A Short Night's Sleep
After looking some discussion last night regarding our trip to the Blue Mountains, Jason and I decided it was probably best to not take the train and try to go it our own, but rather to join a tour group. At 6:40 this morning, a meer four and a half hours after going to bed, I woke up to phone Oz Trek Tours (recommended by the Frommer's Guide - thanks Jenna and Greg!) to see if they had any spots left on the trip for today. As luck would have it, they had three seats left on the bus, and we were instructed to meet up with it at 8:00 near Central.
From then the house came alive as we all rushed to wake up and get ready. We managed to get out the door by 7:25 and made the walk to Central (in the cold - temperatures dropped over night!) Around 8:15 the bus rattled up and we climbed aboard to start off our trip. We ended up sitting at the front of the bus and had some nice conversations with the driver and three Swedish guys (around our age) throughout the day.
The drive toward the Blue Mountains (located west of Sydney) took us down Parramatta Road (arguably the oldest road in Australia) to the Nepean River where we left metropolitan Sydney and crossed into the Blue Mountain region. Along the way, the tour guide/bus driver, Jimmy, offered an incredible amount of detailed information and some wit.
Our first stop in the mountains was the small town of Glenbrook where we grabbed some pastries and mulled around for a bit before continuing on the one road leading through the Mountains (the Great Western Highway) past small towns. We turned off the main road and the bus wound its way down a one lane road to an area called the Kings Tableland. Trees gave way to low brush as we turned down a bumpy dirt road, and the wind howled at the sides of the bus.
Jimmy explained that there are no trees on the plateau of the Kings Tableland because the wind is too strong coming up the valley from the Blue Labyrinth (a maze of ravines in the Blue Mountains which stumbled the early settlers attempting to discover a passage to the middle of Australia for 20 years). He urged caution when we finally made it up to a place to park the bus, warning us that there were no railings on the edge of the cliff and that there was a sheer drop of 500 meters, roughly 1600 feet, and that the wind was strong enough to blow you off your feet.
With that in mind we got off the bus and walked through the scrub, finding a clearing of smooth stone and a panoramic view like I have never seen in my life. I literally stood there, mouth agape for a minute or so as I processed the landscape in which we found ourselves. I cannot begin to describe how beautiful and overwhelmingly large the Blue Labyrinth is. The drop off of the cliff into rolling green, coming to crescendos of yellow/red stone cliffs in places was staggering, made powerful by the desire to go to the edge despite the force of the wind that rushed up the face of rock. I made it to the edge twice (lying on my stomach) and got some pictures and soaked in the surroundings. I think that it was my favourite thing I have seen in my three months down here.
We headed back to the bus and on into Leura and ultimately Katoomba (the largest city in the Blue Mountains - about 12,000 people). The next stop was Echo Point, a vantage point and visitor centre overlooking the gorge and offering access to the Three Sisters - three tall rock formations jutting from the floor of the ravine. We had 45 minutes and enjoyed the views before making our way down a path to the "steep stairs" - 120 very steep, narrow stairs carved from the rock leading to a small bridge which offered access onto a ledge of the closest of the three Sisters to the cliff face. The views were nice, the winds strong, and we got a few pictures before returning to the bus and heading off to our final stop before lunch, Katoomba Falls.
We saw the falls, which was just a trickle in the grand scheme of the 150 meter plunge (it is the dry season - Jimmy said it is a site to see in the rainy season), before heading to Katoomba Street (the main street in Katoomba) to grab some lunch. The three of us got kebabs from a tiny Lebanese Restaurant, and ate them on the walk back to the bus.
At 1:30 we headed out to our afternoon activity - Scenic World. As cheesy as the name sounded, we weren't quite sure what to expect. Jimmy led us on a walk down 1039 steps (I counted - I might be one or two off!) into the gulch of the Blue Labyrinth through thick rain forests. The walk was beautiful and provided many vistas to view all of the sites we had visited in the morning. Jimmy was very informative, and it was a shame when we finally reached the bottom. We saw the old coal mine which operated from the 1860s until the 1930s, and then got our chance to try out a relic leftover from the mining days (and listed in the Guinness Book of World Records!) - the Katoomba Scenic Railway is the steepest cable-driven funicular railway in the world, with a steepest incline of 52 degrees contained within a total incline distance of 415 metres. The ride was incredible and literally threw us to the edge of our seats as we rapidly ascended the cliff face.
Finally, it was time to leave the Blue Mountains. On the trip back into the city we went through the Sydney Olympic Park, seeing the stadium and the large influence that the Olympics had on a large swath of the metro area. We were dropped back at Central around 5:30 and grabbed a bus into Newtown, where we had Thai for dinner. Now we are in the architecture school (internet is still out at my house) checking e-mails etc. And getting ready for our long day tomorrow.
From then the house came alive as we all rushed to wake up and get ready. We managed to get out the door by 7:25 and made the walk to Central (in the cold - temperatures dropped over night!) Around 8:15 the bus rattled up and we climbed aboard to start off our trip. We ended up sitting at the front of the bus and had some nice conversations with the driver and three Swedish guys (around our age) throughout the day.
The drive toward the Blue Mountains (located west of Sydney) took us down Parramatta Road (arguably the oldest road in Australia) to the Nepean River where we left metropolitan Sydney and crossed into the Blue Mountain region. Along the way, the tour guide/bus driver, Jimmy, offered an incredible amount of detailed information and some wit.
 |
| Driving along the M4 into the Blue Mountains. |
Our first stop in the mountains was the small town of Glenbrook where we grabbed some pastries and mulled around for a bit before continuing on the one road leading through the Mountains (the Great Western Highway) past small towns. We turned off the main road and the bus wound its way down a one lane road to an area called the Kings Tableland. Trees gave way to low brush as we turned down a bumpy dirt road, and the wind howled at the sides of the bus.
 |
| Driving to the Kings Tablelands. |
Jimmy explained that there are no trees on the plateau of the Kings Tableland because the wind is too strong coming up the valley from the Blue Labyrinth (a maze of ravines in the Blue Mountains which stumbled the early settlers attempting to discover a passage to the middle of Australia for 20 years). He urged caution when we finally made it up to a place to park the bus, warning us that there were no railings on the edge of the cliff and that there was a sheer drop of 500 meters, roughly 1600 feet, and that the wind was strong enough to blow you off your feet.
With that in mind we got off the bus and walked through the scrub, finding a clearing of smooth stone and a panoramic view like I have never seen in my life. I literally stood there, mouth agape for a minute or so as I processed the landscape in which we found ourselves. I cannot begin to describe how beautiful and overwhelmingly large the Blue Labyrinth is. The drop off of the cliff into rolling green, coming to crescendos of yellow/red stone cliffs in places was staggering, made powerful by the desire to go to the edge despite the force of the wind that rushed up the face of rock. I made it to the edge twice (lying on my stomach) and got some pictures and soaked in the surroundings. I think that it was my favourite thing I have seen in my three months down here.
We headed back to the bus and on into Leura and ultimately Katoomba (the largest city in the Blue Mountains - about 12,000 people). The next stop was Echo Point, a vantage point and visitor centre overlooking the gorge and offering access to the Three Sisters - three tall rock formations jutting from the floor of the ravine. We had 45 minutes and enjoyed the views before making our way down a path to the "steep stairs" - 120 very steep, narrow stairs carved from the rock leading to a small bridge which offered access onto a ledge of the closest of the three Sisters to the cliff face. The views were nice, the winds strong, and we got a few pictures before returning to the bus and heading off to our final stop before lunch, Katoomba Falls.
We saw the falls, which was just a trickle in the grand scheme of the 150 meter plunge (it is the dry season - Jimmy said it is a site to see in the rainy season), before heading to Katoomba Street (the main street in Katoomba) to grab some lunch. The three of us got kebabs from a tiny Lebanese Restaurant, and ate them on the walk back to the bus.
At 1:30 we headed out to our afternoon activity - Scenic World. As cheesy as the name sounded, we weren't quite sure what to expect. Jimmy led us on a walk down 1039 steps (I counted - I might be one or two off!) into the gulch of the Blue Labyrinth through thick rain forests. The walk was beautiful and provided many vistas to view all of the sites we had visited in the morning. Jimmy was very informative, and it was a shame when we finally reached the bottom. We saw the old coal mine which operated from the 1860s until the 1930s, and then got our chance to try out a relic leftover from the mining days (and listed in the Guinness Book of World Records!) - the Katoomba Scenic Railway is the steepest cable-driven funicular railway in the world, with a steepest incline of 52 degrees contained within a total incline distance of 415 metres. The ride was incredible and literally threw us to the edge of our seats as we rapidly ascended the cliff face.
Finally, it was time to leave the Blue Mountains. On the trip back into the city we went through the Sydney Olympic Park, seeing the stadium and the large influence that the Olympics had on a large swath of the metro area. We were dropped back at Central around 5:30 and grabbed a bus into Newtown, where we had Thai for dinner. Now we are in the architecture school (internet is still out at my house) checking e-mails etc. And getting ready for our long day tomorrow.
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