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Published: December 29th 2008
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After a night of bar hopping, I barely got any sleep. Yet I was ready to go hiking at Blue Mountains with my other cousin Dong Dong and her husband. I was excited to see my cousin and meet my cousin-in-law for the first time. Dong Dong didn’t change much from what I remembered. She still looked youthful and quiet like when we last saw each other in her early 20s. I can’t believe she has already been married for few years. Her husband seemed to be very easy-going and caring. I liked him instantly especially I saw how he always put my cousin ahead of himself. Blue Mountains are two hours and west of Sydney. We had a picnic first, and then decided to hike into the mountains to get up and close to the eucalypt trees. We started at the rim of the mountain where we had a great view of the forest and Wentworth Falls down below. After bumming around in Sydney for days, I was itching for a nature walk which is commonly called bushwalks in OZ…hehe…bushwalks, how funny! I have hiked only in the U.S. and China so far. When I am in the woods, I
can’t help to compare the rocks, plants and landscapes to places where I have been. In the beginning of our hike, we pretty much walked downhill towards the waterfalls. We were eager to make it to the waterfalls and feel the mist spraying on our face. We could hear the sound of water splashing, and hitting the rocks below as if we were getting closer to the waterfall which could magically appear at the next turn. The tease felt like a child tries to reach and grab his lollipop. When we finally made to the base, the sun came out and shone on our face. As I looked up the waterfalls, I saw a rainbow midway up armed around a cloud of mist. We simultaneously shouted to each other with excitement “look, look, a rainbow.” The waterfalls formed many pools on the ground. Water flows from one pool to the next calmly. Amazed by the pools, we started following this maze of pools along the rocks. Then, suddenly, I spotted a native white bird with bright sunflower colored crown drinking water on the edge of the pool. It is such a beautiful bird. Its feather is astonishingly pure and bright
white like a dove. But its yellow crown gives the bird an exotic look.
We didn’t want to go back the same way we came from. We decided to continue on the trail and just to see where it might take us. Little did we know what an adventure we took or we got our ass kicked. The trail path became narrower and steeper than before. Then we saw a sign pointing to Overcliff which explained the condition of the trail. OK, this was our first challenge on the hike. We thought it’s doable. It was actually thrilling to walk down the extremely narrow path which was carved out of the rocks and allows only one person to pass. The handrail separates staying alive from falling down the cliff. I couldn’t imagine how did they build the path? Was there a Great Depression in this country too that leads to this type of risky and recreational construction and was it sponsored by the government?
Blue Mountains are famous for its eucalypt forest. Before the descent at the rim, I realized where this place got its name from. The mountains and valleys beneath were fully covered in trees, but
didn’t look lushly green like most forests. Instead, a cloud of haze rose from the forest and filled the space between the land and blue sky. It seemed that the mountains and valleys were blanketed in a light bluish fog. When we hiked deeper in the forest, not only we saw many native plants, flowers, we also got up and close to eucalypt trees. The aroma of eucalypt trees lingered in the air. It reminded me the smell of cedar wood in my parents’ closet. My guess is that the blue fog above the forest probably comes from vaporized eucalypt tree oil.
Four hours later, after climbed some steepest stairs at Overcliff and Undercliff trails, we realized we were in a long haul. I volunteered to be our guide on this hike, yet I had no idea what to tell my cousin and her husband where we were and how long it could take to get back to our car. I hiked often and have always been very active. I was more exhausted from feeling jetlagged and lacking of sleep. They haven’t hiked in years. But, they were great and were in good spirit! They didn’t complain and just
patiently put up with me and the awful situation. Our planned 2 hrs hike turned into an 5 hrs bushwalking marathon. At the end of the day, we joked that all of us can proudly give tours and recommendations for the Wentworth Falls loop.
I couldn’t have done it without cousin Dong Dong and her husband.
Just like any adventures in life, it is the journey to a destination that makes it memorable!
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