Blogs from Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 8

We were up super early this morning to get on our Blue Mountains tour. Unfortunately the sun wasn’t cooperating but it wasn’t raining...yet. We walked down the street to the pick up point and hopped on the bus when It arrived. We drove around the area picking up all the other passengers. Our first stop was the Sydney Olympic park where the olympics were held here. We saw the ANZ stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies were held. Outside the stadium they put up some poles that had the names of all the volunteers who helped out during the olympics on them. I thought that was a really nice way to say thank you to the volunteers. We also saw the olympic torch. We then made our way out into the Blue Mountains region. We ... read more

The Blue Mountains weren’t exactly what we were expecting they are not really mountains but a series of hills shaped by dramatic steep gorges and tall, jagged peaks of granite. They were easy to get to as they were only a two hour train journey from Central Station in Sydney. The mountains a magnificent wilderness area, part of the Great Dividing Range, begins 65 km inland rising to a 1100m high sandstone plateau riddled with valleys eroded into stone million of years ago. The mountains are ten times older than the magnificent Grand Canyon. We arrived at Katooma train station (sounds like it should have been in Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book), the main town in the mountains and which has long been a holiday destination. During the 1920s the steep streets were lined with handsome residences, ... read more

When we were planning our trip Jack found it hard to grasp the idea of travelling around the country. He found it easier to understand a trip with a destination. For him, the destination was Sydney. So, as we crossed the Harbour Bridge for the first time on the train, Jack stood up with great excitement and yelled out “it’s the Sydney Harbour Opera House” with much excitement. He then gave me a hug and said, “This is the best day ever”. He continued to embrace the rest of our time in Sydney with the same amount of enthusiasm. He really is a city kid. We all had lots of fun being “tourists” in Sydney. We caught the train, bus, ferry and monorail. Our kids just love public transport. The weather was, of course, not that ... read more

Some friends asked me for a rundown of the yearly cycle in our mini vineyard, so I put together the following info about the cycle of life for our vines … Bleeding The first signs of spring appear, temperatures creep up, sunlight begins to extend, slowly pushing back the long dark days of winter. Nature is waking itself, and the vineyards are waking from their sleep. The cycle of life begins anew when the daily average temperature starts to creep above 10 degrees Celsius the vines start to wake up from their winter slumber …. The cycle of life in my mini vineyard calls me to wake up also and pay attention to what is happening in the backyard …. Spring brings first step in the vineyard known as “bleeding” or weeping. Bleeding starts when water ... read more

Blue Mountain The only thing that is less exciting than waking up at 630am while you’re on vacation is drinking Jack Daniels by choice or your grandma accidently mailing her cat to you; neither has happened… in a long time. We basically woke up when all the vampires were heading to sleep. Now close your eyes everyone and picture this: The guy shows up from the company we booked our Blue Mountain world tour, with a giant kidnap rape van. When I got on the bus I wasn’t sure if I was in the TV room of a retirement home during, “the Price is Right,” or our tour bus. The bus was also about 34 degrees. If it had started raining in the bus it would have snowed. Now imagine the bus filling up with annoying ... read more