My Wet Walk

Yesterday, I was up bright and early, well the weather was bright at least. The reason for the 6:45am alarm? I was headed to the Blue mountains for the day. The meeting point for a mere 5mins from the hostel which was helpful. Now the driver pulled up, got out and frankly, he looked like a hillbilly. Long messy hair under a cap, and terrible teeth. Now i was convinced they were fake, but its not the kind of thing you check just in case you are wrong, however I was right, and lots of laughs were had! The first leg of the journey took about an hour, where we stopped in the nearest point of the blue mountains to see some 'roos. Now i have seen plenty now so i wasnt too bothered, however it was nice to get out and stretch so as to wake up a bit more! We made a quick stop for some supplies, I had an apple pie from the bakery, before a second hour drive to our first walk.

Now we were warned in advance about the walk, it was going to take 3hours, but I must say, it didnt feel like it. The path took us down into a canyon, with some steep bits of track and rocky steps, before we followed the canyon walls, crossing over the stream numerous times and having some rest bites. The path was really cool, going under over hangs, up steep bits of rock, and even through a bit of a cave. We finally got to the lowest point, where the guide showed us how aboringials make body paint, at which point some people put some on their faces. After this stop, the two girls in front turned round and asked if i was from Lowestoft. WHAT?! They freaked me out, but apparently they saw my address on the list of names, they were both from Aylesham which was cool. We had a good old chat about Norwich before the usual things like uni etc, had a good laugh. At one point, laughter took too much of me, and i slipped into the stream, but luckily only the feet!

We finally arrived to our climb back up, and there was some deep burn in the muscles by the time we got to the top. But, it was well worth it. We had done the canyon grand loop, finishing at Evans lookout, and I had not been ready for the view. It reminded me of one of the view points at the Grand Canyon, except that much of it was covered with vegetation, and not just bare. Amazing view, though spoilt as the rain arrived! We all ran for the bus, where we then drove 5mins to a sheltered lunch spot. It was make your own baguette, and never has a cheese, ham, and salad baguette tasted soo good! From lunch we drove about 15mins to the other side of the mountain, and the location of the three sisters. Here we embarked on a 1000-step descent down into the valley, passing two very impressive waterfalls (as by this time it was bucketing with rain!) and getting a good view of the three sisters themselves. At the bottom of the walk, we got the worlds steepest railway back to the top, and that was an experience. There was barely any room for your head, and at the bottom, it was a bit like lying down. And it was VERY steep!

Once back at the top, we hit the road back to Sydney and arrived back at 7pm. Whilst waiting for Jemima at the hostel, who should i bump into, AGAIN, but Jess and Lucy, having decided to come to Sydney early. Had a quick chat with them before Jemima took me to her house. Nice place, though 9 people live there, in 4bedrooms! We had a bit of a catch up, before we went with her housemates to the pub, for a drink and a snack. We headed home about 11:30 though stayed up til gone 1 talking.

Her housemates were all up early for various jobs, but I had a slight lay-in until 9. I then got up, and enjoyed a bowl of coco pops whilst deciding my plans for the day. The rain hadnt come, so i decided to head out to the SCG. Here i went on a tour around the cricket ground, and the rugby ground. They even took us into the members building and the home dressing room. We were allowed to walk down to the pitch the way the greats like Bradman and more recently Warne would of walked. A very cool feeling i must say! The rugby ground was also quite cool, but lacking in history! I was originally the only person on the tour but was joined by a boys sri lankan cricket team. Had a good chat with the tour guide about english cricket.

From the SCG, i walked/got the bus to Coogee beach. The reason for this was because Jemima had suggested the 5km cliff walk from there to Bondi beach. The sun was out in force, which made for a very enjoyable walk. The path wound around bays and headlands, passing some gorgeous beaches, and impressive rock formations and cliffs, before finally coming out at the infamous Bondi beach. My first port of call was an ice cream stand to get my new favourite Maxi Bon ice cream, before i hit the beach. I spent a couple of hours here enjoying possibly my last beach time for a while, and writing some postcards. Walked part of the way back to Bondi Junction, before catching the bus back to central station. Here I went straight to the computer, and here I am! My plans for the next two days are: possibly the olympic park tomorrow and meet up with Tommy, before an over night bus to Melbourne, and seeing the CBD and maybe beach on friday.

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