Blue Mountains ~ Derek's Travels

As I left Wollongong, I followed the acclaimed coastal road, with bridges and overhangs along the ocean, though not quite as impressive as the photos and tour books made it seem. I was soon on the outskirts of Sydney, heading West to the Blue Mountains, a popular excursion just two hours from the city. The name comes from the fact that the mist coming off of the area's eucalyptus trees creates a blue tint on the horizon. I had seen pictures and shows about the area before, but I feared that its proximity to a major city and large tour groups would mean that the place would be overcrowded and not live up to its natural hype. Just moments after entering the Blue Mountains National Park and getting a view of the countryside, I knew that my suspicions were unfounded. This place was amazing - some of the truly awe inspiring scenery that made my New Zealand trip so wonderful. The mountainous area is full of plateaus, cliffs and steep rock formations overlooking expansive river valleys, filled with the deep green of canopy untouched eucalyptus trees. The vistas seem to go on forever in every direction, each stop yielding another orange rock protrusion, topped with trees above and the green carpet below. My first stop was Wentworth Falls, and it wasn't far down the winding, rocky trail to the first lookout, where I saw the impressive falls. The river cascades over a huge cliff face, splitting into two separate streams of water that flow around the rocky point and down a few hundred feet below to a brief pool before plunging in a thin stream off the next cliff to the valley floor another few hundred feet down, covered by the surrounding vegetation. The falls were a bit weak at the moment due to the drought, but the massive height of each stage of the falls, surrounded by thick temperate forests and colorful rock formations made for quite a sight. Unfortunately, the track to the bottom of the falls, following along the cliff face was partially closed, though the hundreds of rock stairs carved into the wall across the valley didn't look particularly inviting, so I wasn't too disappointed.

Excited at the potential of the rest of the area, I entered the main town of Katoomba, which I believe means Land of Falling Waters or something like that. Though touristy, the town had a nice, relaxed feel, just a few main streets covered in pedestrians, cheap cafes, bakeries and travel agencies. The climate of the area was also perfect fall weather, just a bit cool but perfect for walking and climbing. I drove through town to Echo Point, the extremely popular lookout of the Three Sisters and the reason that people come up from Sydney. A wide, two-tiered lookout provided more unbelievable views of the valley below, stretching out in every direction with not a sign of civilization, other than the clicking cameras to my side. The vast forests are only interrupted by a few tiny rivers that make their way through the mild hills and other large cliff faces miles off in the distance. This area would almost be a canyon, if the walls weren't so far apart from each other...perhaps like a wide part of the Grand Canyon, filled in with thick forest on every exposed piece of horizontal land. As dusk began to set in, I took a few more pictures of the area and the Three Sisters, a set of three rock points at the edge of one cliff that were said to be the souls of three sisters that were turned to stone for some reason or another.

Back in town, I found a nice hostel on the edge of town, a small, quiet place that got away from the party scene that afflicts many of the other hostels, especially this close to Sydney. I was able to catch up on some showers, laundry and recharging my electronic equipment, and I also had a chance to actually cook a meal myself, so I went with the simple spaghetti option. I decided to make all that I had, since it would be a while until I had cooking facilities again, so I made a huge pot and saved the rest of it in an ingenious container that I fashioned using two plates and a bit of SaranWrap...which didn't taste all that bad the next day. One of my roommates, a Danish guy, had some very interesting stories from his seven or so months in the country, and he also gave me some good advice on what to see as I make my way up the East coast. I got a fairly early start the next day after the free breakfast of toast and jam, along with milk, which I used to add to some of the Honey Nut Cheerios that I'd been eating dry every morning, so it was a nice change to actually have wet cereal, as that's one of my favorite meals. My next stop was Blackheath, another part of the Blue Mountains said to have great views, waterfalls and climbing opportunities. As I got to the first lookout after a long gravel road, I found another grandiose view, but a few warning signs informed me that there had been some large forest fires within the year, so a lot of the vegetation had been thinned out, and the waterfalls weren't all their full flow. Also, the many trails of the area are all closed for repair, so I just visited a few of the overlooks, marveling at the beautiful views of these massive valleys and majestic mountains. I made my way through another long dirt road, dodging ditches and bumps while going just a bit too fast for the road conditions, making the ride that much more exciting and trying to maximize my time in the area.

On the way out of town, I made a stop at Scenic World, the extremely popular tourist attraction that provides a cable tram across one gorge, a forest walk and a steep incline railway to the valley below, reputed to be one of the steepest in the world. I entered the building and assessed the pictures before deciding that it wasn't worth the high price of the trips. Instead, I followed the road around the edge of the cliffs, winding up in the exact same place where the tram ended, providing myself a brilliant view of the gorge and forest below, admiring the noisy white cockatoos that swooped and swerved above the canopy. Pleased that I was able to get the same experience for free, I walked along the trail that followed the steep edge, hearing but not quite seeing the waterfall of the area and deciding that Braille would be really hard to learn. (There were Braille signposts describing the flora along the way...I couldn't really understand much of it.) As the day was already halfway through, I reluctantly had to leave the surprisingly beautiful Blue Mountains, since I needed to start making my way North if I hoped to be in Cairns in the next few weeks to turn in my rental car on time. Nevertheless, I was really impressed by the natural beauty of this area, just a few hours from the thriving metropolis but providing so much serenity and majesty, in spite of the large tour groups and buses that make their way through the small streets.

(Wentworth's Falls in the Blue Mountains - this is just the top half of the enormous drop)