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Published: January 3rd 2009
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The breaking sun
after a heavy down pour in the Blue Mountains Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost suffering from sunstroke, Yuletide carols being sung by a drunken choir!!! Ahh Christmas in Oz!
The three of us headed for the Blue Mountains for Christmas, we arrived in Katoomba on the train on a beautiful hot sunny day, although we were soon to learn that the weather can change pretty quickly in them their hills. Katoomba had a nice feel rather like a old hippie commune but with a Cappuccino café society. Everything was in easy reach and we could walk to Echo Point, the viewing platform high above the Three Sisters and the rain forest canopy which stretched out as far as our eyes could see.
The World needs more Wombles
At first it seemed that there wasn't much wildlife but once you had spotted a few birds you realised that they were abundant in the forest in all sizes and colours, from the tiny little Wren's to the huge Squawking Cockatoo's. When we ventured below the canopy on a walk it took you into another world where unfamiliar noises and sights added to the rain forest atmosphere, it was always on the back on your mind that
Still Smiling
with special guest, Mum/Alison in Sydney somewhere in the undergrowth there was potentially a poisonous snake never far away from you. The walks were spectacular either high above the canopy looking down or down below the canopy looking up, if you took the time to look there was wildlife everywhere.
The only issue that got us on our soapbox was the littering of this beautiful place, it was a good job we were not witness to the offence happening as Kirstin would have been on them like a screaming banshee, comin at them like a beam, like a ray, like a rooster and you would not like to see that! The only sensible solution to the problem that we could come up with was to employ Wombles until that day, litter is rubbish!
On Christmas Eve the cloud came to meet us in the town and all day there was a fine rain and clouds passing along the High Street, Kirstin's suggestion of a picnic on Christmas Day was beginning to look like an indoor variety. However, the Sun gods were on our side as it turned out to be a glorious Christmas day. It was a champagne breakfast served in individually decorated glasses,
Old Gum Tree
Blue Mountains handcrafted by Kirstin's Mum that were the envy of the guesthouse dining room as we ate and opened our Xmas goody bags, smells of marijuana and Moroccan lamb came from the kitchen! There was not a turkey or mince pie in sight as we tucked into our Christmas dinner picnic in the park overlooking the Blue Mountains, the only thing that let us down was the bag carrying the goodies for the picnic which included the beautiful cup cakes that did not look quite so pretty after the handle on the bag broke but still tasted nice even with all the flavours mixed up. It was a lovely Christmas day and typically we over indulged and after a cat nap we waddled back to the guesthouse where the same stoned chap was still cooking his Moroccan lamb and smelling of marijuana 6 hours later!
The day we met Priscilla
Our trip in the Blue Mountains was briefly disturbed by the call from a nice German couple (whose car we had viewed) to say that they were leaving on a flight to NZ, a decision had to be made should we or shouldn't we go ahead with the purchase?
The sudden urgency meant that we would not have time to get the pre-inspection done that we promised we would do before purchasing any vehicle. We called back making a knocked down offer which they agreed to, damn we were committed. We headed back into Sydney for a final inspection and took the gamble on the basis that they seemed like a nice couple and he claimed to be a mechanic! We were now the proud owners of a Mitsubishi Pajero complete with a conversion into a studio, well almost; a piece of wood with a mattress on top with space for storage underneath!
The purchase of a vehicle sounded like a simple process according to the guide books but for anyone considering this option in the future make sure you realise what goes into this process, it has turned out to be a total headache! Although having said that we were quietly excited once the vehicle had got us back to the Blue Mountains without breaking down and we had started to sort out of our all the goodies that came with it including the obligatory surfboard; although Rob would never admit it I think this was the
single factor that swayed the sale! Oh hang on.....Rob just admitted it, the surfboard was the single factor!
When driving back to Sydney it was time for the naming ceremony, we could not decide if the vehicle was male or female which always makes it difficult. After going through the obvious options, Rob came up with the winner......Priscilla as in Queen of the Desert! Perfect, this solved our he/she dilemma. Soon after the naming ceremony a red “check engine” light came on.....not the start we had hoped for, we could only think that Priscilla was not keen on her new name. Pris has now gone in for her service which we could only imagine was like taking your child to school for their first day; as yet we don't have the full results but will keep you posted on Pris's progress.
Farewell special guest
The last couple of days before Mum returned to the UK we spent in Sydney, our last at the Sydney Fish market, an area buzzing with people and birds all enjoying the fish fayre and BYO bottles, it would have been rude not too join in so we did; an entrée of sushi followed
by red snapper and chips this being the exotic version of cod and chips at home, this was all washed down with a bottle of chilled Ozzie wine, we were joined by a delightful Japanese couple, all the ingredients needed for a great day. Thanks Mum for taking us and treating us it was a lovely memorable day! Watching the seagulls eyeing up vulnerable diners who swooped en masse and stripped a table of food in less than three seconds kept us amused throughout.
It was then time to say farewell to Mum/Alison, our two weeks were over all too quickly, it was now time for us to stand on our own two feet again. Two lone travellers ready for the great Australian adventure but first we had a date with New Year's Eve.
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