Blogs from Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 4

On Tuesday I went on an overnight trip to the Blue Mountains, which are about 2 hours west of Sydney. They're given their name due to the eucalyptus trees that cover the mountains (that are actually canyons) and these let off a vapour that makes the air look blue. As we left Sydney at 8am, the weather had decided it was against us and thick grey clouds were gathering overhead. It didn't take long for it to start raining, and the visibility was so bad we didn't think we'd be able to see the trees, let alone the mountains we'd got up early to see. Nevertheless we drove on, and first stopped at Glenbrook, one of the first towns in the Blue Mountains. A lot of the area is covered in grass and so is perfect ... read more

Heute habe ich einen Ausflug raus aus Sydney gemacht. Mit dem Zug ging es in das 100 Kilometer entfernte Katoomba zu den Blue Mountains. Die Blue Mountains sind ein Gebirge in New South Wales, wo früher Aborigines gelebt haben. Die Aussicht über das Gebirge ist traumhaft. Dort gibt es eine Bergformation die The Three Sister genannt wird. Der Legende nach waren drei Schwestern in drei Brüder vom verfeindeten Stamm verliebt. Um keinen Krieg ausbrechen zu lassen wurden diese vom Medizinmann versteinert bis sich die Lage beruhigt hatte. Leider starb der Medizinmann und kein anderer konnte sie wieder lebendig machen. Nette Legende. Was ich dort oben so toll fand, war die Stille an manchen Orten. Ich hatte einen Aussichtspunkt für mich alleine, weil ich etwas weiter in die Wildnis gegangen bin als andere. Traumhaft! Zum ersten Felsen ... read more

Written on Wednesday. Last time .I was writing before I left the YHA at Katoomba- and had a full day planned in spite of the weather – 11 deg cold and windy- grey skies with occasional sun bursting through the clouds. This was more like English summer in August. I set off for Scenic World beside the famous 3 sisters… and that is certainly worth $26 … a cable car trip across the gorge - those of you who don’t like heights –Marilyn B , and Lesley would not have liked it when the glass floor turned from opaque to see through and you could look down and even walk on it …Lesley, you would have been crying !!!! You got off and could walk to lookout and then come back across the gorge. You can ... read more

So, my plan this weekend was to head to Katoomba this weekend to do some more hiking and see more of the Blue Mountains, but that changed. I went on Wednesday instead. It was a quick decision, Uncle Dan said it might be better to head up there during the week to miss the crowds, 1 hour later I was on a train! I packed my little rucksack and got on the train. The train was about 1 hr 30 mins and only cost $6 (4 quid) and the views were amazing. I checked myself into the YHA on the high street. The YHA was really nice. The rooms were huge, as was the kitchen with good appliances (however, after about 20 mins waiting for the kettle to boil, I realised I hadn't plugged it in ... read more

The time was right to get out of rural North QLD for another planned weekend, this time to coincide with my birthday a few days earlier, and just because. I have heard so many things about this region, and it lived up to be expectations, in fact a slice of NZ climate and in some ways scenically (the flora especially, ponga ferns, tussock grasses and climatically cool clear mornings). The Friday night in the ‘Ville was great, and having a swim in the Rockpool the next day before going up Castle hill with newly met friends good way to expend some energy before refuelling at a café on the Strand. All going well the weekend could also have shaped up to be a wee reunion with a friend living in ACT but that did not eventuate ... read more