Tourism NSW had booked several activities for us in advance. Our job was to participate in these and report about them.
BridgeClimb
We experienced the "Climb of our Lives" at the Sydney BridgeClimb. We took the 3.5 hour Discovery Climb Tour which led us along the lower part of the bridge, winding around and climbing staircases until we ended up on the very top. Before the actual climb we put on special jumpsuits to which everything clips, since they don't want hats, gloves, jackets, etc, blowing down into the harbour. It is worth noting that you cannot bring your camera along, so the only photos of the event are ones they take for you. Then we put on a harness (similar to a climbing harness) which clipped onto a cable that runs the entire length of the climb. It has a self-arrest device so if you were to ever slip you would not go tumbling down. Our small group was guided up the bridge by Olivia, a fun, entertaining, and resourceful guide. As we climbed Olivia told us the history of the bridge (parts of which you can read for yourselves at the BridgeClimb website) and interesting stories of Sydney. The climbs take place in all weather other than lightning storms, and during our climb we experienced strong winds and some beating rain, which added to the drama.
We experienced the "Climb of our Lives" at the Sydney BridgeClimb. We took the 3.5 hour Discovery Climb Tour which led us along the lower part of the bridge, winding around and climbing staircases until we ended up on the very top. Before the actual climb we put on special jumpsuits to which everything clips, since they don't want hats, gloves, jackets, etc, blowing down into the harbour. It is worth noting that you cannot bring your camera along, so the only photos of the event are ones they take for you. Then we put on a harness (similar to a climbing harness) which clipped onto a cable that runs the entire length of the climb. It has a self-arrest device so if you were to ever slip you would not go tumbling down. Our small group was guided up the bridge by Olivia, a fun, entertaining, and resourceful guide. As we climbed Olivia told us the history of the bridge (parts of which you can read for yourselves at the BridgeClimb website) and interesting stories of Sydney. The climbs take place in all weather other than lightning storms, and during our climb we experienced strong winds and some beating rain, which added to the drama.
Just before our climb the manager came out specifically to welcome us, the prize winners, and we felt like celebrities. Speaking of celebrities, there is a wall of photos of famous people who have done the Bridge Climb, such as Will Smith, Chelsea Clinton, and Hayden Christensen--so if you go be sure to check the wall to see if they put our photo up too ;-). Thanks to our "See Sydney" card we received free hats. Thanks to our celebrity status the manager met us after the climb and gave us a CD of the photos taken of us on the bridge (a $65.00 value). The Bridge Climb was one of our favorite activities. It is rather pricey, so start saving in advance for this unique and incredible way to experience Sydney.
Fort Denison Heritage Tour
Fort Denison is a small outpost in the middle of the harbour. It was originally called "Pinch Gut Island," referring to the hunger felt by misbehaving prisoners who were punished by a week's stay on the little island. The idea to build a fort there came in response to American ships entering the harbour after the War of Independence. The settlers in Sydney had not heard whether the war had ended and were suspicious that the American ships were going to attack this English settlement. It took many years to construct the fort, and by the time it was operational ships had iron hulls so the cannons would have been useless. It is one of the few standing Martello Towers in the world. We went into the tower, saw where they had stored gunpowder, looked at the cannons, and learned about the history.
Later outside, Kevin fired the 1:00 cannon (sorry, no flaming stick to light the gunpowder--just the push of an electric button these days). Historically, ships could not determine longitude without knowing the local time (watch the movie Longitude for the interesting tale of timepieces at sea). So at 1:00, a signal was given to synchronize timepieces.
In conclusion, the tour was interesting, but would not be included on our "must see" list of Sydney sites if you are limited on time (no offense to Bindi, our wonderful National Park Service guide).
Fort Denison is a small outpost in the middle of the harbour. It was originally called "Pinch Gut Island," referring to the hunger felt by misbehaving prisoners who were punished by a week's stay on the little island. The idea to build a fort there came in response to American ships entering the harbour after the War of Independence. The settlers in Sydney had not heard whether the war had ended and were suspicious that the American ships were going to attack this English settlement. It took many years to construct the fort, and by the time it was operational ships had iron hulls so the cannons would have been useless. It is one of the few standing Martello Towers in the world. We went into the tower, saw where they had stored gunpowder, looked at the cannons, and learned about the history.
Later outside, Kevin fired the 1:00 cannon (sorry, no flaming stick to light the gunpowder--just the push of an electric button these days). Historically, ships could not determine longitude without knowing the local time (watch the movie Longitude for the interesting tale of timepieces at sea). So at 1:00, a signal was given to synchronize timepieces.
In conclusion, the tour was interesting, but would not be included on our "must see" list of Sydney sites if you are limited on time (no offense to Bindi, our wonderful National Park Service guide).
Sydney Opera House Tour
Yes, we had the opportunity of touring the famous Sydney icon, the Opera House! Unfortunately, our prize did not include attending a concert in one of the theaters :(. We would have paid to see one ourselves, but we were there during the off season and the only choice of venues that interested us was not a possibility due to schedule conflicts. Back to the tour: visitors are not allowed to take any indoor photographs other than in the foyer and stair areas, hence our lack of exciting photos for the collage (below). Even though we could not catch the drama of the building in a photo, we managed to capture some of the drama of our guide, Sharon, who loves everything about the Opera House. She explained that the tiles were specially made to repel any moss or fungus, so they keep themselves clean. The tiles are not uniform--different glazes were used to create a shimmering effect in the light. It truly is an amazing building, and we did not tire of looking at it.
A few things we learned: the "sails" of the opera house as it was originally designed would not have stood up to strong winds, so the architects and engineers eventually realized that they could all be "cut" from a single sphere.
We did not realize prior to our tour that there are 5 different performance theaters. The most exquisite (and famous) is the concert hall--and we didn't get to see it (due to a rehearsal), so we were disappointed. We did see the opera hall where we watched a ballet group warming up for a rehearsal. The story behind the architect, Jorn Utzon is a sad one. We think it is also a lesson on why one should forgive and not hold grudges--Jorn left the country over some disagreements and has chosen to never return, in spite of the belated recognition that the Australians would like to give him. Also, it was such a negative experience for him that some say he was prevented from creating additional masterpieces. You can read the history for yourselves here.
Yes, we had the opportunity of touring the famous Sydney icon, the Opera House! Unfortunately, our prize did not include attending a concert in one of the theaters :(. We would have paid to see one ourselves, but we were there during the off season and the only choice of venues that interested us was not a possibility due to schedule conflicts. Back to the tour: visitors are not allowed to take any indoor photographs other than in the foyer and stair areas, hence our lack of exciting photos for the collage (below). Even though we could not catch the drama of the building in a photo, we managed to capture some of the drama of our guide, Sharon, who loves everything about the Opera House. She explained that the tiles were specially made to repel any moss or fungus, so they keep themselves clean. The tiles are not uniform--different glazes were used to create a shimmering effect in the light. It truly is an amazing building, and we did not tire of looking at it.
A few things we learned: the "sails" of the opera house as it was originally designed would not have stood up to strong winds, so the architects and engineers eventually realized that they could all be "cut" from a single sphere.We did not realize prior to our tour that there are 5 different performance theaters. The most exquisite (and famous) is the concert hall--and we didn't get to see it (due to a rehearsal), so we were disappointed. We did see the opera hall where we watched a ballet group warming up for a rehearsal. The story behind the architect, Jorn Utzon is a sad one. We think it is also a lesson on why one should forgive and not hold grudges--Jorn left the country over some disagreements and has chosen to never return, in spite of the belated recognition that the Australians would like to give him. Also, it was such a negative experience for him that some say he was prevented from creating additional masterpieces. You can read the history for yourselves here.
Taronga Zoo VIP Aussie Tour
The afternoon following our tour of the Opera House, we rode the ferry across the harbour to the Taronga Zoo. We met our guides, cute little volunteer ladies Pat and Ilona, who took us through the native Australian animal section. We got to see the food preparation room, some of the critters used for their educational center, and were able to feed a kangaroo and possum. After the tour, we watched a bird show and then had only about 1 hour left until closing time. Much to Kevin's dismay we didn't get to the reptile house. This zoo is not up to the caliber of the San Diego Zoo but is better than SLC's Hogle Zoo (or maybe it was the Australian wildlife that made it more exciting to us). We would recommend allowing a full day trip if you want to see all the animals and shows.
Some of our favorite animals were the echidnas and wombats. The echidnas were very active during our visit (perhaps due to the rain?). They snuffled about their enclosure as our guides explained their monotreme traits. We watched a wombat digging and looking cute. The koalas were all asleep, but the kangaroos and wallabies gave more of a show by hopping about. We took a lot of video, which is taking far too long to edit--hence the reason it has not been posted.
The afternoon following our tour of the Opera House, we rode the ferry across the harbour to the Taronga Zoo. We met our guides, cute little volunteer ladies Pat and Ilona, who took us through the native Australian animal section. We got to see the food preparation room, some of the critters used for their educational center, and were able to feed a kangaroo and possum. After the tour, we watched a bird show and then had only about 1 hour left until closing time. Much to Kevin's dismay we didn't get to the reptile house. This zoo is not up to the caliber of the San Diego Zoo but is better than SLC's Hogle Zoo (or maybe it was the Australian wildlife that made it more exciting to us). We would recommend allowing a full day trip if you want to see all the animals and shows.
Some of our favorite animals were the echidnas and wombats. The echidnas were very active during our visit (perhaps due to the rain?). They snuffled about their enclosure as our guides explained their monotreme traits. We watched a wombat digging and looking cute. The koalas were all asleep, but the kangaroos and wallabies gave more of a show by hopping about. We took a lot of video, which is taking far too long to edit--hence the reason it has not been posted.
EcoTour of Blue Mountains
We were really excited for this ecotour, since it took us out of the city into the bushland (or so we thought). The 4WD bus was great (see Travel and Accommodations), and we had a very entertaining guide, Barry (who is a descendant from some of the original convicts). We started off with a quick trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park. We only had a short time there and could have spent another good hour if allowed. It was fun to take photos with the koalas and feed the kangaroos, but we ran out of time to see much else. During the drive from Sydney, Barry talked about the history of Australia as well as the ecology and fauna of the Blue Mountains area. We stopped for a restroom break at Bilpin Fruit Bowl, in a rural fruit growing community, and tasted the local apples. We were surprised they were ripe given that it was only springtime, but apparently they mature over the mild winters.
Once in the mountains, we stopped for a "walkabout in the bush." We were looking forward to a fun little hike and were disappointed when our "walkabout" took us only 10 meters from the bus for a short botany lesson of the surrounding plants. (Hmm...so what is the Aussie term for "hike?"). We ate lunch at the Imperial Hotel (see Dining Down Under: Part I), where Kevin had his photo taken with Elena the friendly ghost (bottom right of collage). The majestic views of the Blue Mountains were obscured by the mist and rain, but we were told to imagine the Grand Canyon covered with eucalyptus trees and giant tree ferns.
We were really excited for this ecotour, since it took us out of the city into the bushland (or so we thought). The 4WD bus was great (see Travel and Accommodations), and we had a very entertaining guide, Barry (who is a descendant from some of the original convicts). We started off with a quick trip to Featherdale Wildlife Park. We only had a short time there and could have spent another good hour if allowed. It was fun to take photos with the koalas and feed the kangaroos, but we ran out of time to see much else. During the drive from Sydney, Barry talked about the history of Australia as well as the ecology and fauna of the Blue Mountains area. We stopped for a restroom break at Bilpin Fruit Bowl, in a rural fruit growing community, and tasted the local apples. We were surprised they were ripe given that it was only springtime, but apparently they mature over the mild winters.
Once in the mountains, we stopped for a "walkabout in the bush." We were looking forward to a fun little hike and were disappointed when our "walkabout" took us only 10 meters from the bus for a short botany lesson of the surrounding plants. (Hmm...so what is the Aussie term for "hike?"). We ate lunch at the Imperial Hotel (see Dining Down Under: Part I), where Kevin had his photo taken with Elena the friendly ghost (bottom right of collage). The majestic views of the Blue Mountains were obscured by the mist and rain, but we were told to imagine the Grand Canyon covered with eucalyptus trees and giant tree ferns.
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