BridgeClimb

One of the well-known tourist activities in Australia is the fact that you can pay to climb the Harbour Bridge, one of the biggest landmarks in the city.

After the hype from recommendations and the Mary Kate & Ashley movie Our Lips Are Sealed, there was no question that I'd be signing up for the BridgeClimb.

Sydney Harbour Bridge & Opera House views for scale- look how long it is!

I signed up for the Climb with two colleagues at Starcom - one visiting and one local, as well as my roommate's sister Elena who happened to be visiting Sydney the same week! We all got lucky in that it stopped raining for our climb, and lightened up to show gorgeous views of the skyline and surrounding Sydney suburbs. They claim that the Harbour Bridge is the largest single span arch bridge in the world, so the walk isn't short; all in all it's about a three hour activity.

Photo from the top of the bridge, complete with the Sydney Opera House and buildings in the background

After experiencing it, I couldn't say better things about the BridgeClimb company. The staff was pleasant and had a clear orientation prior to explain the walk, the climb and the attire. You go through security 2-3 times to make sure you aren't carrying phones, cameras or other personal items, and they even breathalyze every person registered. Each climber then receives a jumpsuit, hap and clips for any loose items - glasses, sunglasses, tissues and more. Your harness clips to the bridge so you are attached at all times, and the entire bridge is wired for these clips. Impressive, eh?

My favorite part about the climb was really contextualizing Sydney after having visited so much of the town in isolation. From the peak at the top, where there is an Australian flag, you can see the coast of Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, Olympic Park, the airport, Botanic Gardens, the skyline and more. Every climber wears headphones and the guide gives an audio tour explaining the landmarks you are looking at. There are beautiful islands and harbors all around the Sydney area, and you can see all of it from the bridge and learn who resides where and what each is known for.

Whoever had the idea to let tourists climb a local landmark was brilliant - and probably makes millions of dollars each day!

Arriving on the arch