Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sydney. Show all posts

Thursday Trip Report: Sleeping from Sydney to Melbourne

Thursday, August 18, 2011 Unknown
Thursda
My No Fly July  has meant I have not been inside a plane for over a month and have sampled a lot of Australian rail travel.

My latest trip was from Sydney to Melbourne in a sleeping carriage on the XPT (EXpress Passenger Train). It was such a delightful experience, I would do it again.

The train leaves from Platform Number One of the grand Central Station in Sydney, Central never quite looks right. It always seems a bit down at heel and always seems to be under construction. Currently the clock tower is being renovated. AAll sorts of alterations have been made which don't quite work. There are ugly barriers cutting off platforms 4 to 13,  the food court covers a magnificent floor mural illustrating all of Australia's railways.

There is now a youth hostel located in some old carriages permanently parked next to Platform One at Central Station.

I found the cabin to which I had been allocated. I had been reserved bed 9.There are two bunks and three seats in each cabin. The seats are only used in the day time. Each cabin shares a shower and a mini toilet. The toilets in the next carriage are much nicer.

My cabin mate arrived five minutes before the train departed. Bummer! I had thought I might have had the cabin to myself. Soon after our carriage attendant (for the first 400 km anyway to Albury arrived). After confirming we were not travelling together, she escorted him to his own cabin! There were only 15 passengers travelling in sleepers that night.

My order for the complimentary breakfast was taken (raisin toast, cereal and juice) and I was given a demonstration of bunk lowering, attendant call button, toilet and shower.

The train departed at 840pm. I folded the bed down soon after departure, changed into my (Qantas) pyjamas and hopped into bed for a read.

I soon fell asleep but was woken by a huge jolt which made me think we had left the tracks. I stayed awake for a while before falling back to sleep until just before breakfast in bed arrived.

A nice invigorating shower before dressing came next. The disquieting thing was that the shower ran cold water for ages and my heart sank. After a while it dawned on me that if I turned the tap on full, hot water might flow-which it did.

The cost of my sleeper was $216.00. Its interesting to compare the cost to flights the same night or next morning. Plenty of cheap flights were available for the price range of $99 to $149. Getting to Sydney airport would cost between $12 and $30 depending on whether I took bus, train or taxi where as I walked to Central Station. Getting from Melbourne  airport would cost me $15 to $50 depending on bus or taxi. So total airfare would cost between $126 and $229. If I had stayed in a hotel that night.......

For me, the price was so worth it! It was such a relaxing way to travel.


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Tuesday Trip Report: Riding the Rails- Adelaide to Sydney, Australia

Tuesday, August 02, 2011 Unknown

Adelaide and Sydney are about 1400 kilometres apart.  Twice a week the famous Indian Pacific train travels across the country from Adelaide Keswick rail terminal to Sydney via Broken Hill.


The train departs Adelaide mid morning (10:00am) each Tuesday and Friday, reaches Broken Hill that same evening, then travels through the night across the Blue Mountains and arrives at Sydney Central station at 10:15am Sydney time, almost exactly 24 hours after leaving Adelaide.


As part of my No Fly July, I took the train and blogged live from the Lounge car! 


The train, 28 carriages long on my journey, consists of effectively four classes:

  • Platinum - a private spacious cabin with double or twin beds and very nice meals included about $1900 per person from Adelaide to Sydney
  • Gold Sleeper - Champagne on arrival, Meals included, with lounge chair by day and sleeper by night. Access to a lounge car included. $700- $1000 Adelaide to Sydney

  • Red Sleeper - cafeteria style meals, cozy but comfortable cabin, shared shower and a lounge car.   This will set you back $500 to $800one way.  The full price for the Red Sleeper is more than a 5 star hotel room in Sydney -for a lot less comfort! That seems an excessive fare.
  • Red Sitter  - a seat which reclines to 60 degrees and access to cafeteria style meals ..fares range from $49 to $175
Lounge

I was in the Red Sleeper. I actually booked Red Sitter class but took advantage of an on board upgrade. The upgrade cost $150. So my total fare for the trip was less than half the cost if I had booked it before boarding.

The trains are 40 to 50 years old but have been refurbished and are spotlessly clean.








The nice thing about train travel is you make friends. Here are my "Lounge mates". Left to right, Rebecca who lives in Houston, Texas (but is originally from Louisiana), me, Will and Helen from the Central Coast region of NSW. We enjoyed Scrabble together.

There were also some other "interesting" characters on the train including one woman who threatened one of the train crew with assault when he asked her to remove her feet from a seat.

After an evening of work and Scrabble, I retired to the next carriage: The Red Sleeper and my cabin with beds 21 and 22.


My cabin had two chairs which you can sit in during the day. I preferred the spacious lounge car.
The chairs are folded away to allow space for two beds. I had the cabin to myself. 


The bed was narrow but very comfortable. I went to bed at around 10 and read for a little while. The train was rocking and jarring quite unpleasantly at this point somewhere in the midst of outback NSW. I fell asleep just before 11 but was wakened by a jar at 1211am thinking in my sleep induced state, that we must have come off the rails!  I fell asleep again and slept soundly until the morning when I woke up near Lithgow NSW.

 I showered as we went through Lithgow. Great Southern Rail gave me a nice toiletries pack.



At the end of the Sleeping Car were two very spacious showers with fresh warm water. It was a very civilised way to start the day.

View from the train











The trip starts on the edge of Adelaide city, crawls through the Northern Suburbs of Adelaide, through pasturelands and small towns to the outback. It passes through several towns including what was the railway town of Peterborough, now a shadow of itself.  We were late into Broken Hill which meant the tour of the town that many of the train were going on was cancelled. Sunset was just outside Broken Hill so we didnt see much after leaving the "Silver City".

Breakfast was through the  stunning Blue Mountains and I even got some more work done before the journey's end. We pulled into Sydney's Central Station 30 minutes late but that didnt seem important. I must admit (call me train nerd!) I felt a pang of sadness as we left the Indian Pacific. Flying never feels that civilised!

View from the train

Train crew were excellent. I was very very impressed with their friendliness, "can do" attitude and efficiency.

While I had excellent internet reception via my phone and mobile almost the whole way, having an onboard wifi service would make sense in this era.

My biggest criticism of Great Southern Railway is their online booking system.  It has way too many steps. I would like to type in Destination/origin/date and get a list of all of the available cabins and fares. Instead to compare fares between cabins and classes, a user has to start the whole transaction each time.

With this trip, another significant gap in my journeying over the Australian rail network is filled!




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July No Fly

Monday, July 25, 2011 Unknown
I am attempting to not fly for a month!
This has meant several long distance train trips:

  • Melbourne- Adelaide (twice) 
  • Adelaide-Melbourne  
  • and coming up Adelaide-Sydney!


This has been my office:



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2300 hours

Saturday, April 30, 2011 Unknown
A recent flight  tipped me over into 2300 hours of flying since I was born. This is equivalent to over 95 days inside a metal tube.  Over 3 months of my life!


More Trivia (some of which can be found at my flightmemory page)

  • 75 airlines (my favourites of course Emirates, Air New Zealand and Qantas)
  • 48 types of plane (the 3 most common being B737, B747 and B767 and the most exotic a Zepplin airship)
  • 180 airports (the 3 most common Melbourne, Sydney and Los Angeles)
  • 36 countries on 5 continents flown to (out of the 47 countries I have visited to- 2 countries I went to by ship, 2 by bus and 7 by train)
  • 43% of my flights have involved an Australian destination,  31% a US destination and 8% a New Zealand stop and 4% a UK stop.
  • I have sat by the window 281 times, on the  Aisle   151 times and in the  Middle  21 times..I cant recall the rest...guessing same proportions. 


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666

Saturday, October 02, 2010 Unknown
I just flew my 666th flight. Wondered if I should have been superstitious? It was a stock standard flight from SYDney, Australia  to MELbourne, Australia.

Bad Luck:  I tried to get onto an earlier flight to find they were all full. A combination of school holidays and a check in meltdown at competitor Virgin Blue meant there was no capacity on any earlier flight.
Good Luck: Qantas upgraded me to business class.
Bad Luck:  the plane was severely delayed as it had been hit by lightning between Perth and Sydney. Technicians took a few hours to look over the plane.
Good Luck: They finally declared it safe
Bad Luck:  but we were very, very late.
Good Luck: I was in the Qantas Club so food and drink and wireless internet were all free!
Bad Luck:  Upon boarding, I found the plane was an Airbus 330 which is actually one of my least favourite planes!
Good Luck:  The plane was called Clare Valley, one of my fave wine growing areas in Australia
Bad Luck:  SYD has a curfew of 11pm. Boarding started at 1040pm and the plane was completely full so we were not on board until 1105pm
Good Luck:  the powers that be granted Qantas a dispensation (which is very, very rare) and we took off at 1120pm.
First time I have broken curfew!
Good Luck: Flight was great and the (late) dinner meal in business class was very nice!

I am not actually superstitious. I am aware instead that I am very blessed to have traveled and seen what  I have seen and remained safe for my travels around the globe  37 times to 174 airports in in 34 countries using 69 airlines.

NB One airline, Qantas represents one third of the flights. Another seven airlines have been my carriers for a third of my flights and the remaining third is divided between the other 61 airlines!  16 of those airlines do not exist any more and two have changed their names.

565 of the flights have been for business! and most of my trips have been in the last decade! And only 35 in Business and 12 in First!

From Iceland in the North to New Zealand in the South. Samoa in the East to Fiji in  the West, I have seen and enjoyed so much!

Now for my 777th flight......an interesting challenge would be to fly a 717 on my 717th flight and a 737 on my 737th flight etc!!
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Three Airlines-one plane- comparing the A380

Thursday, September 30, 2010 Unknown
How many people really care what aeroplane they are in? I do care -cos I sit in a 100 planes a year! These planes are my favourites: 













The plane I am in love with is the A380, the world's largest passenger plane. First flew it with Singapore Airlines from Singapore to Sydney last November. Then I travelled on the Qantas one in June from Los Angeles to Sydney (blog post here) This week's adventure on the mega Jumbo was with Emirates, the airline of Dubai on their service from Auckland to Sydney. Today I compare the flying experience between these three airlines. Sadly only in Economy. Sponsorship is welcomed to try the First Class product with all of them!
Passenger Reactions
I was curious to see the reactions from my approximately 500 fellow as they  filed past the plane. Just five of us stopped and took photographs of the 569 tonne monster (pictured)

Forty or fifty gazed, pointed and chatted displaying an excitement about flying the 22 wheeled Double Decker aluminum "Super Jumbo" aeroplane.
Some were more nonchalant, glancing at the plane as they headed to the Boarding gate
A very large number were clearly caught up in the excitement of the journey - just happy to be travelling. The type of plane seemed irrelevant in this situation. We had two large groups -a large Kiwi young rugby player contingent and a Chinese tour group on board.
A few slipped nervously on board, obviously dreading the three hours inside the 73m (239ft) long metal tube. Can you believe the the Wright brothers first flight was only 37 metres (120 feet) long. In other words this plane is almost twice as long as humanity's first ever powered flight. One would love to see their faces if they ever came face to face with this plane.
Emirates check in was astoundingly efficient considering there were three flights departing Auckland in a short time period -one to Brisbane, (B777), one to Melbourne (A340) and the A380 flight to Sydney. This means a potential check in number of a 1000 passengers. Plentiful desks and hired contractors directing passenger traffic made the experience easy . From queue to boarding pass was less than six minutes. This matched the Qantas check in and faster than the one at Singapore Airlines.


Check in:
Emirates (EQ) 10/10
Qantas   (QF) 9/10
Singapore (SQ) 8/10
Boarding
Boarding was also efficient -and fast. The welcome aboard by the on board crew was astounding. While the Qantas welcome on the A380 had been up to the usually Qantas friendliness,  I generally find the Singapore Airlines "welcome aboards" a little false and forced. With Emirates the ethnically diverse crew members greeted you in a way that seemed personal, unique and genuine.  It may not seem much but this contact reminds the passenger that they are special and are involved in the special experience of flying. I know many Airlines have reduced flight to that of a bus to the detriment of the flying experience I believe.


Boarding/Welcome aboard: EQ: 10/10, QF: 9/10,  SQ 7/10




On Board
My seat was 81K. This seat together with 81A and 68A and 68K  are the best seats on the Emirates plane. Located in the emergency exit, they have no seat in front of them. Thank you to my friend Brett for this tip. 
On this plane I had two very fun women sitting next to me in my row -thanks for a great flight! 
A gentleman seated a row in front of me was a different story. When I arrived at the seat, I found the very large luggage bin a disaster area with bags badly packed and a couple trying to shove lots of bags on top of the other bags in the bin. The couple were oblivious to contents or fragility. I suggested to them, we repack which they accepted. The repacking was a success! We got all the bags into the luggage bin including mine. I made sure that small bags were on top of big ones. As I did this, I asked who owned a blue bag that had been in danger of being squashed under an avalanche of duty free. I wanted to get the owners permission before I moved it. The owner, seated in 80J, who had been watching this activity  yelled at me threatening me if I damaged his bag in any way, he would be very angry. I pointed out to him, I was saving his bag and that a polite thank you would have been better. He looked at me and was suddenly chastened when he realised he was out of line. He didnt say much for the flight.


Safety Brief
Pre -flight inspections by crew were through and efficient. Safety briefing is only done over the TV monitors with the crew standing by. I prefer the way Qantas engages their cabin staff in the safety brief. To me it lends an air of seriousness --that the airline really knows its safety stuff.


Safety Inspections and Briefing: EQ: 7/10, QF: 9/10,  SQ 8/10

The Cabin Experience
Takeoff on the A380 is incredible. Firstly it is so quiet! There seems to be no dramatic roar  as the plane moves down the runway. Then the plane seems to simply glide up. The 380 feels like it wants to fly and is simply going back into the atmosphere where it belongs.


It is 40 years since the original jumbo started flying. The advances in air technology since then have been amazing. The A380 is a massive improvement over the 747. For example the A380 produces 50% less cabin noise than the currently flying 747 models and has greater cabin air pressure which makes travel more pleasant. The windows are larger. The bins are larger. The cabin is wider and higher. And of course more people can be flown for less fuel.

While Emirates has two versions of the A380: One with 516 seats and one with 489seats. However, Air France crams in 538 people into its A380 in three classes. Lufthansa reduces that to 526. Singapore has opted for 471 seats and Qantas has only 450. NB The overall capacity of the plane is 853 passengers. One airline has said it will aim of 840 seats when it gets its A380 (Air Austral). Ryanair would probably aim for 1000! The feel of all three A380s I have been on has been of incredible spaciousness.

The Lavatories on the Emirates are real class with wood panelling and nice moisturisers etc! Tip: use the ones in the front of the plane. Most people seem to congregate down the back of the plane.


Cabin atmosphere and feel: EQ: 10/10, QF: 9/10,  SQ 8/10


On Board Entertainment System:
I found the Emirates ICE entertainment to be clunky and slow to navigate compared to their counterparts on Qantas and Singapore.
One of the groovy features with Emirates, however, is the cameras they have built into the nose and tail of the pane which allow you to watch takeoff and landing from any direction -although the woman next to me and I decided : "it would be not a nice sight to watch your plane crash". 


Entertainment System:
Emirates ICE: 7/10 plus 1 for the camera 8/10
Qantas iQ: 9/10,  
Singapore Krisworld: 10/10

Meal
The Emirates meal was amazing. In a world where airline meals in Economy have declined or diappeared, Emirates seems to believe that giving a quality product may attract repeat business! Starting with a Prawn (shrimp) cocktail, this was followed by a main dish of lamb and pasta, a bread roll, cheese & crackers, a chocolate cake dessert and a small chocolate square filled the spot. Contrary to a popular mythology,  Emirates is not a dry airline on most sectors, so wine was available with dinner. (Flying into Iran and Saudi Arabia would be a very different matter).


 Meal: EQ: 10/10, QF: 7/10,  SQ 9/10

The Verdict
Our landing into Sydney was bumpy (we had been forewarned) with rain, wind and low clouds. We felt very secure in our seats as the plane bounced through the cloudbursts.

My seatmates and I decided that the Emirates Airbus A380 is worth going out of the way for. So my A380 Ratings out of a possible 60:
 #1 Emirates  55
#2 Qantas   52  (check out the blog post)
#3 Singapore  50
(Although I suspect if I was in first class, then I think Singapore's private suites might be the winner!) 
In July I complied my list of Top 21 Airlines I have flown. When I revise the list, guess who will be the new number one?!


Thanks to my fun seatmates, Emirates and the cabin crew for a great trip
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The Skies get friendlier

Monday, August 09, 2010 Unknown
This is Part Three of a Three Part description of my flight with United from Mel to Syd to LAX to ORD (Chicago). This covers the longest hop from Sydney to Chicago.
Part One: Across the Pacific the "Friendly Way"
Part Two: Mel-Syd unfriendly-way

My Craft foreground-the other United plane heads to SFO
After a brief sojourn in the Air New Zealand Lounge (the heavenly Koru Club), we boarded our Los Angeles, California bound 747 pictured right at Sydney airport.

At 105pm, there was a Business class seat left so it looked like my upgrade for the 13 hour cross Pacific hop was happening. BUT at 110pm, it had been filled by a business fare paying passenger- I still had my Emergency Exit seat!  Really appreciated the service of the lounge staff as they tried to get me the upgrade...Thanks team. 

Welcome aboard was good and staff more engaged and way way way more friendly (what happened on the last flight???) but again a lack of hands or help to guide people to their seats. I saw one woman approach a flight attendant because someone was in her seat. "tell him to move" replied the attendant !

On the other side, one passenger later demanded the cabin crew suspend meal service so he could use the restroom. Upon being told to use the other restrooms he abused the FA. Shame you cant throw some passengers overboard.

Me (Martin J Cowling) on Board the 747 
The passengers around me included a large contingent of navy reservists from USNS Mercy which had been assisting Indonesians with medical supplies and attention. Dave, the  guy next to me a firefighter from North Carolina was  heading home after  a very powerful period of Service in various Indonesian communities and a brief R & R in Darwin. Dave is hoping to come back and vacation in Australia and or NZ (Hey Dave, I hope you made your Chicago connection!)

Takeoff over Sydney's Cronulla Beach was stunning. 

Beverage service brought another drink and those mini pretzels  followed by a choice of  Asian Chicken or tortellini was adequate. On FA recommendation, I went for the pasta. To my surprise United still do effectively three meal runs with a middle of the night meal service. (Qantas gives out a snack Bag and bottled water before switching off the lights. In the middle of the night, United gave us a sandwich with a non-descript meat plus coke slaw and  a bland pecan cookie. This was followed by a drink service and then a rubbish collection service. The effect of all of this was to wake people up. 

This added to the restlessness on the flight.  After each movie, for example,  people would get up, wander and talk. Individual entertainment  units do keep people on their seats and docile. On top of this was that  the lights don't seem as dim as they do on other crossings I have had -and people chatted a lot making sleep harder.

Breakfast (pictured left) was the worst I have ever been given on a plane. The eggs tasted worse than they looked and the blob of yellow dumped on the plate did not look good! The sausage was bland, the mushrooms had some flavour but looked sad. The croissant was awful. I could have had fruit as well but I was starving.

Touchdown in LA was Perfect!! Thanks Pilots! (110%!!!!) And we were early!!

On this segment;
Welcome aboard: 7.5 out Of ten
Cabin Crew: 7.5 out Of ten
Beverage / Meal Service: 4 out of ten
Entertainment: 2 out of ten 
Farewell from plane: 8 out of ten


So on board this segment: 29 out of 50 

Total score for my United airlines experience so far: 96 out of 150...64%

Customs and immigration were not so bad. The good thing about flying United Airlines as opposed to Qantas or Air New Zealand is that most of the passengers are Americans so the line for "Visitors" at US immigration is far shorter!!

I had my boarding pass so quickly re entered security, grabbed some food and had time to check the net including finding another negative review of UA840

Boarded the third segment of United 840 to find the purser from the SYD to LAX segment was travelling to Chicago as a passenger (she told me she was going to Europe). My friend Dave (see previous post) was turned away at the door of the aircraft as it was  a completely full flight (I did note there were quite a few crew travelling for free as passengers. Whats the best priority here I wonder?)

Staff on this flight were incredibly friendly, pro active, polite and went out of their way to help. The contrast to my Melbourne-Sydney flight was palpable. 

United flight 840  starts in Melbourne, Australia and finishes in Chicago, USA  travelling via Los Angeles. En route, it changes planes and crews twice.  To me, it seems strange that the one flight does not have to have the same craft or crew? What makes it the same flight?

Meal service consisted of a free drink and the sale of snack boxes. I bought the Eat for Good snack box. It impressed me for three reasons:

  1. The contents are on the healthier end but not that exciting...after 15 hours of travel, I would have killed for fresh fruit,
  2. $1 from each box is donated to Feeding America®
  3. packaging was designed by an 18 year old high schooler engaged in a development program in Chicago

Not so impressive is the claim that 1 in 6 Americans goes hungry. One has got to question what is going on in a country when this is the situation?

We landed early---again!

Welcome aboard: 8 out Of ten
Cabin Crew: 10 out Of ten
Beverage / Meal Service: 6.5 out of ten
Entertainment: 4 out of ten 
Farewell from plane: 7.5 out of ten

So on board this segment: 36 out of 50 

Total score for my United airlines experience: 132 out of 200...66% NB I did not check bags. My last Qantas flight across the Pacific, I gave 95% to. My Air New Zealand flight on the same route got 96%. United has a long way to go to match the service, food, aircraft amenities, cleanliness and entertainment of its competitors on this sector.  See my list of top 21 carriers.


Would I fly them again? 
For a substantial price discount? Yes. 
For the same price? Only if I knew I could get an upgrade to business class.
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Award Winning Life Saver

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Unknown

My favourite "app" (three years ago I would not have said this sentence) is TripIt. I absolutely love Tripit!  And so do others, it has won the Business Traveler Innovation Award winners.   Tripit works like this:Whenever I get an itinerary from an airline, rail company, hotel (pictured below) I forward the confirmation to  Tripit. Users can currently forward confirmation emails from over 1,000 different booking sites. 


Thirty seconds after Tripit has got my email, they send one back:





To me, its like magic!  Every now and then one doesn't work (Interislander ferries in NZ didnt work yesterday!). Tripit creates an itinerary from the confirmation. You can see my upcoming trips below on my Tripit homepage:


 Each of these Trips will include the Confirmations I send and it adds useful info like maps showing how to get from my hotel to the airport etc.
This means that by the time I fly out, I have an entire Master Itinerary for the whole trip with all my conformation numbers, airfares, times etc plus maps, directions, weather and more. For me that saves me hours per trip cutting, pasting, typing, printing and emailing. 


! I can look at that itinerary on-line and I now carry it on my iphone. I can print it for myself and others. I can email it to staff, family and clients. Aspects of it will pop up on my Facebook and on Linked In so friends and colleagues can see when they will be close to me and where I will be! It even links into my computer's calendar and Google calendar.


Tripit then texts me with reminders through my trip. For example, it tells me when I need to check in. It lets me know which gate I will be taking off from and landing at. As soon as a flight is delayed or cancelled, it texts me. It will even recommend alternate flights I can discuss with the ticketing agent. With other add on apps, my phone can automatically trigger emails and texts to friends, family and staff telling them that I have arrived OK!


Tripit even monitors my frequent flyer programs!


There are two versions. A freebie and a paid one. I m not being given any incentive to tell you about Tripit-simply doing the viral thing because it really does help simplify travel!! Let me know how you get on with Tripit or other tools you might be using!
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One slip could mean death*

Friday, July 23, 2010 Unknown
Today I climbed to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Built 1924-1932, the bridge cost the equivalent of $750-million dollars and is the fourth longest single-span steel arch bridge in the world.  The highest point of the arch is 134 metres (440 feet). It was the highest point in Sydney Australia until 1967.  (Google Earth coordinates: 33°51′08″S, 151°12′38″E. 


Sixteen men died from injuries incurred in bridge-related accidents. For  seven men, one slip meant death as they fell into the Harbour waters far below.
Fast forward 78 years. There have been climbing tours of the bridge since 1 October 1998,  Thanks to a gift certificate from my siblings, I did the Discovery Climb, a 3- 3 ½ hour walk to the top of the bridge along the inner arch of the Bridge covering 1.8 km (about a mile) and 1800 steps (great fitness workout!). No one has slipped and fallen on these Bridge Climbs because of the superb safety procedures put in place by the Climb organisers.



Check in starts with a breath test (walkers must be under 0.05). Two of the people who were booked into our time had had a drink at lunch and they were pulled aside for a little "discussion". After the breath test, we then filled out the Legalities including Waiver and health declaration. Then came the suiting up! We wore:
  1. Bridge Suit  over the top of our clothing (seen here on me).
  2. Headset to hear the commentary of the Climb Leader who was fantastic
  3. Beanie hat to keep warm (on my head)
  4. Headlamp = A lamp in case it got dark on the way down (there were clouds coming) (around my neck)
  5. Fleecy jacket (didn't wear it as it was around 14 degrees and not very windy (attached to my back !)
  6. Handkerchief  (left sleeve)
  7. Latch attached to a static line on the Bridge, for the whole of the Climb -without which I could have slipped and fallen!
Safety means no loose objects can be taken onto the Bridge including cameras. Everything we were given was hooked onto us and could not be taken off. Even a small object travelling 75 metres to the road surface could cause a lot of damage to a car! To that end, we all passed through a metal detector and some people were "wanded".  Before we stepped out, we were given a short break for people to use the "facilities" (there's not many places one can relieve oneself on the bridge)!


The suiting up and instruction briefing  were very well handled and took around 45 minutes.

We started the walk by moving up and onto a series of catwalks climbing up to the Eastern catwalk which hangs below the bridge deck. The catwalk is a mere 50 metres (153 feet) above the water. Stairs lead from there to heart of the bridge and then a giant staircase took us up and out onto the very top of the bridge, the full 134 metres above the water. NB If you are not good with heights, I strongly suggest this is not the activity for you.
The views today  were  amazing. We could see 200km (120 miles to the Southern Highlands) and 100km (60 miles)  to the West into the centre of the Blue Mountains, Sydney Harbour was spread out before us with views up the Parramatta River, across the city, and, the Opera House, botanic gardens and Government House (pictured right).
 Ships, yachts, ferries and water taxis zipped around on the water beneath our feet. Planes, and helicopters buzzed over us. They felt so close to us we thought they might collide with us!.


The group before us celebrated when two of the party announced their engagement on top of the Bridge! Wedding packages are also available but no one in our small group of five had opted to become engaged or married today!
We were treated to a stunning sunset as we came down on the Western side of the bridge.
Apparently Lonely Planet has rated the Bridge Climb, one of the top ten adrenaline experiences in the world and I can see why. It was exhilarating climbing up and we were truly on a "high" at the top. Coming down was a real let down and I actually felt very deflated ground level.
Our guide was confident, efficient and fun. We felt completely safe as we clambered up and down stairs, and I was impressed with his competence.
Now the negative. The climb costs $198-  and at Twilight the climb will set you back $258 (and from August 1st, the Twilight Discovery Walk will be $268 )!! I thank my siblings very much for their gift for without it I would not have been prepared to pay this price.
It is too high a price for the experience,


After the climb you can buy photos taken of you by the guide (one is free, the others costs around $11 -$12 depending on how many you buy). Remember, no personal cameras can be taken up with you - for safety reasons. Of course,  I then bought a T shirt (Australian made) for $29.95.


Add T-shirt, photos, and walk together and you are looking at almost $300 for the experience. Take a family of four, buy four t shirts and some pictures and you are looking at an outlay of around $850! Reduce the price of the climb by 10% and reduce the photo prices by 50% methinks.
Thank you again to my sister, sister in law, brother, two nieces and a nephew for this amazing experience!
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