Sydney AMP Tower

The Sydney Tower is probably as famous a landmark in Sydney as that bridge and that opera house! Sitting on top of the Westfield Centrepoint shopping complex and reaching quite literally for the skies, it is visible right across the city and for miles beyond. Construction of the shopping centre began in 1970 with the first stores opening in 1972. The Tower itself was built later and opened to the public in 1981 and provides the highest Observation ...
...end-to-end they would stretch from Sydney to New Zealand.

Also aiding in the stability of the construction is a 162,000-litre water tank right at the very top. This tank is also the Tower’s primary damping-system should the worst ever happen and there are also 1504 stairs from top to bottom. These are monitored by surveillance cameras and provide an emergency exit from the Tower. There are also countless sprinklers and the whole ... more

The Sydney Tower is probably as famous a landmark in Sydney as that bridge and that opera house! Sitting on top of the Westfield Centrepoint shopping complex and reaching quite literally for the skies, it is visible right across the city and for miles beyond. Construction of the shopping centre began in 1970 with the first stores opening in 1972. The Tower itself was built later and opened to the public in 1981 and provides the highest Observation deck in the Southern Hemisphere.

At first glance, the 305 metre tall edifice doesn’t look that safe; the Tower is narrow in its reach upwards, with the decks looking almost too large to be stable at the top. It is, however, one of the safest constructions in the world and could withstand earthquakes and extreme wind conditions! The tower is held in place/stabilised by fifty-six cables that each weighs a hefty seven tonnes. Apparently if you laid all the fibres in the cables end-to-end they would stretch from Sydney to New Zealand.

Also aiding in the stability of the construction is a 162,000-litre water tank right at the very top. This tank is also the Tower’s primary damping-system should the worst ever happen and there are also 1504 stairs from top to bottom. These are monitored by surveillance cameras and provide an emergency exit from the Tower. There are also countless sprinklers and the whole kit and caboodle far exceeds normal building standards.

Why am I telling you guys all this? Because despite having conquered my fear of heights in Melbourne by ascending to the Observation Deck fifty-five floors up Rialto Tower, I was still more than a little dubious at scaling something much taller. The sheer distance to the ground, should something go wrong, did worry me so I studied the tourist literature available VERY carefully before I took the plunge and decided to give it a go!

Sydney Tower is accessed either by walking through the Centrepoint shopping centre and following the escalators upwards, or directly from Market Street where a lift takes you the 3 floors up to the PODIUM LEVEL. On this level there is a gift shop, the entrance to the ‘Skytour Experience’, the Tower lifts and the ticket office. Pricing when I went in February 2003 was around A$19 per adult but most tourist brochures offer vouchers that allow a 20% discount; my ticket cost A$15.80. This ticket does cover both admissions; to the Tower and the aforementioned Skytour, but more about that later!

On the day I went there were no queues as it was mid-week and the longest wait I had was for a lift to take me ‘up’ the Tower. I have to admit to being more than a little bit nervous as I stood awaiting the elevator. The lifts are surprisingly small and wedge shaped, they are build to all slot together around the central shape of the tower. It took around 40 seconds to ascend to the OBSERVATION DECK, the ride was beautifully smooth (although my ears did pop) and was far better than the express elevator that took me up Rialto Tower, when I wanted to go back down and retrieve my stomach!

The observation deck is number FOUR of the levels at the top of the Tower and as such is as far up as the public can go. Stepping out of the lift I made my way to the windows and WOW what a view! The windows stretch from floor to ceiling and slope slightly downwards (they are further out at the top than the bottom) which in reality gave me a very weird, almost stomach churning feeling. What I mean is that, when you look down, you are literally looking STRAIGHT down. The panorama is fully 360 degrees but due to other buildings being in the way the Opera House is NOT visible although it says in all the literature that you read about the place that it is. But, who cares! The view is breath taking and on a clear day like I had the pleasure of you can see for miles. Fixed and most importantly FREE binoculars are spaced around the entire circumference and allow for close-ups of the distant sights.

The harbour, to the north and east looks splendid from this height and clearly visible are all the little yachts and other sailing craft on the water as well as Manly in the further distance. The Harbour Bridge is also clearly visible in the panoramic view north. Looking South you can see as far as Botany Bay and beyond with the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) amongst other structures that can be seen. The view to the west stretches as far as Paramatta and shows clearly how far the conurbation has sprawled.

Friendly staff members are on hand to answer any questions you may have at the information desk and FREE guided tours are also available to tell you all about exactly what you can see. As I wandered around the windows I kept one ear on the tour that was in progress, you really don’t need the tour to work out what is what on the horizon, there are clear labelled photographs for each of the four main compass points.

When you’ve had your fill of the spectacular scene that is laid out in front of you there is a gift shop to browse around with prices to match the high level you are on! Toilets are also available, the cubicles, like the lifts are built around the Tower’s centre and so are a bit of an odd shape! Via a curved staircase you can descend from the Observation Deck to the COFFEE SHOP and BAR located on level THREE. Serving great hot and cold drinks as well as good quality snack food it has to have the best views of any café in the world! Both the drinks and food were being sold at what I would describe as slightly over-inflated prices, but Sydney does tend to be an expensive place anyway.

Levels ONE and TWO are where you will find the SYDNEY TOWER RESTAURANTS. Said to be the largest in central Sydney I cannot comment on either of them, as I didn’t have the privilege of high-rise dining! Only open at night they are open on a ‘reservation only’ basis and therefore the Tower lifts completely bypass them on the way up and down the Tower.

As I’ve already said, the Observation Deck is only one part to this remarkable feat of engineering. When I’d had my fill of the view it was time to get back in the lift and head for part two of the deal; the SKYTOUR EXPERIENCE. The entrance to this is back down on the Podium level and does involve a small amount of waiting around, as there is around a 10 minute gap between each ‘expedition’ (show).

Once inside you’re led to the ORIENTATION CAMPSITE, which is the first of FOUR ‘pre-shows’. This is really nothing exciting as it is merely an introduction to the rest of the experience. From here you go into the next room, the EXPEDITION TENT. Lit only by small lamps you take your seats, pop on a headset, close your eyes and listen to yarns from the early European settlers. From here it is on to the DISCOVERY CHAMBERS. Here your guides are in holographic form and take you on a quick tour through four unique Australian landscapes with the aid of scenic art and animated models. This part was quite interesting and was even more so when we all discovered that the auditorium you are sat in moves!

From here you walk through the VIRTUAL CAVE, which is climatically controlled to simulate real caves. There are replicas here of Aboriginal rock etchings and photographs are permitted. This is the final pre-show and from here you move on to the piece-de-resistance, THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN EXPEDITION RIDE. Real motion seats, which you are secured into ‘roller-coaster’ style, face a 180-degree screen. The ‘movie’ shown takes you on a journey across this vast country and with the accompanying sound effects coupled with the fact that you seat moves A LOT, it was a hair-raising ride at times! This part of the show really does take audience participation to a whole new level… We all came out of the auditorium asking if we could go round again!

So that’s it and as you can see there is far more than initially meets the eye with the Sydney Tower. I’m glad I’ve been up it, but still not entirely sure if I would repeat the experience. The view from the Observation Deck is nothing short of spectacular but the effect from the sloping glass a little disconcerting! I was glad I hadn’t chosen this particular structure with which to try and cure my phobia of heights, I may well have come down a gibbering wreck!

I recommend this to anyone who isn’t afraid of heights but please pick a clear day to ascend. From the hostel I stayed in the Tower was clearly visible and on one memorable evening we watched the fog roll in from the sea and the cloud descend; until all that was left of the Tower was the bottom third. I would NOT have liked to be on any of the levels up there when that happened. Must have been eerie to say the least….

~ CONTACT DETAILS ~

Sydney Tower and Skytour
Podium Level
100 Market Street
Sydney
NSW 2000

Tel – (02) 9223 0933

One Australian Dollar = approximately 35 pence.

 

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