Blue Mountains

Sunday morning we left Sydney and it’s dying heat to venture out into Blue Mountains, about a two hour train ride away, and spend two days there before returning to the city. The trip cost was reasonable we thought at $25 roundtrip and we were able to peer over the canopy of thick vegetation that stretched forever, which made it seem even more worth the trip.

Our destination was named Katoomba, a rural town nestled into the hills of the Blue Mountains known for its “hanging rocks,” waterfalls, caves, abundant wildlife, and vast amount of hiking trails within the forest. So, after we settled into our hostel (located not too far from the railway station) we took advantage of seeing some of these famous viewpoints and “bushwalked” for nearly 3 hours along windy (and mostly steep) trails. The highlight of the entire walk was a massive waterfall we stumbled across toward the end of our hike that cascaded down an entire “hanging rock” wall, a couple hundred feet tall. I’m pretty sure I remember seeing rainbows through some of the mist coming off the rock looking from below. Absolutely beautiful.

 

But, of course… knowing my luck, I did something stupid. Once I pulled out my camera from my backpack and switched it on to take one picture, a gigantic bee landed on my camera-taking hand so I let go (assuming I was wearing a wristband attached to it), and dropped it on the rocks near by feet. Because the camera lens was already at full zoom, when it hit the ground the lens was pushed back toward the camera and is now stuck that way. So now it won’t even turn on to take one picture because it can’t focus. Maybe in Melbourne I’ll have someone look at it.

Anyway, we spent last night there and returned today (catching an afternoon train ride back) after we took another hike today exploring the Blue Mountains for another 3 or 4 hours. We walked down 900 steps built into a rock face, called the “Giant Stairway,” that was absolutely death defying and walked a bit more to catch the Katoomba Scenic Railway that took us back up to the top.

Let me tell you, the Railway is probably worth a whole different story by itself but I’ll try to draw a quick picture so you get the idea. It is known as the world’s steepest railway in the world, with an incline at 52 degrees. On the way, you’re not buckled in in any way, other than making sure you hold onto the side bar for dear life, and for more than half the 2-minute ride you’re put through a dripping wet rock tunnel where you can’t see a thing, even your hand if put a few inches away from you face. An entirely petrifying experience!!

So, tonight we’re staying in a hostel in the midst of downtown Sydney so that tomorrow morning we can take an early bus from here to Melbourne (about an 11 hour ride) so that can spend a day there before starting our first WWOOF experience on a family’s organic farm outside the city. We’re all really excited!