The morning started slow as we tried to plan our day’s activities. We realized we should have planned better as we began planning activities for the day. The original things we wanted to do, like the zip coaster and the tour of the Sydney Opera House, were all booked up for the day. So we went ahead and booked those excursions for the coming days and decided to do the Pylon Climb at the Harbour Bridge. However, when I bought the tickets, I didn’t realize they were purchased for the next day. Grant assured me it was likely okay and we could get in if we stopped by and asked. So we made a quick batch of coffee and had a small breakfast snack before heading out on our walk towards the Circular Quay (area with the opera house).

We got our first up close and personal glimpse of the opera house as we had only seen it from the bridge the first night. After taking pictures, we headed towards the bridge to climb the pylon. On our way there, we stopped by some more street entertainment near the pier. The first guy was “Golden Boy,” who, as the name denotes, was painted in all gold but was sitting in a levitated position. All the kids were enthralled and kept going up behind him to wave their hands underneath to see if he was sitting on anything. He also encouraged people to come and take pictures with him. Our next stop was the local Aboriginals playing their instruments and doing their traditional dances. It was entertaining to watch, and as you can tell in the video below, the guy thoroughly enjoyed entertaining the crowd. Our last entertainer was a guy (who looked like he was in his teens) rocking out on his guitar to some ACDC. It is crazy how many street entertainers there are daily along the harbor.

Once we finally reached the pylon, Grant headed to the receptionist to ask if we could exchange our tickets for that day. The guy said it shouldn’t be an issue, but he still had to call someone and verify. We could head on and learn more about the bridge’s history. They had a small museum detailing the bridge’s construction and the celebration once it was finally opened. It is crazy to realize how they built things back in the 1920-1930s with no safety protocols. They were climbing up the structure with only cable ropes and a steal beam they sat on, along with throwing hot rivets into a guy’s bucket up high for him to install on the bridge before they got too cold. Surprisingly, “only” 16 people died during the construction period. After climbing about 13 flights of stairs, it opens to the outside to give you an aerial view of the harbor. It is sad to see so many tall buildings being constructed in the area, but I guess time has to keep moving forward. Although you don’t get as high as if you walked onto the bridge (where we saw several groups going up and down), it was still a neat experience.

While up there, we decided on our next activity…a jet boat tour of the harbor. Brittany had read that one of the companies likes to ensure you get soaked. Our internet wasn’t the greatest, so we couldn’t verify which one it was. It turns out it was likely the one we did! We signed up with the first stand we came across and waited about 45 minutes for our tour to load up. The driver gives you hand signals for when he is going into a spin and in which direction. We were with a large group of kids on what seemed to be a field trip, so they thoroughly enjoyed getting soaked on the ride, except maybe for the boy in front of us. It was a fun and quick way to get a tour of the other parts of the harbor we had yet to see. And by the time we got off the boat, we were definitely soaked. Myself more than Grant and Brittany. And I thought the middle seat would have helped me!

As I was in jeans, I wanted to head back to change before we hopped on the ferry to Manly Beach. After a quick pitstop back at the apartment, it was back on the train to the pier. We decided to pay extra for the Manly Fast Ferry, which got us there in about 20 minutes. We headed to the beach to watch the sunset and see some surfers tackle the waves. It was funny to see those who didn’t have as great surfing skills as others.

One of the week’s goals was to try as many Aussie foods as possible, and the next on our list was kangaroo meat. I was able to find a place that had kangaroo burgers. We had heard kangaroo steaks were delicious. However, they are also very pricey, so we settled for the burger instead. I was initially skeptical, but it turned out to be a decent burger. The meat is definitely leaner, but surprisingly not too gamey. After finishing our meal, we headed to grab some gelato. It was some of the best gelato we’ve had on the trip, and there were so many flavors to choose from! Usually, I go with the fruity ice cream, but this time I decided to grab some chocolate. It was good but a little too rich to finish all of it. Since most of the shops and restaurants on the island closed around 7-8 pm, we decided to ferry back and head home for the evening.