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Published: December 13th 2007
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Day 41 continued....Into the mist.
As the train got further from Sydney and the views changed from city, to suburbia, to mountain scenery, the rain started to ease off and instead, the train was shrouded in thick mist as the sun set. By the time we reached Katoomba two hours later, it was difficult to see anything, even only a couple metres ahead. After ten minutes of walking through cloud down the main street of town I reached the local YHA. In contrast to the hostel in Sydney, everything here shut up at ten o'clock. This included the laundry and kitchens, and so in desperate need of clean clothes and something to eat, I had a bit of a mad rush sorting out some dinner and doing my washing. Fortunately, although most people seemed to disappear to their dorms at ten, there were still a few people up (and they had wine), so I did get to meet some of the other people staying there, before getting off to bed a couple of hours later.
Day 42: In need of SatNav
I woke up early to dry my laundry, stock up on food, and sort out some
plans for the next few days. I had thought that the thick mist that was there when I got up would have cleared by the time I'd got all this done, but annoyingly it was still there when I finally went out at eleven o'clock. Nevertheless, with the help of a free map, I planned a nice walk into the Blue Mountains National Park, and with no willing volunteers to come with me, I set off on my own, very aware that I have problems reading maps when I can see what's infront of me, but that with the reduced visibility, finding my way might be a bit challenging!
Starting off at Leura Falls, I trekked down to one of the lower pathways which took me several kilometres through forest and below 'The Three Sisters' rock formation, finally reaching the Scenic Railway. Amazingly, I only got lost twice, and on both occasions, this was realised when I reached a sheer hanging cliff (or viewing point as they seem to be known). Anyway, I soon found my way again, although admittedly this was with the help of signposts that I hadn't spotted the first time round! Upto the point of
reaching the railway, the walk had been lovely and peaceful, with noise limited to insects and birds chirping. I had met a couple of other people en route, but most of the time, it felt like I had the forest to myself. The area around the Scenic Railway came as unwelcome surprise, packed out with tourists and tour groups, it was all a bit hectic and noisy and not really what I wanted after my lovely walk. Getting away from it, I continued along the path a little way, doing a small circuit of the old coal mining area, with rusty buckets and closed mine entrances still on display for passers by. Although tempted to walk up the hundreds of steps back to the pathway on top of the cliffs just to avoid the crowds, I decided I should ride on the scenic railway, if only because it claims to be the steepest railway in the world running at an incline of 52 degrees at one point. Thankfully it wasn't a long journey since it was actually a bit nerve racking going up such a steep incline, and felt a bit more like a Blackpool tourist attraction than your average
railway journey.
Reaching the top of the cliff, there was a huge collection of buses and day tour groups from Sydney all there to visit the railway and associated clifftop tourist centre. Moving swiftly on, I found the footpath back to town and followed this for a couple of kilometres. Although there were a few more people following this walkway, it was still pleasant and certainly not crowded until I reached the lookout of Echo Point, where there was nothing to see anyway, since the mist which had cleared briefly during the day, was back with avengance, obscuring any possible spectacular views. Back at the hostel and pretty tired, I stayed up eating, talking and not drinking for a little while, before heading to bed at the crazy time of half-past ten!
Day 43: Highs and Lows
Bright and early, I walked up to one of the mountain adventure agencies at the top of town ready to start a rather active day of abseiling and canyoning. Having established which way to put on a wetsuit (only after trying every other possible option, much to the amusement of the guys who worked there), and finding one that
fitted as well as a wetsuit can, I got kitted out with a helmet, harness and gloves, and with eight others, was driven out into the Blue Mountains National Park to practice abseiling down three increasingly steep cliff drops. This took us up to lunchtime, which we had at a picnic site near Wentworth Falls (still in the Blue Mountains). A little too soon after lunch, we descended down some steep steps and into the canyon which was bordered on either side by sheer rocks, with vegetation growing out of cracks, it was quite dark and dingy down there. We changed into our wetsuits by the stream running through the canyon, and having put our dry clothes into waterproof liners in our rucksacks, we finally jumped into the freezing water. Although the water was initially shallow, as we moved downstream, we were confronted with deep pools which we had to jump into and swim across, boulders to clamber up and across and small waterfalls to slide down. The obstacle course culminated in a final abseil down a 30 metre waterfall, descending down steep rocks and overhangs whilst being pelted with gallons of water from above and landing in a deep
pool at the bottom....and I do this for fun! Amazingly, the weather stayed dry throughout, although since we were wading through streams and swimming across pools, this observation now seems quite redundant (although there were some good views form the top of the waterfall).
We all changed back into our clothes (kept amazingly dry in our rucksacks) at the bottom of the waterfall, and then exhausted, crawled our way back up countless steps to the minibus. A short drive later and we were back in Katoomba, where we were provided with some very welcome celebratory free beer!
Day 44: A little horse
After two days of galavanting in the great outdoors, I was starting to feel decidedly under the weather, with a sniffly nose, sore throat and hoarse voice. Nevertheless, I had plans for the day and perked up a bit after leaving the hostel. It was another early start and a short train ride before I arrived at the nearby, but remote town of Blackheath. From here, I was picked up and driven even further into the sticks, to a country farm in the Megalong valley, where I made a new four-legged friend, by the
name of Kiwi. With one of the girls who worked at the stables, I went on a horse ride out into the valley and through the eucalyptus forests. It's been a while since I attempted to ride a horse, but was still encouraged to pick up a bit of speed, and managed a couple of canters across the open stretches without falling off or shrieking too loudly. I still haven't quite got the hang of trotting properly, which could be why my backside is starting to ache rather a lot!
I was grateful for clear weather for the morning ride, but things had deteriorated up in Blackheath, which was now obscured by thick fog and spitting rain. I just missed the ten-past twelve train and had to do a double-take when I saw that the next train wasn't until half-past two! Finding myself trying to kill time, I attempted to go for a walk, but without a map and unable to see if there was a next corner, let alone what was around it, this proved a bit difficult. I subsequently spent the next two hours between the sandwich shop and the local second-hand book shop, waiting for the
next train which even then I nearly missed!
Feeling a bit grotty and with miserable weather outside, I spent a couple of hours reading on a comfy sofa back at the hostel, before hauling my bags (getting lighter all the time as I lose things, else realise I didn't need them after all) down to the railway station and catch the train back to Sydney Central, and then the night bus to Byron Bay.
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