The Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia


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Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Blue Mountains
February 22nd 2008
Published: December 28th 2020
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We got up fairly early to catch the 8.30 train to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains (approximately a 2 hour journey from Sydney). After the problems we had getting a hotel in Sydney we decided to call a few places from our Rough Guide to secure some accommodation. After about half a dozen calls we landed a double room in high class backpackers hostel. The Blue Mountains Range forms only one part of an extensive mountainous area associated with the Great Dividing Range. The Great Dividing Range is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the 5th longest land based range in the world. Officially the Blue Mountains region is bounded by the Nepean and Hawksbury Rivers to the east, Coxs River and Lake Burragorang to the west and south, and the Wolgan and Colo Rivers to the north. On arrival at Katoomba we found the hostel and checked in and left our luggage and headed out.

We first headed for the Leura Falls - only to discover we could not descend into the canyon at that point due to a land slip. So we returned to Cliff Drive and had lunch at a 2 Hat establishment called Solitary. The views from here were spectacular and we could see why this range is called the Blue Mountains as the peaks take on a a blue hue when viewed from a distance. After lunch we headed down the canyon again but on a different track via the Leura Woods and Federation Pass. We walked 5 kilometres past the bottom of the Three Sisters rock formation to the station for the Katoomba Scenic Railway. This was originally used for shifting coal and is the steepest railway in the world. It travels up a gradient of up to 45 degrees and enabled us to avoid 1350 steps back to the top of the canyon. The railway arrived at a tourist centre which also included a less steep cable car to the bottom of the canyon and a Scenic Sky Cableway which travelled horizontally from one side of the canyon to the other in a glass bottomed cable car. After a couple of beers we took the Sky Cableway taking photos of the Katoomba falls and the Three Sisters as we went. After we alighted we had to walk a further mile to Echo Point which provides the "classic" view of the Three Sisters but M was exhausted by this time and sought a bus ride back to our accommodation. We were advised the last bus had left so M hailed a cab and picked up D who had made it to Echo Point to take some classic shots of the 'Sisters'. The rock formations are made of sandstone as are most of the structures surrounding the Jamison Valley. Each formation varies slightly in height from 922 metres tall to 918 and 906 respectively, which is over 3,000 feet above sea level.The spectacular shape of each formation was created over many years of wind and rain that continually sculpts the soft stone of the Blue Mountains.

We arrived back at the hostel and removed our walking boots to discover that M was bleeding copiously with semi-clotting blood all over her left sock. Following first aid we found a pin prick sized wound which we were later advised had been caused by a leech who had lunched on M until it was so full it rolled off! The problem was it had pumped M full of anti-coagulant such that her blood would not clot which is why originally it appeared she had a 4 inch cut on her leg. The pin prick sized wound refused to clot for at least half an hour after our return and we had to apply alcohol (to the wound) and tea tree oil to ameliorate the situation. This blood loss would explain why M was so exhausted!!



After showering and resting we went for a Chinese Meal in town.


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