Exploring the Blue Mountains

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Another very early start this morning as we prepared ourselves for a day trip around the magnificent Blue Mountains of New South Wales. We headed to McDonalds for breakfast, conveniently it was also where we were being picked up for the trip. Both Hannah and I were really tired and weren’t really up for another busy day so as different tour companies came and went picking up tourists we were kinda hoping that they would forget us. Eventually a busted up ancient mini bus drove by as we laughed at the crappy tour that must be, the tour guide jumped out of the bus and called out our names. We were driving around the streets for what seemed hours picked people up then it was another hour or so until we finally reached the Blue Mountains. After a brief stop for some snacks and toilet break our first destination was a fantastic lookout point. From here we had an incredible view across the Blue Mountains, it was very impressive. From here we had a short walk to another amazing lookout point where you could see a massive waterfall all the way down the cliff face. It was a breathtaking first stop, we slowly walked back to the bus because already it was almost time for lunch.

We drove to a beautiful little town within the Blue Mountains where we had various options for lunch. We had an hour before we needed to meet back at the bus so Hannah and I wandered around the town looking for some food. Most of the cafes were so expensive and we didn’t have time to sit down since they were all jam packed. So eventually after a stressful decision we settled on sandwiches. Once we were done we had a quick browse around some of the unique shops before our hour was up and we met at the bus to continue on our way. Next stop was a famous one and where the majority of the tourists were. It was a famous rock formation just off the cliff called “The Three Sisters”. There were so many people everywhere, but we managed to wade through the crowds and get some good photos of the unusual rock formations. It was only a very quick stop, shortly after we were on our way again.

We arrived at a place called Scenic World in the centre of the Blue Mountains. There were various different scenic rides which were all at extra cost, Hannah and I decided to do all of them, as did most of the group. First it was the massive Skyway Cable Car. When we got there we were stunned by the amount of people everywhere, it was crazy, probably had something to do with the fact that it was the end of the year and closed for the next few days over New Years. We joined the massive queue and waited for ages until we were finally allowed onto the impressively massive cable car. It was all aboard as slowly we moved away from the cliff face. The glass floor made the ride across to the other side all the more freaky, it was a very big drop. When all the group were on the other side our tour guide moved us quickly into the bus to the next scenic ride. Again the queues were just insane, even our guide was shocked by the number of people today. Eventually we jumped on to the large chair lift, which was in fact similar to the other cable car. This one however was the steepest cable car in the world.

Once we were inside the doors closed and we began our journey to the bottom of the valley. The cable car just dipped away completely, I couldn’t believe how steep it was, everyone was getting a little edgy, it just felt so unnatural at this angle. When we reached the bottom there was a short walk around the surrounding bush via a boardwalk winding around the trees. At the end was our third Scenic World ride which was a cable tram up the side of the cliff, it was also the steepest in the world. Just by looking at it, it was hard to believe that anything could climb its way up but amazingly down came the tram, we jumped in ready for an awesome ride. We went backwards literally straight up the side of the cliff, it just got steeper and steeper, it was crazy. Suddenly we were going through a pitch black tunnel, continuing at this ridiculous angle, it was so much fun. Afterwards we headed back to the mini bus and began the long drive to out next stop, the Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary. It wasn’t really something I was fussed about doing since I’ve seen all these animals a hundred times before, even so, it was really good. We didn’t have long at all here and Hannah and I spent most of the time talking with the friendly Australian Cockatoos. We rushed around the rest of the park, then met at the bus outside to be on our way.

This was about the end of the tour, we had a very brief tour of Olympic Park in Homestead then jumped on a ferry which took us all the way back, under the amazing Sydney Harbour Bridge and into Circular Quay. By now it was early evening and we were starving. We headed over to an area called ‘The Rocks’ and found a nice looking pub where we ate. We were exhausted, as soon as dinner and drinks were finished we headed back to our hotel for a well earned rest.

Accommodation:
Sir Stamford Circular Quay

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Photos

Blue Mountains
The amazing glass bottom Skyway over a massive canyon.

Blue Mountains
The Three Sisters rock formation in the beautiful Blue Mountains National Park.

Blue Mountains
Spectacular view across the Blue Mountains.

Blue Mountains
A massive waterfall from an amazing lookout point across the Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains
Dizzying Heights as we descend steeply in the cable car.

Blue Mountains
Walking through the thick bush at the bottom of the canyon.

Blue Mountains
The steepest railway in the world - it was an awesome ride.

Sydney
Returning to the city centre via boat from Homebush.