Blogs from Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 11

After the hustle and bustle of Sydney, Katoomba was a complete contrast - a small village atmosphere, low buildings and a feeling of wide open space (much needed after a few days in the big city). En route from Sydney we stopped off at Wentworth Falls and were blown away by the dramatic landscape. The sheer drop of the mountains and the flatness of the plains was breathtaking. It was almost as though the ground had just fallen away and left these sheer rock faces - in fact the opposite happened and the rock pushed its way up out of the grond - amazing! The photos don't give you any sense of the real thing - so if you ever find yourself in the Sydney area - you cannot possible leave without visiting the Blue ... read more

That's me out of Melbourne and officailly on the road again, for the last time, I think. Saw out my time out with a few nice activities including a visit from former housemates. One top tip for Melbourne is that the Eureka Tower on the Southbank is now open to the punters. You get a fast lift for 16 dollars up to the 88th floor observation deck, and it's incredibily high, i belive that the tower is the world's tallest 'apartment only' building, at least I think it is. Magnificent sunset but one gripe, they have all these fancy lights inside that do rather blank out the appreciation of Melbourne at night. One other activity to see out Melbourne apart from enjoying numerous amazing breakfast's in the cafes of Fitzroy and Collingwood was to go ... read more

Today it's goodbye Sydney and off to check out the Blue Mountains. After one last look at QVB (didnt buy anything but had to go and check it out) we picked up our hire car. Its a nice surprise to find out we got upgraded to a Ford Territory. Gotta love that. So easy to find the Highway and just drive straight on for 1h 1/2. It will be lovely to get some fresh air. We drop off our bags at the motel and head to Scenic World since it is a clear beautiful day and we might as well make the most of it. Here is a blurb of what we did: "Ride the steepest incline Railway in the world down to a lush and hidden valley. Stroll along the Walkway through towering Jurassic ... read more

Today we decided to take a two hour train ride to Katoomba to see the renowned Blue Mountains. We were impressed by the double decker train with changing directional seating, & stunning scenery on the way. When we arrived at the station, we were a little concerned about the cold, misty autumnal weather that we were suddenly experiencing. The views may be rather non-existent today... However we continued on to the Trolley Shoppe, to book the tour bus and 'The Edge' cinema. We decided first to visit the cinema in hope that the weather might improve. The movie is a short commentary about the discovery of the Blue Mountains, and the natural flora and fauna - a little disappointing. The Blue Mountains acquired their name because of the blue haze produced by the scattering of the ... read more

Today we're off to for something different - caving at Jenolan caves. Getting a booking was a bit of a trial because the travel agent we went through couldn't get through to check that they had spaces but fortunately a fax got through and they called back - just after the bus had left! Luckily it was called back so we could go after all... The bus actually drove through one of the biggest caves to get there and we went on a brief self-guided tour of an open air cave before lunch which we ate beside the bluest lake we've ever seen. After lunch the caving proper started. We got suited up in overalls and helmets with lights on and started with a short 10m abseil down into the cave. This was quite a ... read more