Sydney Bridge Climb June 2010

Soooo I was looking through my pics from when my dad and I went to Australia in 2010 and wanted to share one of our EPIC fitness experiences:

Climbing the Sydney Harbor Bridge!

That trip is still my all-time favorite– my parents gave it to me as a graduation present and my dad and I were blessed to spend almost 3 weeks seeing Cairns, the Great Barrier Reef, Ayers Rock and the Outback, and Sydney. I kept a travel journal while we were there to remember every minute detail! (mostly for my mom since she couldn’t come because of the long plane ride haha)

I really hope to go back there one day…maybe even get a job and live down there with my marine biology degree.

Anywho, here’s the recap from the Bridge Climb!!

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My dad and I started out that day (June 3rd) a little worried since the forecast was rain, rain, and more rain. Guess that’s the one drawback of traveling to the southern hemisphere when it’s summer back in America haha

The worries didn’t keep us away from our scheduled appointment at the Bridge Climb facilities, though! My dad had signed us up for the Discovery climb about a month in advance, just to make sure we secured a spot.

We arrived about an hour early (9:00am) to check things outs, and the people managed to give us an upgrade to a sooner time! HUZZAH!

We headed upstairs to be briefed on safety, harnesses,and  jumpsuits, and met our leader, Maria, and fellow climbers– a couple from Tasmania and an older couple from New Jersey with their 25ish year old daughter.

Once we were decked out in our climbing gear and warm hats and gloves, we were ready to go!!

You start out underneath the bridge, almost at street level and gradually ascend tons of steps/stairs. You’re wearing a locking harness though, so it’s probably one of the safest climbs around. Our tour leader would tell us cool facts about the bridge and point out landmarks whenever we would pause to take a break, and the couple from Tasmania pointed out Keith Urban’s and John Travolta’s harbor homes!

When we reached the top, the sun randomly decided to pop out and shine down on us, presenting with it a GORGEOUS rainbow– we all remarked at what a miracle it was! Our tour leader quickly snapped the group pic of us– you can faintly see the rainbow just above my thumbs up in the air haha

this is hanging on my desk, so i had to take a pic of it haha

Another cool fact was that the Aboriginal flag and Australian flag were flying for a special festival! Those flags were massive– you can kinda get a sense in this pic I took from shore.

Sadly, you couldn’t have you camera, so I wasn’t able to get any pics while we were climbing, but our leader took some for us!

Dad and I

The flash made us look like ghosts haha

After admiring the views of the harbor, we heard a massive clap of thunder and saw some lightning. YIKES! So, we hit the road and started our descent. The rain started to pour like the dickens and cold wind nipped at our faces and gloves– it was a far cry from the rainbow we had just witnessed. Later we learned that the time we were originally scheduled for was cancelled because of the freak tornado warnings and bad weather– God works in mysterious ways, we sure counted our blessings!

After we made it back to the main place around 12:30pm, we stripped off all our soaking jumpsuits and changed back into regular clothes. It sure felt nice to be warm and dry!

the face of someone still in shock of climbing it

We ended the adventure with some lunch and had fun chatting about the beauty from the top.

If you’re interested in doing the climb, here’s some quick fun facts:

• There are 3 climbs to choose from– Basic, Discovery, and Express
• The Discovery climb takes roughly 3.5 hours, including all the prep.
• The top of the bridge is 134 meters above the water.
• You get a complimentary group photo and a “I climbed it!” certificate
• The gift shop is wicked awesome
• Your calves will be so sore the next day from all the stairs and ladders haha

To learn more about the climbs, prices, and plans, click here to visit their website!

It was such a fun experience, definitely recommend it if you’re visiting Sydney!!

photo cred– bridge climb

Have you ever climbed a bridge?

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