Sydney - the Great Climb

The Harbor Bridge

As some of you might know, when we left for our trip we planned a game with our kids: they were to give us challenges for the different places we visited. To make a long story short, that is how we ended up visiting Hobbiton in New Zealand, climbing the Harbor Bridge in Sydney and getting friendly with the lemurs in the Sydney Taronga Zoo.

Can you guess which of our kids gave us which challenge? The answer is at the end of the blog!

I must admit, I could think of lots of reasons to NOT climb the Harbor Bridge… it is expensive, it is scary… and  I am afraid of heights.  When I tried to reject this challenge… one of our kids said “hey mom, what about facing your fears and all that skedaddle?” They gave me a spoonful of my own medicine and NOW I had to do it… there was no way for me to gracefully get out of it.

The bridge climb was scheduled at 12:30 and on the way there I considered having a quick schnaps somewhere… you know “dutch courage”. Fortunately, we did not have time for a drink as the first thing our climb leader did was use a breathalyzer to see if we had been drinking.

The climb leader was a lovely New Zealand girl who was also the photographer.  We were not allowed to take a camera up as we might drop it.

The entire bridge climb took about 3 ½  hours but at least one hour was spent gearing up and signing forms that translate to “this is a really stupid idea and if you fall and get killed it is your own fault”.

We were taken into a changing room, given a locker and told to take off everything but undergarments and slip into the lovely blue onesies they provided. Uli did not like the idea of getting into those suits which are worn by other people… but had no choice in the matter. Furthermore, we were given harnesses with a guide line and a radio so the climb leader could talk to us. A short training was given showing us how our guide line would work and explaining the safety precautions: Only one person is allowed at a time on the ladder for instance.

Every piece of clothing had to be fastened to your body so that nothing fell onto the cars below: hats, sunglasses, radios. We even had to take the bobby pins out of our hair. You can see the guideline hooked to our harnesses -  it is all very safe. During peak periods, about 500 climbers go up day onto the Harbor Bridge. Behind us you see the next group getting ready to cross the top of the arch.

The whole time I was on the bridge I concentrating on not looking down and sung gospel songs to myself to keep the panic at bay. Uli was very cool… he just walked behind me enjoying the scenery.
The climb was fantastic, it is an experience we both enjoyed and Uli (not me) would do it again in a heartbeat.

The group we climbed with was quite international. Mexican, Danish, English, Puerto Rican, American, German and Icelandic… no Australians . It was like the United Nations. Guess which guy is the Mexican? (hint: he is the very happy one!)

Mardi Gras in Sydney

Booking an apartment in Sydney proved to be fairly difficult as it was Mardi Gras in Sydney.

This had us a bit confused as Mardi Gras (Fasching) takes place 6 weeks before Easter and was long past. It turns out Mardi Gras is the biggest Gay Pride festival and parade worldwide. It is not only gay pride but rather LGBTQI pride – though I am not sure what all of those letters mean.

There was a parade, cruises, parties and gay people from all over the world who visit Sydney for the festival. Of course, we decided to attend the parade and joined the partygoers about 2 hours before the parade to ensure we get a good view. I was especially interested in seeing the Dikes on Bikes and the transvestites who are so beautiful they put us women to shame not to mention all of the great costumes.

The parade participants warmed up in a local park. It is hard to find a place to keep your mobile in an outfit that small.

The parade was extremely crowded, like Oktoberfest in Munich so that we did not get a very good spot to watch.

Next time we will have to get an apartment closer so we can watch from above. Unfortunately, the camera battery died just when the parade started so we got no photos from the actual parade. Again what learned... check the battery before you leave the house.

Ah, so you made it all the way to the end?

Answers to the Riddle:

• Erika gave us the Hobbiton challenge - find a cache in Hobbiton and take a picture there
• Naomi wanted us to climb the Harbor Bridge
• Michi sent us searching for lemur

We are eagerly awaiting to see what Andrea will think of!!! Next stop Bali.