I’ve had the climb of my life!
Sydney, city of brides! As the saying goes – “When in rome…”, so I’ve been walking the streets of this fair haven in a white embroidered dress and a veil. Well, not quite. Similar though.
Back to reality. Arrived in Sydney after an 11 hour train journey from its traditional rival Melbourne (Lonely Planet likens the relationship to Athens vs Sparta, Springfield vs Shelbyville and i would like to add…Grafty Green and Lenham – the annual cheese-rolling competition can get particularly ugly).
During the journey i had to contend with a member of the church of satan (seriously, you meet some interesting characters on your travels) and a toddler whose mother insisted on letting her child run down the aisle fully naked. But i managed to get a few hours kip before i arrived bleary eyed at 7 o clock in the morning (a time i haven’t been witness to unless i’ve had a big night out).
Approaching Sydney it became clear this city was different to Melbourne (architectually at least). The skylines of the two are quite contrasting. Melbourne has tall, glass, modern skyscrapers, sydney seemed to me to have more concrete. It looked a little less modern, like it had skipped the nineties and noughties. Melbourne always appeared closer to European cities; Sydney is more openly New World. Sydney is more brash than Melbourne, not uncultured exactly, it’s just a little hidden, less refined, but still immensely enjoyable.
Booked into a hostel called Wake Up! Just like Base in Melbourne this hostel is a recent addition to the community, flash, modern, with all the mod cons. These seem to be a new phenomenon on the backpacker trail catering for a emerging breed of travellers termed the flashpacker. (Don’t mistake the term for those backpackers that insist on strolling around a 12 bed dorm in the nude). Flashpackers are less unwashed, pasta and tomato sauce eating entities, and more latte supping, laptop carrying fashionistas that have never even seen a cockroach let alone dithered about stamping on one because they may have heard the little buggers release all their babies if you do! (not to even think about what mushed cockroach would do to a pair of jimmy choo’s or patrick cox’s).
At the moment, before i head to Asia i have been staying in some quite nice hostels. This one was the most flashpackery, but also the most impersonal and least fun. So i quickly moved to another hostel just up the road. Rotten food in the communal kitchen. A pool table which was barely good enought to sit on and last but not least toilets with no locks on the doors. Always makes for good first impressions and introductions i always say.
After settling in i spent the first few days with a friend called Tash who i randomly met in the street and who i knew from Perth. Decided to head down to Circular Quay where Sydney as a city really distinguishes itself with its most famous image – the Opera House. First site of this iconic building is really spectacular. It’s one of the most famous buildings/images in the world and to suddenly be confronted with it is very strange because its so familiar, and yet at the same time seeing it in the flesh confirms what one has to be constantly reminded of…I’m far far away from home!
Just to the left of the opera house is the Sydney Harbour Bridge (again very iconic). Not a bad life when you can have a few beers and enjoy the sunset over such a view…and on a weekday.
Decided in a fit of madness that it would be a good idea to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the one used in the New Year celebrations. Images of me in a spiderman suit with suction cups and a daredevil determination on my face should be discarded right now…it’s an organised climb. Only 3 bridge climbs in the world. Sydney is the original and best though (bias?!). 160 dollars but worth every penny. It was a 3 and a half hour adventure from start to finish beginning with me donning my first (and last) ever jump suit.
Also required to take a breathalizer test. Passed it but i think they wanted to check the results again as our gang was rather exciteable, silly and had to be told everything multiple times.
Started well. We were only 20 metres up in the air and already i couldn’t look down. After navigating some rather hairy ladders and catwalks we emerged onto the top of the bridge arch right next to the Eastern tower and started our ascent to the summit.
This bit was the least scary as the arch is quite wide and so one feels relatively safe. Besides all you can concentrate on is the 360 degree view of the city, the opera house and the harbour. Really spectacular.
Gorgeous day for it. Absolutely cloudless, which meant we could see all the way out West to the Blue Mountains and East to the sea. Luckily we got on an afternoon climb so the sunlight was less harsh.
Our guide on the climb provided a running commentary of the bridge, its construction and the sites we could see far below. He also provided some much needed assistance when i refused to cross from the summit of the pylon we ascended to the summit of the pylon we descended (it’s seriously high – 140 metres! And you can see all the way down because the catwalk is grated). Lastly he provided a calming influence when i launched into a tirade of swearing and sweating at random points throughout the climb…i don’t like heights.
If you go on this website http://www.bridgeclimb.com/ there is a picture on the front page which shows you exactly where i was (though is not actually a picture of me). No cameras were allowed on the climb, but i did get a picture of me at the summit, it’s a hard copy though and has been taken home by one of my friends who will post it to you (that’s you mum). Also received a certificate for proof.
After the climb we stumbled into a nearby pub for some much needed refreshment. I highly recommend the Glenmore hotel, it has a rooftop terrace that overlooks Circular Quay and the opera house to the left and has great views of the skyline to the right.
Few days later we all decided to explore the harbour so we booked ourselves on one of the ferries in Circular Quay and sailed off to explore the many coves and bays of the largest natural harbour in the world whilst enjoying a nice free bottle of champagne as one of our group knew the owner of the ship. Very relaxing just chilling out on the deck in the mid afternoon sun, with a glass of bubbly in hand. Tough life eh?
Very nice beaches and bays around Sydney. Tempted by the cruise we decided to take a day trip to Watson’s Bay on the Friday. Quaint, very small, with not much going on except one of the best fish and chip restaurants in Australia. Attacked by the biggest flock of seagulls i’ve ever seen. Serves me right for teasing them with chips that i kept eating instead.
One of the other days (they all seem to meld into one when travelling, i’ve totally lost all ability to keep track of what day it is…thursday??) i went to the botanic gardens….not that impressed! Apparently they have had a severe drought recently so all the plants looked rather thirsty. But i did read the story of fauna in australia. This in itself was rather boring, but there was a section entitled ‘Invasion’ which piqued my curiousity. This was the first time in Australia that i had heard of the white settlement of Oz conceptualised in this (arguably very justifiable) way. It’s also interesting to note how immigration is such a hot topic here and so many people seem to be against it considering the history of the modern state of Australia.
I’ll have to cut this short as it’s already an essay, but the last few days have been spent enjoying the cities nightlife (Darling Harbour mainly – a very swanky and buzzing part of town, with nice bars, restaurants and yuppified apartments) many parks, and the cheap but delicious cuisine on offer in Chinatown.
Lastly, yesterday we went to Bondi. Not the nicest beach i’ve ever seen but certainly one of the most famous so we did some sunbathing and watched the multitide of surfers catch some waves. Chilly by mid-afternoon so i’ve decided to start heading further north. Later today i set off for Byron Bay! Very excited, have heard so much about it.
Food of the week: Definitely pigs blood jelly congee (which is a thick rice soup from China). Can’t get enough of the stuff. Actually i can’t get enough of any congee, seafood, pork, plain etc etc. I’m hooked.
Tags: Byron Bay, Opera House, Sydney, Travel
andrewlegon
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