Sydney Part Deux II-The Sequel!!

Be sure to read Part 1 First, its a longen but will set scene for Part 2!

So I opened my eyes and It was still raining and miserable, but today it didn't matter to me. I was so bored of feeling negative for a day, I decided it would be a good day today no matter what!

I met Dave and we had some brekkie, whilst discussing what to do that day. Dave mentioned the fact that we had done everything yesterday...not everything i thought. The Sydney Harbour Bridge climb is very famous and on the number 1 spot for must do's in Sydney, on the other hand extremely expensive which is why Dave and I had discarded the idea previously. I had a whole different perspective that day because I forced myself to be more positive, and through this state of mind, my decision had changed to opt in for the climb. The way I now saw the situation, was that my money had been saved up for things like this, It didnt matter how expensive it was as long as I had the experience to look back on for the rest of my life, to be able to tell the story to my grandchildren etc.

Dave still thought his money was best saved for the rest of his trip (a long way to go too). But he still walked with me the whole length of the city, about 45 mins + 10 with a coffee break, so that he could get some good pics of the Bridge himself and check out the other side too.(North Sydney), Oh yes, and of course our whole walk over there was in the terrential rain, with no umbrella!-(I was packing for tropical climates, how was I meant to know I'd need a brolly!) This also meant that the whole walk could have been for nothing if they closed during hard rain and/or I had to book in advance to get a place on the climb! So not looking good at this point, but I kept positive.

Positivity finally paid off. They did not close during rain, I did not need to book in advance and to top it off, just as I was walking into reception to book climb, the rain stopped and sun came out.

Dave and I both got passes round the museum in the pylon, telling the story of its construction. Really great story and facts. After Dave went over bridge on path to check out other side and I went to check in.

You are first geared up with bridge coloured overals for camoflage so not to distract drivers on bridge, then with various gadgets such as a harness with a locking device and also a radio to hear far away guide up on the windy bridge. With all this equipment you must then do a trial indoor course just to get used to ladders and the harness locking system. Finally, it was time for the real climb. We saw climbers on way back from doing their journey and they looked....knackered! The climb was supposed to last about 3 hours. When we got climbing on the first few ladders and stairs it was high, but not unsafe. There were 2 sets of rails, proper stairs and you are hooked to a rail for the whole time. You couldn't even fall if u wanted to! About 5 mins in, someone shouted from in front of the group "behind you", and there, staring us in the face was a huge curtain of very fast moving terrential rain! It was not gradual rain with any light showering first, it just about smacked the top of my hood as I pulled the raincoat out from one of the supplied, stitched in, bags attached to my gadget belt. It was incredible. Although most people and myself earlier that morning would have said how unlucky it was to get rain on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, I thought it was incredibly lucky. Not many people can say it rained on the Bridge walk. It had been dry in Sydney for weeks before I arrived.

The walk did not seem anything like 3 hours, and certainly not tiring because we were stopped in the rain every 10 minutes to have a photo taken of a big wet, misty Opera house with a vague sillouette of me next to it, that they can sell to us for 20 bucks a picture (5 taken), rip off no thank you. When I checked the time it had been over three hours including the training at the start. I was so glad I did the climb in the end, because it was a unique experience, and the feeling of being up there in the freezing cold, with water hitting me in the face constantly knowing I was on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge was inexpressible.

I had been emailing a good friend of mine called Andy Smith for a couple of days before and during Sydney, to find out if he was still in the city working or if he had movedf on yet to his next destination. He has been backpacking since September which was the last I had seen or heard of him, other than a few rumours that he was staying put in Sydney with a girlfriend he had met there. As this was the 24th it was my last day in Sydney and last chance to meet up with him if he replied to emails in time. For days I heard nothing, until I got back from the Bridge climb at about 6.30 and had received an email from him, with his mobile number and an invitation to meet up with him at his place 5 mins down the road from my hostel at 8.00.

I quickly tumble dried my drenched Hoody, Jeans, socks, and my only pair of Shoes which were quite literally squelching and squeezing out puddles of displaced water every step as I walked the 45 mins from the bridge to my hostel. They were dry in an hour of low heat. So I set off down the road in great anticipation.

I sat inside the entrance to the main cinema on my street where he had directed me to meet him, with so many questions passing through my mind. Ranging from big important ones like advice on travelling and his experiences so far, to little silly ones that just popped into my head like wondering if he had a hair cut and looked any different? I had been waiting what felt like a long time, people must have thought I was a bit weird too, I was looking very hard at many random people thinking they might be him and not recognise me. Of course none of them were him because they didn't look like him at all! Then appaeared this tall, skinney guy with long black hair past his shoulders, and a stubbly beard of the same colour, who instantly recognised me and looked identical to the Andy Smith I said good luck to 8 months ago. It was a really strange but great feeling to meet someone u have been to school with for years in a little village high school called Wootton Upper, and then after a month of travelling round the world so far, miles from home, In the middle of Sydney Australia. He agreed it was cool but very strange because he hadnt seen anyone for 8 months from home.

Dave met up with us later in a bar. We ended up talking for hours, I just couldnt stop thinkng of questions relating to travelling and his experiences and views of it so far, and he wanted to know updates back home and my travelling experiences so far. It was about 1.30 in morning and we both needed to sleep, (First Leg of Oz Experience bus at 6.30 in morning!) but the problem was how quick time flew by, I could have talked all night, with out going over the same subjects again. I felt great after our talk, Andy had some absolutely inspiring stories of his travels so far and his views on the whole backpacker experience were so positive and great it made me want to jump on that bus immediately and start experiencing the rest of my trip. It also had me thinking that night about perpective on life. I couldnt sleep. By the end of my thoughts that night, I knew what I was gonna do when I got back to England, or even if I didnt get back to England and stayed working somewhere else in the world, I knew I was gonna try my hand at the acting and performing arts game, its what I have dreamed of for years and also dismissed due to pressure from teachers and other people telling me to grow up, no matter how it turns out, I have now got the inspiration to try!

Surf Camp Coming next!