Katoomba and the Blue Mountains

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Hello everyone!

I'm writing from the town of Katoomba in New South Wales, about 1 hour west of Sydney. I spent two noisy and sleepless nights at the hostel in King's Cross, the red light district of the capital. Tired and overheated, I decided that I needed a break from it all and get into the mountains again. Just a few days removed from New Zealand, I was already suffering withdrawal.

Luckily, the transit system in Sydney is fantastic. Think clean double level trains, wide flatscreen displays above the platform and branches to every possible destination. I took a ride out to the Blue Mountains, a beautiful and extremely popular weekend getaway for city dwellers. Katoomba is just one of many small towns scattered across the main highway that winds its way through the nature reserve. They are called the Blue Mountains because from a distances, they take on a bluish hue.

And as if you doubted it, there is a chemical explanation. The eucalyptus trees emit an oil into the atomosphere that scatters light. The scattered light comes off at an angle so that is appears blue to our eyes. Another example of Rayleigh Scattering 😊 (see my glaciers blog for reference)

Anyhow, there are also huge open forested valleys, canyon cliffs and dramatic rock formations. The most famous is known as the Three Sisters, three impressive towers of sandstone reaching up towards the sky.

There is an Aboriginal story that says the three cliffs were actually three beautiful sisters who belonged to a warring tribe. When the enemy tribe threatened the safety of their village, a wise elder turned the sisters into giant cliffs of rock so they could not be killed... or worse. When the battle came, the sisters reamined untouched by the enemy's troops who were none the wiser. However during the bloody battle, the wise elder was killed. Since he was the only one who knew how to return the women to their human form they have stood together on the cliff ever since.

This morning, I walked from the "No. 14" hostel to Echo Point where you can see the Three Sisters along with hundreds of other foreign tourists. I decided to keep on walking and did a nice little tramp along the cliffsides and then descending down into the Valley. Overall pretty easy except for the hundreds of stairs that lead you down and back up from the cliffside. I felt the dirty and grime of the city wash off me, of course to be quickly replaced by the dirt and grime of the forest 😊 I saw red and black spiders, amazing birds with calls that sounded like video game sound effects and off the trail, I heard a slithering and hissing that turned out to be a meter long snake! Yikes!

All in all, I'm extraordinarily happy that I came out here. This evening, I go back into Sydney so I can catch an overnight bus to Melbourne. There I meet up with an old college friend who has moved Down Under permanently. I'm very, very excited to see a familiar face after so many belonging to strangers!

This move is my last as I have decided to return home as planned on the 12th and get back to good ol' dirty Jerz. I miss my family and my routine and I didn't feel like I'd keep on enjoying myself if I stayed any longer. I'll just have to come back give Australia the proper attention it deserves when I get the chance (and the funds).

much love
meesh

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Photos

Three Sisters
From Echo Point

Hike
some purty waterfalls

Valley
some purty clouds