Blogs from Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 3

Hello. This is our last full day in Sydney and we scheduled a full-day tour of an area called the Blue Mountains. It turned out to be a very interesting, but very tiring, so we did not get the description written until the next day (Thursday). Here is what we did on Wednesday. We started pretty early again with a complimentary pickup at 7:00. David went across to a nearby Starbucks for a couple of pastries at 6:30, which we were able to eat in the hotel whilst we waited for the bus. We were the first pickup and we rode around town for about an hour before arriving at the central location. We got on our correct bus (with driver/guide named Peter) and we were set for the day at 8:00. We had about a ... read more

Wednesday 12th February, 2014. Furber Steps Walk, Katoomba Scenic Railway & Wentworth Falls. Blue Mountains After breakfast we packed up our things and then chucked our stuff in a locker before making our way towards Katoomba Falls. We found a path to follow via a small creek which would allow us to see the falls from lower down. It was extremely misty and we couldn't see very much at all. We took a photo of the cable car from a lookout as it appeared out of the mist. At the bottom of the track the falls were signposted 100 metres to our left. It was very boggy and slippery after the rain last night. We reached the lookout and the sun (what there was of it!) was in exactly the wrong place for photos - we ... read more

Mit der Fahrt zum Blue Mountains NP naht das Ende unserer Reise. Die letzten Tage im lieb gewonnenen Motorhome sind angebrochen und nebst Sydney ist dies der letzte wunderbare Flecken Erde, den wir in Australien besuchen. Wehmut macht sich breit, aber bevor wir uns ganz dem Frust hingeben, wollen wir die Blue Mountains nochmals richtig geniessen. In der Nähe des Caravan Parks ist das Tor zu dieser schönen Welt, der "Scenic World". In Katoomba wurde unter extremen Bedingungen Kohle abgebaut, bevor 1945 die Katoomba Falls und der Regenwald für den Personenverkehr eröffnet wurden. Seither erfreut sich dieses Gebiet grosser Beliebtheit und lohnt sich derart, dass gleich drei Schweizer Seilbahnen von Garaventa/Doppelmayr hingebaut wurden. Die Angestellten betonen jeweils stolz, dass sie wissen wo Thun und Olten ist, wenn man sich als Schweizer zu erkennen gibt. Das passt ... read more

As it was a long weekend I wanted to go somewhere further than usual, to make the most of the extra day free. This is how I came up with the blue mountains. I've been before on a day trip but Alex had never been so we found a list of all the walks available and on Saturday decided on a 3 hour nature circuit at Wentworth falls. At the beginning of the walk the sound of cicadas was deafening. I'd never seen a cicada before, but I've seen plenty now! There were thousands of empty cicada shells covering numerous trees too, which was quite cool to see. About an hour into the walk we stopped for a picnic lunch at a lookout, giving us great views over a valley. After lunch we continued our walk ... read more

Spent a couple of days exploring Sydney while staying with hospitable relatives, its bustling, expensive, big-city feel contrasting sharply with laid-back Tasmania. Watched an enjoyable performance of La Boheme at the stunning Opera House for a high-brow interlude, the impressive singers and orchestra supported by perfect acoustics. Later caught a ferry out to Manly for a storm-interrupted swim in the wavy ocean and a walk across the headland with its second world-war gun emplacements and pretty water dragon lizards (legally protected after being stolen for pets !). Took first train-ride of the trip up into the Blue Mountains, staying in the little town of Katoomba. Saw striking "grand canyon-esque" views from Echo Point before a steep hike down and back from valley floor through dense forest, helping guide several confused tourists en route. Visited Wentworth Falls ... read more