Blue Mountains

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G'day mates!
Just been to the Blue Mountains today.
En route, we stopped at Sydney Olympic Park and the Telstra Stadium, which were built for the 2000 Olympics.
The Blue Mountains are about 2 hours out of Sydney. They cover an area the size of Ireland and are listed as World Heritage, at least a portion of them.
John the guide was very good with a fine sense of humour and loads of local knowledge.
The extensive Blue Mountains forests are mostly made up of very tall eucalypt trees and of giant fern which grow into trees. All this vegetation filters the sunlight quite a lot and so it's much darker and chillier down on the ground.
There are many little villages around with neat houses and tidy gardens, antique shops, old ladies doing charities or having tea parties... Very Old England.
We finished by a visit to a small wildlife park where some of the animals could actually roam around freely, before going back to Sydney by boat on the Parramatta River.
A great day out of the city and gorgeous weather.

Why so blue?
That's coz the eucalypt trees exude some eucalyptus oil which diffuses into the air, and when these droplets are stricken by rays of light that causes this blue haze.

No worries.
Oli

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Photos

The Blue Mountains
and their blue haze.

The Aussie Grand Canyon
not as big as the American one, but covered with eucalyptus forests.

Katoomba Scenic Railway
It was first used for coal mining but now takes tourists down into the forest. It is the steepest incline railway in the world with an incline of 52 degrees! That's it seen from the bottom; like a wall.

The Three Sisters
The Blue Mountains offer breathtaking views, and that's not just because of some very steep steps.

Close encounter
At Featherdale Wildlife Park.
Please touch!

Taz
The Tasmanian devil. Didn't see him spin around but he is very active and can't stay in place.