The point where the bridge foundation is located used to be a fort.
These stone towers are just for decoration, the entire bridge is held up solely by the steel.
The bridge is really huge!
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Monday, February 11, 2002 Bridge
Climb |
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Woke up around 8:30 and had breakfast at a French cafe downstairs. The weather was looking a bit variable, so we waited until about 11 before heading to BridgeClimb headquarters. |
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The point where the bridge foundation is located used to be a fort. |
These stone towers are just for decoration, the entire bridge is held up solely by the steel. |
The bridge is really huge! |
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For the last three years the city has been allowing people to walk out onto the bridge structure, and then up and over the upper arch of the bridge. They give a safety briefing and provide the proper safety equipment, including a traveling cable attachment which rides along a steel cable the whole length of the journey. The whole climb takes about 3 hours. |
 Almost at the top of the span. |
 The Opera House from 437 feet up. |
 Standing on the middle cross beam. |
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Our guide, Ronan, was lots of fun, and told us many things about the bridge itself and Sydney and the harbor. It was really amazing to have a panoramic view of the city from 437 feet above the water. We had a bit of rain, some wind and some blue skies during our climb. Definitely something we'll remember from the trip. |
 This was our whole crew. |
 On the way back down, climbing through the structure below the bridge. |
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After a quick bite to eat, we caught a cab back to the hotel where Rick took a nap and Randy worked on the pictures we've taken so far. |
 The catwalks are quite narrow. |
 Interesting architecture. |
 This was the view from lunch. |
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At 6:00 we got ready for dinner. We had dinner reservations at Aqua Dining, a restaurant just over the Harbour Bridge, above the Olympic Pool. Unfortunately, traffic was a disaster, so after sitting in a cab for 20 minutes and moving just 2 blocks, we walked back into the hotel and got reservations at Aria, right by the Opera House. It turned out to be a nice quiet place with a great view of the Opera House and the bridge. |
 The bridge at night. |
 The walkway outside the opera house. |
 Sydney's skyline at night. |
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We had a delicious meal, then walked along the water for a bit. Back at the hotel we watched a movie ("Blow") and then went to sleep. |
 The Opera House all lit up at night. |