2026-04-26 The Rocks, Bridge Walk, Big Bus Tour

We started the day with an audience of pigeons. I was, for reasons still unknown, tickled to see a single white pigeon among the mass of grey. I probably spent a few too many photos, but ended up with a couple of shots that make me laugh - and what is life without joy at the little things?

We grabbed the metro train from the Museum station to the rocks. I have thoroughly enjoyed the metro system, it reminds me of the London underground.

We arrived at Circular Quay, and started to follow the path recommended by a GPS-based tour I'd downloaded the day before, which started with Customs House. 

Inside there is a replica of Sydney under glass floors. We had fun finding our hotel

climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge together

and generally enjoying exploring the city. Dave topped us all by climbing both the bridge and the Opera House in one step. 

As luck would have it, we exited to find the kids' favourite frozen yogurt shop was almost next door. We got some snacks and checked out the fountains nearby. There is a marker on the ground indicating where the shore line was when the first fleet landed. It's incredible how much development has gone into extending the area to what it is today.

We continued on, according to the route suggested by my tour. For some reason the others didn't want to do the tour... I think I was the only one suffering podcast withdrawals! It took us near enough to signage advertising a weekend market. I put the tour on pause and we had a great time exploring the stalls. There were a lot of local artists, and also the usual - food, food, food.

We bought some amazing chocolates and I picked up some knick knacks. Dave found a coin stall, so we lost him for a bit. The kids and I wandered webs picked up some more goodies and enjoyed many more samples.

When we finally saw Dave again it was getting late and I'd hoped to hear more of the audio tour before our bridge climb. We decided to split up - I would power through the tour while Dave and the kids took it easy and strolled around the docks. 

I rejoined the tour location, then immediately got distracted by a big tunnel, which we would end up going back to later anyway. The tour took me through the Rocks and our towards the docks. 

Once past Cadmans Cottage the tour gave directions to go in front of the big tree for some great views of the Opera House. 

Snapped some photos, wandered along and who did I see taking photos?

I waited quietly to try and capture their surprise when they saw me - big smiles. We took some group shots and enjoyed watching the many, many boats coming in and out. 

We made our way next to the BridgeClimb location, past Cadmans Cottage, back to the big tunnel and up the cute stairs I'd photographed earlier.

Checking in was quick and easy, and after a final bite and drink we were brought into the staging area. The conditions were magnificent. We were all breath tested (even the kids!), then into the changing area. 

We suited up (in  and went up on a section of the bridge walk track was inside the building and smiled for a photo. I'm not sure why. Then into gear up - a very organised process where everyone was assigned to a station holding a harness and we were talked through how to put it on. The tour leader did the final checks and we were given our communication headset by another lady, again with leader doing checks, and made sure everyone could hear him through the headset. At the next station we were issued a for-purpose bridge climb hat, which had a sewn in tag used to clip the hat to the harness, in case it blows off. We also were given a clip on multipurpose towel in case of sweat, tears, or a running nose (eww).

We all got instructions on how to use the leaders - face the ladder, three points of contact, one person per section, and hands on the inner rail. By this point we had drifted to the back of the group - until we were told to turn around and enter the final room before going outside. Lou was the leader! 

We decided to stagger it so it was Lou, me, Benji, Dave, incase the kids needed any extra help. Lou didn't hesitate, she clipped on after the tour leader and we were away.

We walked over the highway and enjoyed the commentary and views. Soon we were climbing up the ladder and onto the sloping steps of the arch. The tour leader took photos of the views and there were a number of photo stops, the first being after we cleared the steps. Because we had to space out to take the stairs, Lou and I asked for a cheeky photo together, then went to the next yellow step (their way of making sure the next group doesn't photo bomb), and the boys got a snap together, too.

The climb was great. I lost my hat a few times, and every time had a heart jolt before remembering it was clipped on. Even our sunnies had been specially strapped on. 

We got our photos at the top, then crossed over the road to start the trip back down. The views were stunning and the entire experience was amazing. We waved at some people at the pub and some watching from below as we got nearer to the final set of stairs. These ones were tricky! I think they active rarely used muscles because my legs were shaking at the end and I could also see Benji's wobbling away. He was scared the whole time, he said, but didn't show it one bit. 

After de-robing we took snaps with the neon wall, grabbed some souvenirs and went in search of some dinner. 

Dinner was aportos, one of the few places we could find, and we greatly enjoyed a relaxed opportunity to rest our feet and legs. Our last activity was a night bus tour and I, for one, was glad it wouldn't involve much walking!

Dave (the hero of the peice) kept our spot at the bus pick up location while the kids and I goofed around. When the bus rocked up we found out that this stop was being phased out, and the majority of participants would join at the next one. We met the tour guide and climbed on board to get the upstairs spot, in front of the bus (wind protection 👌).

We had a blast driving around and seeing the city at night. I was both stoked and disappointed to hear that Phantom of the Opera was playing on the harbour. We got the opening notes as we had our first stop. 

We had a blast on this tour. Lou captured some truly amazing photos, as my phone ran out of battery. We drove across the bridge, a highlight, and saw the bay from the other side, right near lunar Park. I stole Dave's phone to keep taking photos, but Lou definitely got the best shots.

The commentary was a bit 'eh', but my ears pricked up at the mention of the statue of Trim, Matthew Flinder' cat. After the conclusion of the tour we went for a little walk to the library to try and find Trim. We did, but had trouble getting a photo. Unlike the statues of people who choose to invade, poor Trim was not lit up. A great thing to see it and try to photograph it, none the less.

After this, we got the metro home, with a short stop to get a feast of Thai food. Mmm.

Then straight away to the pillow and a very well earned sleep!