WHERE THE MOUNTAINS ARE BLUE....

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I arrived in Australia 6 weeks ago and I’m living in Wamberal, on the Central Coast of NSW. My partner’s mum is from the Blue Mountains so we went there to visit her and spend some days in the area.

The Blue Mountains are only an hour train trip from Sydney or 90 minutes drive journey from the heart of the city. It’s worth it to go just for a weekend if you are in Sydney and you want to enjoy nature and do some hiking there.

The Blue Mountains has multiple bushwalks with cascading waterfalls, stunning rainforests, beautiful flora and fauna and breathtaking panoramas. The Australian bush doesn’t show seasonal changes in the same manner as the softer vegetation in Europe. But, right now, still in Autumn, you can see hues of red, orange and yellow with the turning of the leaves.

The name of the mountains is not just for fun! They actually look blue!!! This effect is enhanced by millions of oil droplets released into the atmosphere by the huge numbers of eucalyptus trees. It looks amazing, just so different!!

The first day we walked from Echo Point in Katoomba to the Three Sisters and down to Jamison Valley. It had been raining a lot so the track was really wet! I found out about the Legend of the Three Sisters (well, this is one of a number of versions of the legend):

“According to Gundungurra dreaming, three beautiful sisters named Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo once lived with the Gundungurra people in Jamison Valley. The maidens were in love with three brothers from the neighbouring nation of the Dharruk people, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. The brothers were warriors and decided to take the maidens by force. Tribal war forced the Kuradjuri (clever man) of the Gundungurra people to turn the sisters into stone. He intended to restore them after the danger had passed and the war had ended. Unfortunately, the Kuradjuri was killed in the battle and to this day nobody has been able to break the spell and turn the Three Sisters back to their natural form”.

The next day we went to Blackheath and we walked a bit to where you have a great view to Kanimbla Valley. Then down to the gorgeous Grand Canyon.... just stunning with super green ferns and flowing streams in a dark canyon.

We didn’t go to Jenolan Caves (another hour drive from Katoomba), the most magnificent limestone caves system in the world. We’ll do it next time! My friend Evelin went there some months ago and she said it’s just beautiful!!

Here are some websites if you need more information! Have fun!



www.visitbluemountains.com.au

www.jenolancaves.org.au

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