Rather than spend yet another few hours at the gym yesterday, I decided it would be more fun to get my exercise crossing The Sydney Harbor Bridge. I certainly wasn’t alone in that thought, and I certainly exerted far less effort than all the other people jogging, biking and even powerwalking the path. But it was still a very worthwhile trip, even if I didn’t burn some serious calories.
The first thing it’s important to note about crossing the bridge, is that even though the walking path is pretty seriously walled in from the traffic on one side, and the harbor on the other . . .
. . . it’s still not a place for people afraid of heights. Not only can you see straight down the entire time, but the ground under you also jiggles like a SoCal aftershock every time a train goes by.
I bet most people also don’t know that you can climb to the top of one of the pylons, for a mere $9.50 (sorry there are no pics from there, because I didn’t have that much on me) which sure beats the nearly $200 that people pay every day to climb to the top of the arch, and doesn’t require you to wear the “bridge colored” jumpsuit, or be chained to a group of your fellow climbers.
The $9.50 (if you happen to have that money handy) will also get you into a little museum inside the pylon, about the building of the bridge. But I got a little taste of what the museum had to offer on the stairs leading to the entrance.
All in all, I would call the bridge crossing a very worthwhile journey. Especially since all the postcards most souvenir shops here sell are a bit on the cheesy side, and the bridge offers you a great opportunity to take a few of your own.
You can check out the rest of the shots from my journey on my Flickr page.
Paid tours of the bridge? Mmmm. Sounds like they haven’t got it paid for yet.