They really are blue!

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Ken and Alison were kind enough to take us on a trip to the Blue Mountains for two days. Only 2 hours from Sydney, this part of the Great Dividing Range took 25 years for Europeans to cross, not because the mountains are high but because this is true Aussie "bush" - extremely rugged and dense. Travelling in a 4WD bus (yes, that's right) we made our way out of the city. In the distance the mountains really do look blue. There is reason for this. Eucalyptus, or gum trees, emit an ultrafine oily vapour that hangs in the canopy giving it a blue tinge. Isn't that interesting? Our first stop was a small meadow tucked away from the human population where kangaroos come and eat and relax and socialise it seems. We could get really close without them being frightened away which is not what we wanted, so Lara had to spook a few for me to take photos of them doing what thy are famous for.... hopping.

Next came viewing some incredible scenery, including the 3 Sisters. The legend goes that this bloke was out hunting in the valley and left his three daughters on a ledge where he could keep an eye on them. Unfortunately, there was a monster in the valley that liked eating daughters and once it got a sniff it went for them. The hunter acted quickly, tuning his daughters to stone using his magic bone (all hunters in Astralia are issued with a magic bone) so the bunyip could not get them. The bunyip was angry and went to attack the hunter. So, to protect himself he turned into a liar bird and flew away. The stupid thing is, liar birds are not blessed with opposable thumbs so he dropped his magic bone, without which he was unable to turn back into a man or turn his daughters back into, well...his daughters. So to this day the three sisters remain on the ledge overlooking the valley and the liarbird can be heard scratching in the valley, looking for the magic bone. I like this legend because the Aboriginals made it up purley to tell white people. The real legend is too complicated for us! (Wait until later blogs to see why we are confused that they could understand it and we could not).

For the evening we headed to Bilpin, a tiny settlement on the other side of the ranges where we were to stay in a lodge for the night. We had the run of this country house to ourselves, sharing only with the 2 resident horses, a pig, some choocks and some rabbits. It was great to feel like we were in a home again. A roaring log fire (yes it IS cold here in Winter), a game of scrabble, a pool table and some red wine later we left for a walk under the stars. It is easy to see where Lara gets her imagination from. Alison almost pooed her pants several times on the pitch black walk. I am sure she was not helped by Lara dropping things in her hair and tickling her neck. All in good fun.....I am not sure the coroner would have been so easily convinced though! Maybe we could have claimed that we thought a fright would fix her leg.

The next day we took to the Botanical Gardens for lunch with a view before getting up close and personal with some more Aussie wildlife. We stroked a Koala, fed Kangaroo's, held a baby wallaby and met some wombats - you do not want to hit one of those in your car at night! Then the best bit of the whole trip so far.....I was getting a picture taken standing next to an emu (as you do) when for no reason it freaked out and ran full tilt at Alison. She could not hide enough as it reared up like it was going to eat her. The evil side of Lara really shone through when she tried to get the bloody bird to attack her again just so she could film it this time.

The Blue Mountains are stunning and well worth an excursion!

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