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JAMES
Another blog update about another fantastic day in Sydney yesterday (the man in the internet cafe over the road from the hotel is doing very nicely out of us at the moment, as we've got so much to write about!).
We did the Bridgeclimb yesterday morning, and it was brilliant! With the exception of Peru, it is probably the best thing we have done on the trip so far. I cannot believe anyone would come to Sydney and not do it, it's something you can't really do anywhere else. Sure, you can walk across the high bit of Tower Bridge, but it isn't really the same! After an hour spent being briefed on the safety aspect and gearing up with clips and harnesses (well, you wouldn't want to fall off would you!) we headed off, and soon enough we were up on the top arch of the bridge enjoying views of the cityscape behind us, the Opera House to the right, Luna Park at 11 o'clock, Kirrabilli (with the Governor's and Prime Minister's residence) at 1 o'clock, Manly at 3 o'clock, and to the left the Olympic Stadium and even the Blue Mountains in the very far distance.
Having been blighted with rain throughout the Caribbean, our luck has certainly turned Down Under and we have barely seen a cloud! The views were just stunning, enhanced furthermore by 8 Red Bull girls doing some sort of photo shoot on the street below us! It was difficult to watch where you were going as there was too much to look around and see (and not just the Red Bull girls!). Absolutely brilliant. We even saw the Fujitsu building just beyond Luna Park. Not the most attractive building in the world, actually SLH06 looks better, but then SLH06 is in Slough and this one is in Sydney. I can feel a conversation coming on in the New Year to try and wangle a secondment over here...
On reaching the summit we had the obligatory photos, two of which we have posted up here. You didn't really even notice the height, despite being 134m above the water. Too much else to look at! It was a brilliant morning, definitely recommended to anyone else who comes here.
After a picnic lunch in the park in the company of a million seagulls we took the ferry over to Manly, checked out the beach for a bit, spent hours shopping, and then did the Manly Scenic Walkway - basically a 9km (although I am sure they lie - took 4 hours and felt much further!) around the coastline. Every couple of hundred metres we came across another stunning little cove or nice view back to Manly / towards the city. The part going through the National Park feels really isolated - proper bush, and hard to believe you are only a few miles from downtown!
All in all, a pretty cracking day! Been over to the Fish Market this morning and about to head back there for some lunch, and then on to the cricket at the SCG. Tonight, the casino! This time tomorrow Rodney, we'll be millionaires...
KATIE
If anyone reading this ever comes to Sydney or knows of anyone visiting then you MUST do the Sydney Bridge Climb - it's fantastic and definitely worth the money. We did wonder at first how it could take 3.5 hours but the safety instructions and sheer time to get trussed up in thoroughly un-flattering outfits takes over an hour at the start! It's a wonder how some people get through life sometimes, I don't know how many different ways they told us that you can't have watches, bracelets or anything at all round your wrists, and that you must leave these items behind in the lockers. Despite this, when we walked though the metal detectors (obviously needed because people patently can't follow directions) there were a few people who still looked bemused when asked if they had a watch or bracelet on and then said, oh, so I can't take THIS bracelet then? As if THIS bracelet had some magical powers or something....
Anyway, after the various attempts of people to take things through, we eventually got kitted up in everything from handkerchiefs to baseball caps to radios - and set out along the main road looking like something out of a star trek convention. The walk up the bridge is really slow so you have all the time you need to really appreciate the views, which are absolutely stunning no matter which direction you looked!! Our guide Romeo was brilliant, very amusing and somehow remembered all our names within about 5 minutes! The walkways are really wide so even if you were scared of heights then you wouldn't have a problem. Best bits were 2 short stretches where you had fine mesh underfoot so if you walked really fast and looked down it was as if there was nothing beneath you - that was wicked!! We learned all sorts of interesting things about the bridge, including that Paul Hogan worked on the construction (before he became famous obviously), 16 people died but only 1 from the top archway where they would walk along the beams with no safety equipment at all, very scary thought when you see how wide they are! Fireworks are placed at 80 different locations on the bridge and the last couple of years have cost about $4m. Anyway, the views were spectacular and it's not really all that high when you look down, just high enough to get a really good panorama of the whole of Sydney when you get to the top!!!
After the walk and purchasing the cheesy photos they take of you (well, you have to don't you! Decided to get the CD so we could put them on the blog and not crush printed photos over the coming weeks) we took the ferry across to Manly Harbour, and after a quick detour via the beach did the Manly Scenic Walk, a 9 /10km walk mainly along the coastline to Spit (great name). Saw a few Iguana's / Geckos (is there a difference??), a parrot, heard some very weird birds that sounded like R2D2 but mercifully no funnel back spiders. Loads of great lookout points on the way, just seems to be wherever you look there's a great view in this city!
You'll be pleased to know we had a few chores to do in the way of washing and drying once back at the trusty Travel lodge, made all the more interesting by rushing up and down floors trying to find the free washing machines and dryers! Particularly time consuming as there was a group of about 100 school girls checking in and taking up the lifts (we still haven't managed to find the stairs, god knows what we'd do if there was a fire!).
This morning (Thursday) we went to the fish market. An incredible array of fish, I've never seen blue crabs or green mussels before for example! Did a bit of shopping at Darling Harbour and we're off to the cricket this afternoon when they start again after lunch. Busy, busy, busy........
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