Today, I woke up with
the need to go on a long run around Sydney. I quickly changed, grabbed my
shoes, and headed out the door. I wanted to start off by running across the
Sydney Harbour Bridge, but I had no idea how to get onto the pedestrian
walkway. While meandering, I spotted a group of three Australians and asked
them for directions. It turned out they were headed that same way and invited me
to run with them. I happily accepted and joined in. Little did I know that they
were marathon runners and were running at an incredibly fast pace—I was determined
to keep up with them, so that made for great motivation to run at a faster pace.
This morning is just another example of how kind Australians are—I was a
completely lost tourist and they offered to change their route in order to show
me around Sydney. First, we ran across the bridge and back. Then we followed a
pathway around The Rocks to run past the Sydney Opera House and through the
Botanical Gardens, where we weaved through different paths and I could take in
the beauty of the gardens as the sun was rising. We then weaved our way back to
the Opera House, through Circular Quay, and I headed back to the hostel. It was
a total of about 13 km they told me which converts to about 8 miles and since
we were running at about a 7 minute mile pace, I was exhausted, but also exhilarated
and ready for a day of being at the zoo and climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge!
After breakfast and a much needed relaxing shower, it was
time to head to Circular Quay to catch the ferry to the Taronga Zoo. My program
went as a group and Leanne met us at Circular Quay to come with us. Today was
in the 70s and sunny with not a cloud in the sky—probably one of the best days
we have had in Australia yet and the perfect day for the zoo and bridge climb. The
Taronga Zoo is probably one of the best zoos I have ever been to. It is
basically situated on a large hill, so when you get off the ferry, you take a
gondola to the top and work your way down. We started off at the kangaroo exhibit,
which felt more like a human exhibit because it’s an enclosed area with a path.
When you go in, the humans have to remain on the path, but the kangaroos can
hop around freely and come up to you if they wished to do so. Unfortunately,
the kangaroos did not want to play with me and they continued to lie on their
rocks and soak in the sun as I walked by :( But, I finally was able to see
kangaroos (that were not dead on the side of the road)! Next, we saw wombats, a
platypus, a Tasmanian devil, emus, elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, bears
(oh my!), monkeys, meerkats, tapirs, gorillas, and mountain goats. It was such
a large zoo and we unfortunately were unable to see all of it because we had to
catch a ferry back to Circular Quay in order to make it back in time to climb
the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
13 out of the 20 people in our program decided to sign up
for the climb. We were all extremely excited because it was a beautiful day and
we knew we were about to experience some spectacular views of Sydney. Since
there were only 13 of us and a normal tour has 14, they added an individual
named Darrell to our group. He was a middle-aged man from Victoria visiting a
friend and had always wanted to climb the bridge. It was a much more sophisticated process than I
thought it would be. For the first hour, they made us prepare for the climb. We
had to wear these gray jumpsuits and could bring nothing else up with us or be
wearing anything that could in any way fall off. In order to wear sunglasses,
they attached it to our jumpsuits with special hooks, as well as a
complimentary cap (also attached to our jumpsuit), a small bag containing a
fleece jacket (also attached to our jumpsuit), and a hankie (attached to our
wrist). We were then given harnesses to wear around our hips with a radio and
headphones (also attached to our jumpsuit just in case), and a spherical, metal
contraption that attaches to the ropes on the bridge. We then practiced going
up and down the ladders on practice replicas. Once all of that was completed,
we were able to start the climb.
Our guide, Lauren, was the absolute best. She was really
funny and knowledgeable about the bridge. She shared a lot of stories from when
the bridge was constructed during the Great Depression and how it is nicknamed
the Iron Lung because it kept so many Australians alive during that time. She
would also ask us to imagine what it would feel like to be up there climbing
the bridge without a harness during the construction of the bridge. When the
workers left that morning, they did not know if that would be the last time
they saw their kids. I found that to be very thought provoking because when I know
when I see such a grand structure, my main thoughts are about how cool it is—definitely
not about the hardships of the people who built it. It gave me a new
perspective when looking at structures like that and a much deeper appreciation
for them. Especially during the climb while I was in awe of the beauty of Sydney.
The climb itself was not too bad—I never felt any sensation of being up too
high or like I was going to fall. There were three stopping points for
pictures, and at the first stopping point, Lexi and I made a video of us
singing Hail to the Victors! Once we got to the top though, I was able to fully
take in everything around me. I could see all of the famous landmarks—the Opera
House, Luna Park, Fort Denison, Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, the Botanical
Gardens, and even our hostel! It could not have been a more perfect day for the
climb. The skies were perfectly clear, the water below us was dotted with
sailboats, and there was absolutely no wind—Lauren said it was the first time
she had ever seen the Australian flags on top of the bridge not flap around! I
wanted to stay a bit longer to take in the views, but we had to head back down.
By the end of the climb, I was truly exhausted. I regret not wearing a
pedometer at the beginning of this trip because I have never done so much
walking in my life.
On the walk back to the hostel, some of us stopped at the
Glendmore Hotel for some potato wedges and sweet chili sauce. I don’t know what
it is about those potato wedges because I normally do not like fries, but they
are so good, I could probably eat multiple plates. With that pre-dinner snack
taken care of, we arrived at the hostel and chilled for a couple of hours
before dinner. Once again, I found myself in my bed unable to move from
exhaustion. Had I not been so hungry, I probably would not have gotten up for
dinner. A group of us had talked about wanting to get sushi, while others
headed to the Australian Hotel to try kangaroo pizza. We went to a Japanese restaurant
called Sake and we did not realize how formal it was until we got in. I could
tell the hostess was judging our jeans and hoodies and was not surprised when
she said that since we did not make a reservation, there would not be any open
tables for two hours. Since we were not trying to wait two hours, we walked
back to the Australian Hotel and while everyone tried some kangaroo pizza, I had
a cheeseless pizza with roasted pumpkin, olives, tomatoes, zucchini, artichoke,
capsicum, and pesto. Probably one of the best pizzas I have ever had. For
dessert, we all headed as an entire group downtown to Max Brenner’s Chocolate
Bar. I had a hot chocolate made out of coconut, dark chocolate, and soy milk as
well as strawberries in a dark chocolate dipping sauce. I do not believe in too
much chocolate, but it was definitely chocolate overload. By the time I finished
licking my bowl of dark chocolate dipping sauce (not an exaggeration), I was
ready to return to the hostel and sleep contently after that amazing chocolate
experience.
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