The other day, with time to spare, I took a brief but interesting walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge
(Warning: Image-Heavy Post ahead)
Yesterday afternoon, I found myself in North Sydney with a couple of hours to spare until an evening event in Redfern. For those of my audience not from or in Sydney, that meant I was on one side of Sydney Harbour, and had to get to the other. My brain was creatively tapped out, so the prospect of working held little appeal, and I knew if I sat down for a coffee, the oddswere high I’d fall asleep, which never looks good in public.
This is a trip I’ve done hundreds if not thousands of times before; most commonly by train, but often enough by car or bus. I’m still something of a country boy at heart, so whenever I go across on the train I tend to look up and soak in the view. Then again, this is one of the planet’s most stellar views, no matter where you’re from. The Harbour Bridge, soaking in the sunshine.
Anyway, I knew if I took the train (or a cab), I’d be over in minutes, but still have the time to spare. So, on a whim, and ignoring the fact that it was rather cold (for Sydney standards) and windy, I decided that I’d do something I’d never done before. Namely, walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge. Sure, millions of people have done this, so it’s not that extraordinary. Still, camera in hand, I set off.. These steps look inviting. Except for all the notices telling me not to, as they're only for the cyclists.
One of the things I rather like about the Bridge is that in this part of Sydney, it peeks around corners. Stairs, helpfully labelled as such. And up we go... Traffic's starting to build up. Note also the naughty motorbike in the bus lane. You'd have to be keen to jump, what with the curved bars and razor wire. A lot of folk jog across the bridge. Weird choice. I mean, good on them from a healthy perspective, but the vehicle fumes are BRUTAL. That there famous landmark over there. You know the one. Full steam ahead captain! We'll take down the Opera House this time FOR SURE! (*crunch*) The Bridge is lying about her age here, and by an ever-growing margin. There's something quite beautiful about the symmetry of boats coming in. It's a long way down. A bad walk for folks who get vertigo. I get vertigo. Why am I doing this exactly? Pigeons, Gulls and Sparrows are commonly seen around Circular Quay. Cranes, less so. A huge towering column. The amount of support it offers the bridge? Absolutely NONE. It's probably best not to think about the rust. Now, doesn't that look warm and inviting? Speeding on the Harbour Bridge virtually never happens... With the aid of the world's largest silly straw, Jim-Bob was determined to drink the harbour dry. So far, the going was slow. And salty. Did they just start building with concrete blocks and forget to make sure they all lined up? Trees! The ground must be getting closer. Or the trees are getting taller. They don't call it rush hour for nothing... OK. How daft are the folks who work on this roof, exactly? Because there are DOZENS of these signs. Sure, it looks friendly and inviting and not in any way infested with monsters. Nonetheless, I think I'll continue round to Circular Quay proper. That is a pretty fine view. It's taken me 45 minutes to get here, ambling along in a gentle fashion. My powers of observation must be failing me. I've been to Circular Quay hundreds of times, and never once noticed A GLASS ELEVATOR leading right up. Then again, based on the usage of said elevator today, neither did anyone else.
2 thoughts on “Time For A Brisk Walk”
Iain
Just found this post via a re-tweet linking to your Exploding Sharks one… And I felt I should mention that we motorcyclists aren’t being “naughty” when we ride in that (or any other) bus lane. They’re technically “bus, taxi, hire-car, motorcycle, and bicycle lanes”. (http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/usingroads/buses/buslanes/index.html) “Bus only” lanes are not available for motorcycles, but “Bus Lanes” are.
Nice set of pics! (And, sorry, but I didn’t read your whole Exploding Sharks story…)
Just found this post via a re-tweet linking to your Exploding Sharks one… And I felt I should mention that we motorcyclists aren’t being “naughty” when we ride in that (or any other) bus lane. They’re technically “bus, taxi, hire-car, motorcycle, and bicycle lanes”. (http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/usingroads/buses/buslanes/index.html) “Bus only” lanes are not available for motorcycles, but “Bus Lanes” are.
Nice set of pics! (And, sorry, but I didn’t read your whole Exploding Sharks story…)
I stand corrected (but that’s only chapter one of the shark story).