The majority of Sydneysiders are unlikely to have ever climbed the Harbour Bridge. They may have driven across it in their car or perhaps travelled by train but climbing it seems to be something that tourists are more likely to do. I decided to change that for our family.
To complete the BridgeClimb children need to be over 1.2 metres tall which means both Master R and Miss N qualify. Unfortunately they also need to be over 10 years of age which excludes both of them from the experience. I didn’t give up on my challenge and after a little research discovered that there was another option : The Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout – www.pylonlookout.com.au.
Reaching 87 metres above mean sea level, the Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout a vertical option for climbing the bridge. Whilst the BridgeClimb takes you across the construction to the highest peek, the pylon takes you up to one of the pylons at each end of the bridge. It was well worth the climb!
The Sydney Harbour Bridge Pylon Lookout has 200 stairs in total with 3 levels of exhibits on the way which breaks up the climb and ensures you aren’t exhausted by the time you get up the top (unlike my experience of the Firenze Duomo!). The exhibits are fascinating and answered so many of the questions that the kids asked assisting them to discover the history and construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a little about the conditions that the men who built it experiences. They even discovered that JJC Bradfield was the chief engineer.
The viewing platform is fantastic. The designers have placed small location dots on the perspex so you can identify different sites in the distance. It’s brilliant! We spent well over 40 minutes identifying locations and talking about our travels to many of these destinations. The Pylon provides a very different vantage point to see many of the sites which fascinated the kids.
The climb cost us $49.00 for our family of four. Check here for full ticket fees for your visit.
That is a great alternative to the Bridge Climb. And the views look fabulous.
That is a great alternative to The Bridge Climb. And the views look fabulous!
That’s such a great idea for smaller kids. You’ll love the bridgeclimb too when they are old enough. It’s so much fun playing tourist in your own city!
Luke missed out on doing the bridge climb with his colleagues when he was down in Sydney last week. 🙁 But if we all go down later in the year (maybe!) I will definitely take the boys to do this pylon lookout! Might be a bit of effort carrying Eli in the ergo, but looks well worth it!
Thanks for linking up with Wanderlust. 🙂 We’re doing it on the first Wednesday of each month, so stick it in your calendar. 🙂