Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is a symbol of Sydney, and we climbed to the summit yesterday (March 11th). I shared this spectacular experience with Isabelle and Caitlin, a new friend from the US.

Another great day with great people

Sydney Opera House in the background. Woop whoop! 

Some quick facts about the bridge we just climbed: 
- World's largest (but not longest) steel arch bridge
- Also affectionately known as the "Coathanger"
- Total length is 1149 meters/3770ft
- Arch span is 503 meters/1650ft
- Took six years to build, and opened on March 19th,1932 
- Contains 6 million hand driven rivets
- AWESOME to climb

The Bridge Climb is one of the top things to do in Sydney. There are four time options for the bridge climb: dawn, day, twilight, and night. We wanted the best of both worlds (i.e. day and night), so we opted for the twilight climb even though it was $100 more than the other climbs. It cost $298 per person (1607kr/US$269), so it was very pricey. That being said, it was TOTALLY worth the cost. The climb itself was a great experience, and the twilight climb is something I would definitely recommend. If you have the opportunity to do the this - do it!   I obviously don't have anything to compare yesterday's climb with… However, seeing the sun set while walking up to the summit, the city lighting up, the sky going dark, and the skyline coming to life… AMAZING. The 360-degree views of Sydney were truly breathtaking.  

Our check-in time was at 5:55pm, but we didn't actually get out on the bridge until about an hour later. They provided oh-so-attractive jumpsuits for us to wear. We all agreed that it would be great if they let us take these babies home, so we could go out with them. We felt like we were about to go on a mission to space. For safety reasons, we had to remove all loose items (watches, jewelry, bobby pins, etc), and weren't allowed to bring anything with us. The things we did bring (headlight, sunglasses, headsets) were all clipped onto our jumpsuits so we wouldn't lose anything. 

Made it to the top 

The max number of people on each climb is 14, but there were only 4 other people in addition to us and our climb leader: a couple from Barcelona and a couple from Sydney. It was nice being in a small group, and it allowed us to get to know our climb leader and ask lots of questions. Our climb leader, Rob, was great. We had headsets on so we could hear him speak the entire time. He was very knowledgeable, and told us about the history/construction of the bridge, random facts, and also some good jokes. 

Though it is called the bridge "climb", there wasn't too much climbing involved. The climbing part of the journey was actually only up/down four ladders to the upper arch of the bridge. The rest was just walking up/down the arch. It wasn't very strenuous, and it took approximately 3,5 hours to complete. We headed up the outer arch on the Opera House side until we hit the top, then crossed the spine of the bridge to the Darling Harbour side, and made our way back down. The time flew by! Also, it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I'm not a huge fan of heights, but I felt safe the whole time. We wore harnesses and were clipped to a wire, and there were railings to hold on to. Actually one of the other people we went with had a fear of heights, and he was able to get through it. I was pretty impressed! 

Though not very strenuous, we were happy to reach the top: 

Notice Caitlin creeping in the background

In addition to these fabulous photos (which cost a pretty penny, of course), we also got to take a free 8-second video at the summit. It was such an awkward thing to do, mainly because everyone is standing and watching you. It was free though! Here's a little message to my family and friends: 

Time to get to the library and continue reading Health Psychology… It can't all be fun and games (and bridge climbing)!

Love,

Suzy