Down Under Escapades

(Navyn) Sydney, Australia. We only have two working days here so we had to get going straight away, no rest for the weary, despite heaps of fun in NZ. It was a two-harness day and to keep it exciting, we added some new equipment – jumpsuits and headlamps. This is an important part of the girl’s curriculum, since we believe whole-heartily that joining the circus could be a strong option after high school.

We decided to start with the Wild Ropes Course, an obstacle course of sorts (see picture in the photo gallery), winding through the treetops of the Taronga Zoo. Here we go again – a good brekky, a safety briefing, followed by lying about Jolie’s age, then harnesses and helmets. Pretty much how we start every day as of late. I have done a ropes course before with brother Kevin and know it is not easy, but I assume since they let kids do this one, it must be a piece of cake and you get a great view of the zoo from above at the same time. Not so much. Basically the course is a series of 15 challenges set about 25 feet up in the air, each one a bit different but you needed to use strength, balance and a touch of mind over matter. The kids went first, then Paul, then me. Probably best because every time I looked at one of these ridiculous tightrope walking or suspended rock wall challenges I could not stop saying out loud to myself – how in the world did Maya and Jolie do this? Perhaps that was the rationale for the age requirement – oops. Their wingspan is half of mine and I could barely reach the next rope dangling ahead of me. Making matters worse, watching Paul and his bum knee do these events in front of me, made everything appear much more difficult. Paul, on the other hand, thought he possessed Tarzan-like dexterity and brute strength.

All of the girls finished the course way ahead of us, laughing hysterically as if they had just finished recess at Nayatt playground. Paul finished, sweating and exasperated only to find out that that was just part one. He remarked, “Can we not just walk around the zoo and look at the animals?” Ha! Round two was another ten feet higher just to keep us on our toes. Everyone completed the course with all limbs still intact in time for a quick lunch and a chance to see the animals from the ground, like normal people. We saw our first kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, Tasmanian devils and much more. Do you students in Mrs. Cabral or Mrs. Spaight’s class know what a marsupial is? If you do, tell us the answer in the comments section. Once we finished the zoo tour, we had just enough time to run home, have an early room service dinner, watch a little Crocodile Dundee (history component of the curriculum) and prep for the next activity from 6:00-9:00pm.

The Bridge Climb. If you want to get a 360-degree view of Sydney, why not climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge? It’s only 439 feet high and boasts 1,390 stairs and a few catwalks and ladders to help you get to the top. After a lengthy safety briefing which included a breathalyzer test (we all passed!), we got dressed into jumpsuits, headsets, harnesses, headlamps. I felt a bit like Maverick from Top Gun getting ready to pilot an F-16. Jolie took the lead (as all good underage climbers should) and the rest of us followed in single file. We clipped into a pulley system that ran the length of the climb (probably so the girls couldn’t bungee jump). We started out just about 100 feet over the street, then quickly started to enter the inner workings of the bridge. Narrow steel grate catwalks linked together allowed you to see straight through to the water below. We snaked our way through until we came to a set of steep stair/ladders, which went straight UP. Four long flights up. As you looked out, cars rushed by inches above your head. I felt reassured when I looked at the handrails supporting me and noticed they were wrapped in duct tape. Hmmmm, is that what is holding this bridge together? Fabulous. Onwards we went and were now on the top side of the arch, where they have added steps to make this the easy bit (see photo section). Looking down on the Sydney Opera House, the cruise liners leaving the harbor and the downtown Sydney skyline, it was quite amazing to take in the view from this unique perspective. Once we made it to the top, we posed for pictures and slowly the lights of the city began to switch on as the night sky darkened.

It definitely wasn’t scary enough in the daylight, so lets wait until the sun sets and go back down in the dark. This time as we are now inching down four vertical flights of ladder stairs, in the dark, we have also added trains! Three trains rumbled past us, shaking our sturdy, duct taped equipment. I stopped on my ladder and actually watched the commuters heading home, looking at their iPhones and not even noticing this strange group of people scaling the bridge. At the same time twelve lanes of traffic rush below you and the lights of a Coney Island fair illuminate the waterfront. As we continue to make our way down, our guide Bianca calmly tells us stories of people who have died working on the bridge and the one survivor who lived because he happened to also be on the diving team. Well at least we have some tips should the bridge catch on fire. Legs trembling and muscles still tense we reach the bottom where we can finally relax and say, that was a g’day mate. Be sure to watch The Bridge Heist video.

For day two in Sydney we decided to meet up with some friends, Michelle and Steve Hedge. They picked us up on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in their boat and whisked us away for a tour of Sydney’s waterfronts. Construction projects are booming, skyscrapers, shopping, luxury homes and tourist attractions catch our eye in all directions. After a great insiders city tour from the water, we pull into a secluded harbor and straight ahead is The Boatshed at Balmoral Beach, our lunch stop. Turns out, the Hedgies actually own this fine establishment. The girl’s jaws drop as we step through this restaurant straight out of a magazine. We somehow ordered every mouthwatering dish and enjoyed, tuna, salads, fish ‘n chips, fresh juices and ice cream cones all while kicking back and watching the sunbathers and boats in the harbor.

As if that were not enough fun, we had to congregate again for dinner at the iconic Oaks restaurant to meet their three intelligent, engaging and lovely children, Holly, Gabby and Jake. The girls got to cook their own steaks on the barbie as we dined under the white twinkle lights of a magnificent sprawling oak tree with lots of laughs, talks of politics and of course some arm wrestling too. Thanks to the entire Hedge family for a great day.

Posting live from the Bangkok Airport on our way to Chiang Mai, Thailand.