The title of this entry is the slogan for Bridge Climb Sydney. I title this entry that because on Sunday May 9th, 2010 I had the climb of my life thanks to Bridge Climb Sydney. When I first came here to Australia I made said that I someday would be doing the bridge climb. It was something that I had heard of and dreamed of doing. However as time went on and the more trips I took and things I did it was becoming evident that I would have to throw this dream to the wayside because of the cost of the climb. It is expensive to do the climb but I knew it would be worth the money, I just couldn’t see myself paying ¾ of my pay for one activity in the last month I was here. Luckily for me, now is that a sentence you have regularly hear a Moreeny say? Lady luck really has been on my side down here, and it continued right on through. Charli and Peter approached me the weekend before and asked if I had plans for the weekends until I left. I do have a whack of stuff I want to do before I leave but nothing nailed to the wall. They said they would like to pay for a bridge climb for me. They knew it was something that I had wanted to do and offered to give me the opportunity to do that. That is the second thing they have allowed me to tick off my list of Oz activities since I have been here. The first being the camel ride for Christmas. Of course I accepted the gracious gift and was so thankful that I would be able to do this before I left. After accepting that I probably wouldn’t be able to and then given an opportunity out of the blue it was quite exciting.
So Sunday came and I met Charli in the Rocks, which is where the bridge climb headquarters are, and we got ready for the climb of our lives. When we got there it was all very James Bondish and I think they played up on this for the effect. We had to go into a little room and sign our lives away, almost literally, we had to sign saying that if we die they aren’t at fault. Then we had to take a breathalyzer test. I was a little paranoid that I might blow over because of the shenanigans the 
night before. However I was very careful to stop drinking at a reasonable hour and drink plenty of water, plus it was in the afternoon, but still that little voice made me a little worried. No worries though I passed no questions asked. After the breathalyzer we were taken to another room where we were given a special suit to wear and we had to remove our earrings, bobby pins, jewelry etc. After donning our ridiculous looking jumpsuits were taken to yet another area where we were outfitted with more gear then you can shake a stick at. We were given a belt and cable that kept us attached to the bridge at all times, straps for our sunglasses that were then clipped to our backs, hats clipped to our backs with a long attachment strap, a hanky tied to our wrists, a fleece jacket attached to our belts, a radio attached to our belts with headphones, head lamps around our necks, and ties for our hair. Once we were outfitted in all the gear it was time to go!
night before. However I was very careful to stop drinking at a reasonable hour and drink plenty of water, plus it was in the afternoon, but still that little voice made me a little worried. No worries though I passed no questions asked. After the breathalyzer we were taken to another room where we were given a special suit to wear and we had to remove our earrings, bobby pins, jewelry etc. After donning our ridiculous looking jumpsuits were taken to yet another area where we were outfitted with more gear then you can shake a stick at. We were given a belt and cable that kept us attached to the bridge at all times, straps for our sunglasses that were then clipped to our backs, hats clipped to our backs with a long attachment strap, a hanky tied to our wrists, a fleece jacket attached to our belts, a radio attached to our belts with headphones, head lamps around our necks, and ties for our hair. Once we were outfitted in all the gear it was time to go! We were attached to a cable, in a line, that ran a course around the bridge. The attachment to the cable had a working weight of 800kg so I was confident that if I fell that it would hold my weight but I was not confident that I would remain in control of my bowels if I fell. We started walking along and at first I was okay with it. Ya know it was high but no biggie. The guide was great, and had a great sense of humor. I think we lucked in big time getting him as a guide because I hear
d one of the other guides and it made me more thankful that we had our guy. We climbed, ducked and squeezed our way through the belly of the bridge to come out on the right side of the bridge, the opera house side. We started along the bridge and then there was an area that was railed in by two railings about an inch thick and about as high as just above my waist. The walkway was a grate that you could, of course, see right through down into the harbor below you. It was these stairs and the same thing on the other side going down that put the fear of god in me. It is was slightly unnerving being able to see below my feet and knowing that if I fell I would plunge to my death in the Sydney Harbour. Now I would like to say that I don’t actually have a fear of heights but I do have a healthy respect for gravity. Funny enough these parts with the stairs weren’t even half way up the bridge and I would classify that as the scariest part of the whole climb. Even when we were on the tip top of the bridge next to the flags and the airplane beacon I wasn’t as frightened as I was when we climbed those gawd awful stairs above the water. The only other time I didn’t really love looking down was when we crossed from one side of the bridge to the other, crossing 49 meters 134 meters up in the air on wooden planks bolted to the thin metal railings. It was purely the wood that made my respect kick in because we all know that wood is not stronger then metal. Although I had a few moments of respectful thoughts on gravity on the climb I was not as bad as one of the women on our tour. She was afraid of heights in a big way. Before we started we stood in a group and told everyone our name and why we were there. She said that she was there because her daughter gave it to her as a mother’s day present. I soon realized that, that ladies daughter doesn’t like her very much. In our group photo she looks petrified and she cried for a good chunk of the tour. I don’t think that I would try to conquer my fear of heights by climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge!
d one of the other guides and it made me more thankful that we had our guy. We climbed, ducked and squeezed our way through the belly of the bridge to come out on the right side of the bridge, the opera house side. We started along the bridge and then there was an area that was railed in by two railings about an inch thick and about as high as just above my waist. The walkway was a grate that you could, of course, see right through down into the harbor below you. It was these stairs and the same thing on the other side going down that put the fear of god in me. It is was slightly unnerving being able to see below my feet and knowing that if I fell I would plunge to my death in the Sydney Harbour. Now I would like to say that I don’t actually have a fear of heights but I do have a healthy respect for gravity. Funny enough these parts with the stairs weren’t even half way up the bridge and I would classify that as the scariest part of the whole climb. Even when we were on the tip top of the bridge next to the flags and the airplane beacon I wasn’t as frightened as I was when we climbed those gawd awful stairs above the water. The only other time I didn’t really love looking down was when we crossed from one side of the bridge to the other, crossing 49 meters 134 meters up in the air on wooden planks bolted to the thin metal railings. It was purely the wood that made my respect kick in because we all know that wood is not stronger then metal. Although I had a few moments of respectful thoughts on gravity on the climb I was not as bad as one of the women on our tour. She was afraid of heights in a big way. Before we started we stood in a group and told everyone our name and why we were there. She said that she was there because her daughter gave it to her as a mother’s day present. I soon realized that, that ladies daughter doesn’t like her very much. In our group photo she looks petrified and she cried for a good chunk of the tour. I don’t think that I would try to conquer my fear of heights by climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge! The views up
there were amazing and you could see for days, and we had a wonderful panoramic view of the CBD. We were even lucky enough to get to watch the sun set over the harbor from about half way down the bridge. That is lucky because people pay a lot more to go on a sunset climb and we got it for the regular price, boo-ya, love a good deal! This, for sure, will be on the list of one of the most amazing things I have done in my life. Funny enough most of the things on this list are things that I have done while I have been here in Australia.
there were amazing and you could see for days, and we had a wonderful panoramic view of the CBD. We were even lucky enough to get to watch the sun set over the harbor from about half way down the bridge. That is lucky because people pay a lot more to go on a sunset climb and we got it for the regular price, boo-ya, love a good deal! This, for sure, will be on the list of one of the most amazing things I have done in my life. Funny enough most of the things on this list are things that I have done while I have been here in Australia. My time here in Oz is ticking away, and for all those who have been friggin asking and wondering and such, I will be back in Nova Scotia on May 27th, 2010. I will not divulge any information about what I will be doing when I return or how long I will be there but I will be back in the country in just two weeks!
No comments:
Post a Comment