A Trip to the Blue Mountains

After experiencing several weeks of pretty awful weather, summer suddenly arrived in Sydney.  So Martin, being the bright spark that he is, came up with the brilliant idea of hiring a car and heading to the Blue Mountains for either a day-trip or possibly a weekend stay.

The Blue Mountains are a National Park approximately 60 kms west of Sydney and are a popular spot with Sydneysiders for weekends away.  The area gets its name because of the ever-present blue haze which is caused by rays of light striking dust particles and small droplets of eucalyptus oil in the atmosphere.  The area is heavily timbered with eucalypt trees and the oil evaporates from the leaves.

As our visit had been a rather spur of the moment decision we didn't have any definitive plan so we just headed to Katoomba, one of the largest towns in the area.  At the visitors centre we discovered that there were plenty of B&Bs with vacancies so we decided to stay overnight.  We stayed at a nice little place not far from the town centre and the main walking areas.  

So after settling in we decided to do some exploring and our first stop was take a look at the Three Sisters rock formation. Click here for a picture and the legend behind the Three Sisters.

We then decided to go for a walk, so after consulting the maps and tourist guides we set off along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk   It was fairly easy going and there were plenty of look-out points along the way.  At one of them we came across a small lizard basking in the glorious sunshine.  Although the trail would have taken us all the way to the town of Leura we weren't really prepared for a long trek so eventually we headed back the way we came.

After our jaunt it was time for a late afternoon snooze for me whilst Martin went off to explore Katoomba a little.  His main objective to check out some of the restaurants that the B&B owners had recommended.  As it was he came across a seafood restaurant called Dry Dock which was where we ended up going.  To say the food was good was an understatement!  We rather indulged and had a thoroughly enjoyable evening before a moonlight walk back to our accommodation.

Sunday was another glorious day so after a good Aussie breakfast (basically the same as full-English) we set off for another days walking.

First stop was a ride on the  Scenic Skyway cable car.  Here are some photos and fascinating facts about the Skyway.

After consulting the maps again we decided to tackle the walk down to the valley floor.  Although not classed as a strenuous route it was pretty hard going with so many steps we lost count.  However it was well worth it as the views were breathtaking and the native flora and fauna were fascinating.  The route was also fairly quiet with few other walkers so we got to enjoy the peace and quiet as well.  When we finally reached the bottom of the steps and the valley floor we decided to take the easy option and return to the top of the cliffs via the Scenic Railway.

This was a fairly hair-raising experience!  The three carriage railway travels up and down a 52 degree gradient, transporting visitors to and from the cliff top to the floor of the Jamison Valley.  You are advised to hold on to all your belongs, including items in pockets as it is highly likely you will lose them if you don't.  Anneliese hadn't been very observant and hadn't noticed the bit on the signs about the fact that the train also goes through a tunnel half way along it's length!  The experience is reminiscent of entering a tunnel on a log flume ride and getting the shock of your life when it sudden lurches downwards!  Anyway we survived our ride with all belongings and nerves intact.

With the aim of a slight change of pace we drove to Leura (about 10 km from Katoomba) in search of lunch.  Leura is a lovely little town with a main street full of cafes and craft shops.  There is also an excellent bottle shop (Barman's "Leura Cellars") with an enviable stock of Penfolds Grange amongst other things in their huge cellar.  They even had bottles of London Pride, albeit they were stored in the fridge!