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Published: January 7th 2009
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Sydney is surrounded by some beautiful places and one place that I had on my list of 'to do's' was the Blue Mountains. It's a mountainous area consisting of a sandstone plateau that includes gorges up to 760 metres in depth, and has high points up to 1,190 metres. It's namesake is derived from the blue tinge the range takes on when viewed from a distance. My housemate Kate also mentioned that she would like visit too, so we decided to go to Katoomba which is about 100km from Sydney and provides a good base for exploring the area.
We left on a hot and sunny Saturday morning and made our way on the train out to the Blue Mountains area. Once we were out of the suburbs of Sydney the scenery was pretty amazing. We stepped off the train in Katoomba and got a shock as we were hit with a blast of freezing cold air. We both had flip flops and summer clothes on and were shivering as we made our way to our hostel. Once we had checked into our room, we laughed at ourselves as we realised how totally unprepared we had come for the cold
weather. We put on as many layers as we could - for me this was every item of clothing I had in my bag, apart from my pyjama's and a summer dress (a summer dress!!!! we were so stupid) We went and had lunch in this nice quirky cafe and as we were sat there we looked out and realised it was snowing!! We rushed outside and took pictures of our excitement at the snow and then went and purchased a woolly hat each so at least our heads would be warm as we ventured out to explore.
We made our way to Scenic world which is set up with things to do for visitors to view the valley and the 'three sisters.' Our first experience was to go on the Scenic Cableway - this is the steepest aerial cable car in Australia and takes you on a 545 metre ride into (or out of) the rainforest of the Jamison Valley. Once at the bottom, you can explore the area by way of a 'boardwalk' that takes you on various routes. Almost as soon as we had set off on one of the walks it started to hail! Luckily
for us we both had rain coats with us but we were still freezing cold. We battled on and were laughing about it, making jokes and various commentary filled video clips along the way. The scenery was amazing despite the weather and we then had a fantasic view over the valley from the Scenic Skyway, which is apparantly the world’s first cablecar with an Electro-sceni glass floor. As you ride across the valley, part of the floor becomes transparent under your feet, allowing you to see the valley nearly 300 metres below from an extraordinary perspective! The 720 metre journey takes in the views of the Three Sisters, Katoomba Falls, Mount Solitary and the never ending expanse of the Jamison Valley. By the time we made our way back to Katoomba town we had earned a nice cup of tea to warm ourselves up. We then went to the supermarket and bought some chesse, biscuits and wine so that we could just relax in the warmth of the hostel for the evening. As we were walking back it snowed and hailed again, but we just laughed at how eventful the day had been.
The next day we made our
way to the edge of the valley where we could climb down the 'Three Sisters' via the 'Giant Stairway.' It was constructed between 1909 and 1932 and takes over 900 steps to reach the floor of the Jamison Valley from Echo Point. It's basically a very steep staircase that is attached to the cliff side as you make your descent incorporating one of the 'Sisters' as you head down. The Three Sisters are basically a rock formation of sandstone eroded over time and their names are Meehni (922 m), Wimlah (918 m), and Gunnedoo (906 m). According to Aboriginal legend, each pillar of rock represents one of three sisters from the Katoomba tribe. There are at least two stories describing the circumstances of the sisters' entombment in stone. Both involve their father who uses magic to protect them and turns them into stone. Through tragic circumstances he is unable to return and release them.
Before we made our descent we popped into the information centre there and got a bit sidetracked by the Wine Tasting! - yes, we were there at 10am or something tasting a few wines but it did warm our insides up - as with the
previous day it was bitterly cold and I had taked the step of wearing 2 sets of underwear as my bottom had been so cold!! So we made our way down the stairway, enjoying the views but didn't go too far that we would have a lot of stairs to climb back up!! After another day out in the elements we found a lovely cafe on the way back which had a very welcome log fire and some hot soup and tea to warm us up!!
We had such a fantastic weekend, despite battling the weather, we laughed and laughed so much!! Thanks Kate, I'll always remember our fun times in Katoomba and the crazy weather!!
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Kate
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Dear Rachel I have just read your latest blog - what a fantastic time you had in the Blue Mountains and what fun. I have come rond ti your parents to play scrabble !! I had a quiet Christmas here in Wells and then Bryony, Matt , Alice and Rosie came for New Year which was lovely, we all went to see Peter Pan at Sheringham Little Theatre. I have several holidays plannned for 2009 including Krakow with your Mum and snow shoeing in Switzerland with friends in March. I am looking forward to seeing you at Center parcs on your return. Enjoy the rest of your time and good luck on your return journey. Lots of love Kate