Day Two in Sydney saw Stacy and me heading off for the Blue Mountains at 7:30 a.m.! Since we are both night owls this would seem like something we would never do but with jet lag waking us conveniently up at 4:00 a.m. it was no problem. We packed for the day, walked down to Circular Quay and were picked up by Jim - our friendly OzTrek tour guide.
After what seemed like an endless round of picking up folks at various locations in and around Sydney for the tour (not that I should complain being that we were one of them), we were on the road to the mountains. We weren’t moving, but we were on the road. Since it was Monday morning, we managed to get stuck in traffic and it was a bit tedious but Stacy and I passed the time by playing some trivia.
After over an hour of driving – the Blue Mountains are about 70 km west of Sydney – we finally made it to the Three Sisters. One of the most famous spots in the mountains, these sandstone rock spires are part of an aboriginal dreamtime myth.
The weather was beautiful – clear with a few cumulus clouds. We saw a kookaburra in a tree near the three sisters overlook and cockatoos flying all over the valley as well as over head.
Next we found ourselves at the Katoomba Falls with an hour-and-a-half we had three options to explore the falls and the valley at their foot. Stacy and I chose to walk down the steps next to the falls so we could be in the rainforest and get the full experience. Although we knew going into the walk that there were over 1000 steps down to the valley, I don’t know if we were fully prepared for how steep and long the path and steps would be. Although wobbly legged by the end, the way down was absolutely beautiful and there was a very nice (albeit it the steepest one in the world) railway to take us back to the top.
Needing some calories to make it through the rest of the day, we had lunch in Leura. While the meal was good the dessert from a tiny bakery across the road was AMAZING! Stacy had a chocolate croissant and I had an almond croissant that had an almond cookie baked into the top. That’s right a croissant and a cookie in one! It was heaven!
After lunch we drove over to another area of the mountains called the King’s Tableland. Archeological surveys have found artifacts suggesting this is one of the oldest sites of human habitation in the world. The mountains certainly have the feeling of ancientness and endlessness.
To round off our time in the Blue Mountains we stopped by one last waterfall. The overlook was spectacular and it is not surprisingly that to hike into the bush here everyone is given a GPS transmitter before they head out. The sandstone gorges are a unique landscape and not one that are easily navigable.
On the way back to Sydney, Jim took us by the last remaining tract of wild forest in the Sydney city area. It is surrounded on all sides by development but was recently officially protected. It was here that Stacy saw her first wild kangaroo and we both saw our first wild emu!
From our last tour stop at Sydney Olympic Park, we hopped on a ferry along the Parramata River back to Circular Quay. It was freezing but lovely at the same time.
We finished out day with some pizza at our hotel – a four cheese pizza for dinner and a banana-hazelnut-toffee pizza with ice cream for dessert.
We are off to Taronga Zoo tomorrow and then training to Melbourne tomorrow evening.
Adventures await, but for now – sleep!
After what seemed like an endless round of picking up folks at various locations in and around Sydney for the tour (not that I should complain being that we were one of them), we were on the road to the mountains. We weren’t moving, but we were on the road. Since it was Monday morning, we managed to get stuck in traffic and it was a bit tedious but Stacy and I passed the time by playing some trivia.
After over an hour of driving – the Blue Mountains are about 70 km west of Sydney – we finally made it to the Three Sisters. One of the most famous spots in the mountains, these sandstone rock spires are part of an aboriginal dreamtime myth.
The weather was beautiful – clear with a few cumulus clouds. We saw a kookaburra in a tree near the three sisters overlook and cockatoos flying all over the valley as well as over head.
Next we found ourselves at the Katoomba Falls with an hour-and-a-half we had three options to explore the falls and the valley at their foot. Stacy and I chose to walk down the steps next to the falls so we could be in the rainforest and get the full experience. Although we knew going into the walk that there were over 1000 steps down to the valley, I don’t know if we were fully prepared for how steep and long the path and steps would be. Although wobbly legged by the end, the way down was absolutely beautiful and there was a very nice (albeit it the steepest one in the world) railway to take us back to the top.
Needing some calories to make it through the rest of the day, we had lunch in Leura. While the meal was good the dessert from a tiny bakery across the road was AMAZING! Stacy had a chocolate croissant and I had an almond croissant that had an almond cookie baked into the top. That’s right a croissant and a cookie in one! It was heaven!
After lunch we drove over to another area of the mountains called the King’s Tableland. Archeological surveys have found artifacts suggesting this is one of the oldest sites of human habitation in the world. The mountains certainly have the feeling of ancientness and endlessness.
To round off our time in the Blue Mountains we stopped by one last waterfall. The overlook was spectacular and it is not surprisingly that to hike into the bush here everyone is given a GPS transmitter before they head out. The sandstone gorges are a unique landscape and not one that are easily navigable.
On the way back to Sydney, Jim took us by the last remaining tract of wild forest in the Sydney city area. It is surrounded on all sides by development but was recently officially protected. It was here that Stacy saw her first wild kangaroo and we both saw our first wild emu!
From our last tour stop at Sydney Olympic Park, we hopped on a ferry along the Parramata River back to Circular Quay. It was freezing but lovely at the same time.
We finished out day with some pizza at our hotel – a four cheese pizza for dinner and a banana-hazelnut-toffee pizza with ice cream for dessert.
We are off to Taronga Zoo tomorrow and then training to Melbourne tomorrow evening.
Adventures await, but for now – sleep!
2 comments:
Love the updates! I'll be updating mine tomorrow on this week's vacay to South Carolina and next week's trip to DC. Keep blogging! Hope you're both having a blast!!! :-) xoxo --k.
i like hearing both your voices on the blog--and the trip sounds lovely--mae mae, we like pictures too!
p.s. how do you both look so fabulous while you are eating all that yummy stuff--oh yea, u mentioned 1000 stairs--im no longer offended i wasnt invited !
Post a Comment