widely (and quite fairly) acclaimed to be the the most over-rated beach in Australia. Overrated maybe, but I can still say I've been for a swim on Bondi Beach!
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