Before Dolphins - Adventures in the Blue Mountains

---

On Saturday morning five of us (Me, Kim and her friends Al, Jimmy, & Nikki) drove off for the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, about 3 hours from Wollongong. What would a trip be without a little adventure? We made it to Mount York to do some climbing and got all our gear out and ready. I was belaying Al on a route and Jimmy started another climb before we heard a large crash.

Unfortunately, Jimmy had taken a ground fall trying to clip in his rope while lead climbing. He fell about 4 m and landed hard on a rock. I should say now that rock climbing is like any sport...not dangerous, but accidents do happen. Just to be cautious we decided he shouldn't walk out and called in an ambulance. Since it was pretty steep to get down to the climbing area they had to helicopter him out. He'll be fine, but he did fracture some of the transverse processes on his lower vertebrae (the wings on your back bones). Hectic but it could've been a lot worse. We cleaned our climbing gear off the walls and drove back towards Katoomba, the main town in the area.

Kim and I got dropped off in Katoomba as we wouldn't be much use at the hospital (as difficult as that was). Katoomba happened to be having its annual winter magic festival, but got there just as most of the booths were closing. However, there was still a band playing and lots of people walking around. The festival brings out "alternative" people as one local put it. Mostly it was just people dressed up in all sorts of costumes, face paint (on adults and children), and the occasional wizard. We did see a guy carrying a full-sized stuffed emu down the street so I guess that could be called alternative. The band playing was called The Barons of Tang. They had a kind of punk/klezmer sound complete with bass clarinet, saxophone, accordion, upright bass, two drummers, and a guitarist. Lots of energy and a jovial crowd full of dreadlocks, harry potters, and face paint. A bit later in the night fireworks were set off the top of a mansion in the centre of town. They shot the fireworks right over top of the crowd which was an interesting/nerve-wracking way of doing things as an occasional ash would come down onto the crowd. From there Kim and I went to a local pub for dinner and to stake a spot for the Australia socceroos world cup match later that night.

After watching two league rugby matches (go Manly Sea Eagles!...this sport is kinda growing on me) and the Holland-Japan world cup game it was time for the Australia-Ghana match. Australia lost 4-0 in its first match, so the crowd in the bar, an odd mix of people from all walks, was on edge. After taking an early lead Australia's best player got called for a hand ball on his own goal line which is an automatic red card (kicked out of that game and misses the next game) and Ghana scored on the ensuing penalty kick. The drunk guy beside me promptly yelled at the t.v., put down his full beer, and left in a huff...20 minutes into the game. They take their sports seriously here. It ended in a 1-1 draw. It was already about 2 in the morning by that point. We drove to a nearby lookout over the Blue Mountains called Evan's Point, took out the thermarests and warm sleeping bags and slept under the stars. I'll defer now to my journal...

Sitting on the edge of a lookout with the Blue Mountains all around. Yesterday was long and hectic at times, but it ended well. Never seen as many stars as I did last night. Millions upon millions with the occasional meteor darting through. Only Sydney's faint glimmer to the south provided light. Woke up to the red glow at about 6:30. Two currowongs decided to call back and forth incessantly. Gorgeous sunrise. I love sleeping outdoors.

(break)

Turns out what I thought was a currowong call is actually an Australian Raven. Still naive.

The next day we drove another hour to reach the Kanangra Walls in the adjacent Kanangra-Boyd National Park. We did a short hike down steep stairs to a waterfall and then up and around the plateau for spectacular views of the valley of verdant gum trees (eucalyptus). From there we drove back through (literally you drive through one) the Jenolan Caves. Quite touristy and expensive to go through so we just walked around the area. In one of the turquoise limestone pools I saw an animal I did not ever expect to see in the wild.

My unofficial list of Australian wildlife I expected to see were kangaroos (check), wallabies (check), kookaburras (check), cockatoos (check), big spiders (check), dolphins (will be checked off soon), wombats (not yet) etc. etc. I had earlier seen a ring-tailed possum and wedge-tailed eagle which are relatively uncommon or not as regularly seen. Koalas are predominantly nocturnal and just sleep all day in gum trees, so I don't expect to see one...

To my excitement, swimming in this small pool was what is undoubtedly the most ridiculous creature in the animal kingdom...the platypus. Only about the size of my forearm, it swam around and surfaced every couple of minutes to show us its duck bill, beaver tail, beady eyes, and webbed feet. Did I mention it lays eggs, uses electroreception to find food, and males have a poisonous spur on their ankles? I'm enthusiastic about seeing most animals. Awkward, eccentric animals get me even more excited. The duck-billed platypus is the preeminent bizarre creature. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. I definitely gained some biology nerd points (anyone know where I can redeem mine?).

Tomorrow I'm flying from Sydney to Perth for my first taste of the west coast. Oh and Happy Father's Day! (at least it's Father's Day in Canada/U.S.). Here it's already Monday and Father's Day is in early September. Oh the cultural differences...

---

Photos

Duck-Billed Platypus!
Look closely for the black blob.