Long live your dreams
New York, New York
Sydney
Climbing for Dawn
Photos from Sydney
The Land of the Long White Cloud
Christmas
Jumping high, jumping higher
My birthday
North to South
7th January 2006 - posted from Sydney
Andy and I walked through the quiet streets of Sydney towards the bridge. It was misty, damp and peaceful. We arrived at the Bridge Climb and joined a few other very tired (or mad) people who decided to get up that early. After getting kitted up with all the gear required, we set off up the bridge. There's a lot of steps and quite a lot of rather nervous areas where you just don't want to look down unless you fancy looking at the sea 50 metres below you, or a passing car on the road deck. The whole time you're attached to a cable that goes up the side of the pathway, so you're well attached.
We got to the top just as the sun was rising. Unfortunately, the weather had turned a bit as we went up and it was raining. There was no dramatic sunrise, but rather a beautiful silence as the city was starting to wake up. There were few cars and trains on the bridge. Our group was the first up onto the bridge for the day, so we had the top to ourselves for a little while. Standing on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the opera house lit up below you and the city of Sydney just behind it, with an early morning glow in the mist and rain is an awe inspiring sight; one I'll never forget.
I like Sydney a lot, it is without a doubt one of my favourite cities. It's beautiful and clean. It's small enough to walk from one side of the city centre to the other in 30 minutes, but there's a fantastic transport network to get you around if it's raining. It's big enough to have everything you need; Olympic-sized swimming pools, cinemas, bars, theatre, opera and plenty of good shops. I can see why one of my friends came here and decided to live here. If a job was available here for a year or two, I'd take it in a flash.
We've been to the opera house, the zoo, for a harbour cruise and all other sorts. It's been a wonderful 12 days, a real pickup after leaving New Zealand.
Last night we went for dinner in a wonderful restaurant, with probably one of the finest views in the world. It's set right on the harbour, with the opera house to one side and the bridge to the other. We had a fantastic meal and some drinks, celebrating all odds and ends.
My bags are next to me, Matt and Lewis have gone to get their car and we're about to leave for the airport. I'll be in New York before you can say "winter".