Blogs from Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 10

We think that we may have finally found our favourite piece of Australia..and only two hours from Sydney, who would have thought? After an initial stopover in Sydney, on the recommendation of some friends we met in Western Australia over Christmas (thanks Jason and Hayley!!), we set off for a few days in the Blue Mountains. We were told that the views and walking trails up there would surpass anything we had seen so far in Oz, even on the Ocean Road, therefore when we arrived on Sunday afternoon at our gorgeous little hostel up in the mountains we were on top of the world... We woke up the next day to the thickest mist we had ever seen, and that's saying something coming from Northern England, but we set off on a hike through Katoomba ... read more

Hey everyone, Had a couple more great days in Sydney which entailed alot more walking and exploring all the surrounding neighbourhoods. Walked along Oxford St from Darlinghurst to Paddington where it seemed to be a great shopping street.....didnt buy anything, Kerry was very proud. Layed low that evening and dined at one of the hundred Thai restaurants near the hotel. Tuesday was our last night at the hotel and we were really looking forward to the Salif Keita concert at the Opera House that night. Went for another walk that day, this time through Hyde Park and towards downtown. As we walked through the park it started to rain alittle, no big deal, it seemed to stop pretty quick. Amazing how crazy the downtown area is and the smart travellers we are (not!), decided to walk ... read more

Wednesday morning, we headed toward the train station to get us the the right platform to catch the train to Blue Mountians. This is the first time we have actually walked around with our packs on............Mum, I will be sending a package when I get back to Sydney with half my clothes in it!!!! Either that, or I'm going to have killer quads by the time I get home. Kerry already is complaining daily about his back.......we seriously overpacked for this trip. Nice two hour train ride to Katoomba, where we were staying in the Blue Mountains YHA. I booked it after seeing how highly rated it was for a hostel. Katoomba is a quaint town with a busy main road that I imagine would be absolutely packed during their high season. We are lucky to ... read more

Happy Birthday Grandad! We went to the Blue Moutains today which is 2hrs on the train from Sydney. It was very misty when we first arrived so I was worried we weren't going to see anything! We got on a hop on/hop off trolley bus at Katoomba to take us round the area. First stop was the Skycentre where we rode the Scenic railway. This is the steepest train in the world (I think), which is a short (steep!) ride down into the rainforrest. We were then below the mist so took a long board walk around the rainforrest and could see everything. I saw a white-browned scrubwren which I was excited about. We rode the cable car back up to the moutains and unfortunately the mist did obscure any views across the valley. We took ... read more

Packed up again ready to move on - am having some issues with my backpack. everytime i open it everything seems to explode everywhere - organised mess! i may have purchased one too many items though so that could account for why things aren't fitting in anymore! Anyway, we flew from Ballina to Sydney. Ballina must be one of the smallest airports in the worls and our plane was the smallest i've been on - it took 20 passengers! low cost airlines are quite new here, but that was cool with us as the flight was dead cheap. The flight was about 1.5 hours. When we landed at sydney we went staright to pick up the car. it was an automatic, i have NEVER driven an automatic! very ammusing starting off as my left foot wanted ... read more

Well, here is the lowdown, forgo the whole 45$ bus ride to the three sisters from katoomba, just hop on the early train from syndey, and spend the day, hop on the train back. its actually funny/sad to watch people pay for it since you are forced to follow their regime. You might miss a few of the smaller sights, but the best of the blue mountains is easily accessible. I left this morning on a train with George to katoomba (we almost missed it), and then we got off the train and walked down the street to echo point 15 minute walk maybe 20 minutes. It was kind of nice after sitting for 2 hours on the train from sydney. We checked out the three sisters. After the initial 'wow thats cool' there really wasnt ... read more