Sydney Harbour Bridge




		The first thing I did on arriving was to go to the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is a very “uphill” experience, first you follow the road as it climbs the Rocks, then you climb the stairs to the bridge deck and then you climb more stairs to the top of one of the pylons but the view is worth it. For even more climbing there is always the (excellent) BridgeClimb but you can’t take your camera on that so these photographs were taken going to the top of the South-Eastern Pylon, the only one that is open to the public. This is the target, the left hand pylon is the one that the public is allowed in.



	So first its up the Rocks through an area full of small shops, bars and street markets.


	There are some fairly flat pieces but in general it is more like this.


	Then there are these steps up to the bridge deck. You can see that you are already higher than the cruise liner in Circular Quay. You pass the tablet commemorating the opening of the bridge.

At this point you’ve reached the bridge deck and can see the pylons ahead.

It is actually quite walk from here to the base of the pylon.

Once you get close to the pylon the enormity of the climb ahead of you becomes apparent.

The pylons themselves have no structural purpose. They were included to provide a frame for the arch panels and to give better visual balance to the bridge. They also allayed public concern about the structural integrity of the bridge as it appeared to “stop” without visible means of support. Actually it is the abutments that the pylons sit on support the loads from the arch and hold its span firmly in place.


	Once you are up on the viewing platform (around 200 steps) the views are magnificent.


	This is the Sydney Harbour Bridge taken from the top of the pylon, the construction can be clearly seen.


	This photograph at the right of a BridgeClimb group underway - you can't take your camera (or indeed anything) on the actual climb so this is as good a view of what is going on as you will get. The photograph below shows the group on the top of the bridge.


	Here is the obligatory “picture postcard” shot of the harbour and the Sydney Opera House. The number of boat trails shows how busy the harbour is.


	Here is a close up of the Sydney Opera House, I found the pylon is a superb place to get a handle on the layout of Sydney.


	This is a view of Circular Quay showing the cruise liner, terminal building and a number of ferries coming and going.




	A photograph showing the development along the North side of the harbour, there are still all sorts of boats going around the harbour.


	This photograph shows the view to the North West of the bridge showing the North Sydney skyline.


	A final photograph from the pylon showing the Central Business District (CBD). The change from the older low buildings on the Rock to the skyscrapers in the CBD is very marked. The tall mast like building peaking out from behind a building in the left is the is the Sydney Tower Eye, I went up it so there is a page about is later.

After reversing my steps down the pylon then down the stairs from the bridge deck to get to the Rock I was in dire need of sustenance.

This was sight for sore eyes (and feet and throat), the open air beer garden is in back - mine's a "Darwin Stubby" (there is even a Darwin Stubby Appreciation Society on Facebook though I found the best way to appreciate it was to tilt the bottle and swallow).


	Walking (slowly) back up George Street to my hotel I noticed that Sydney retains a number of excellent older buildings and shopping arcades among the skyscrapers of the CBD, a couple of examples are given below.

And of course Her Majesty keeps a stern eye on the goings on.

This statue is in Queen's Square and is just outside the Queen Victoria Building. Apparently the developers of the Queen Victoria Building were looking for an unwanted statue and amazingly found one. It originally stood outside Leinster House in Dublin, but was moved to Sydney in the 1980s. A statue of Prince Albert can also be found in the square.


	Go to the Harbour Tour page

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