Sydney 2 and the Blue Mountains

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After Manly on Sunday we spent the next day in downtown Sydney. Wandered through Hyde park, the botanical gardens and our around the opera house for the most part. Very cool spot. Pam was especially impressed with the bats in the gardens but they wern't much into posing for photos. For anyone wondering (I was) the opera house gets its colour from tiles all over the roof. White ones in the center of the panels and tan ones around the edges...

Monday we went out to the famous Bondi beach. We have decided that Manly is much better and figure anyone coming here should go there first especially if pressed for time. The beach at Manly seems to be bigger, has shade if you want it and is in a much nice part of town (pie shop etc). We also want to put in our vote for Bondi as the 'fake boobs capital of Australia'. Very neat walk from Bondi to Coogee along the cliffs after the day at the beach. About half way along there's a massive cemetary perched on the cliffs and below it a hanging swamp on the cliffs. Apparently the runoff from the cemetary collects on the rock shelfs and poof - swamp.

Tues was off to the Blue Mountains about a 2 hour train ride from Sydney. Most impressive thing here for me anyways was the 50deg passenger railway down into the rainforest. Pammy is reminding me of the ferns also... WEIRD plants. Ferns that grow like trees maybe up to 40 or 50 feet tall. The whole area was a mine in the past so there are lots of pieces of equipment etc scattered in the rainforest (we aren't convinced that they wern't scattered for the benefit of the tourists long after the mines were closed). After the drop into the valley on the train we went for a walk through the rainforest and toured some mining exhibits. From there a couple trams back up to the top of the valley and across to the other side then a hike down towards the 3 sisters. Apparently there were once 7 sisters but 4 fell over (crumbled) a long time ago.

Weds was time to pick up the car and on to the next entry. Thanks again to Yoala and Roger for allowing us to crash at their flat, transit orientations and all the helpful info on places to go and see around the city.

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Photos

Opera House and Harbour Bridge
Me - posing difficultly - as always

Anzac Memorial
Inside the Anzac (Australia, New Zealand) War Memorial in Hyde Park, Sydney.

Come back here!
Pammy chasing bats with her camera

BATS
See the babies?

Bondi to Coogee
The cemetary and the hanging swamp.

Blue Mountains
Here are the tracks at the bottom of the steepest railway in the world (52 degrees at it's steepest!) It was a short ride, but it felt like a rollercoaster (except at a much slower speed). The first railway was installed back in the early 1900s (Originally in the Blue Mountain area was a series of coal mines).

Three Sisters (and Pam)
At the main Blue Mountain attraction. The photo was taken along a half hour walk from the train to the Three Sister's. Aborigial legend says that three sisters fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. Battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by a witch doctor to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back.