Blue Mountains

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Geo: -33.8671, 151.207








The super shuttle picked me up at 3.30 am for my 6 am flight to Sydney, we were early and the Customs was still not open so I checked in for my Air Asia flights on-line for my Asian trip. My flight to Sydney was with Virgin Australia and no meals were provided on this flight. I had packed some snacks which I shared with the young couple sitting next to me. When we arrived at Sydney I took the airport train to the central station and stored the luggage in the locker at Sydney Yha central, which is opposite the central station. The lockers are of different sizes, very reasonably priced and you can also charge your gadgets here.
I quickly went back to the station, bought a day pass for $23 and boarded the 9.18 am train going to Katoomba. It took 2 hours and from Katoomba, I took the bus to Echo Point to see the Three sisters.

The Three Sisters

These three weathered sandstone peaks, formed thousands of years ago through erosion, are set among the cliffs of the Jamison Valley.
Or the legend was that the 3 beautiful sisters called Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo were turned into stone by their shaman father to protect them from an evil monster. But the father lost the magic bone and the sisters are still waiting to be turned into beautiful Aboriginal girls.
Echo Point lookout is the gateway to many great walks and nature experiences in the area.The Prince Henry Cliff walk connects Echo Point to Leura Cascades and takes you past many scenic lookouts along the cliff edge.


The Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains is a huge plateau featuring interesting limestone formations with lots of various vegetation and wildlife. They are named Blue Mountains because of the distinctive blue haze surrounding the area, due to being densely populated by oil bearing Eucalyptus trees; the atmosphere is filled with finely dispersed droplets of oil, which in combination with dust particles and water vapour, scatter short-wave length rays of light which are predominantly blue in colour. The area is consisting of national park areas and conservation reserve. Although It is v scenic but after seeing so much amazing scenery in New Zealand, I was not that wowed. I took the trolley bus to Scenic World which is basically a temperate rain forest at the mountain near 3 sisters. At Scenic world there is the Scenic Railway which has 52 degree incline, the steepest passenger railway in the world, Skywalkaway, cable car and walkabout. One can spend a whole day here for only $35.


Due to lack of time, I just wondered about absorbing the lovely scenery and I did not pay extra fares for the trolley bus as I had a day pass but if you want to do few stops then it is best to pay extra for the Hoho bus to save time as they are more frequent. On the journey back on the train, I slept for some time and when I was back in Sydney, I checked in at Yha, leaving my luggage still in the locker. As there was a festival in Sydney that weekend, I could not get my own room in Yha, so today I had a bed in 4 female dormitory, I was happy that I got the last bottom bunk. I took the bus to the Circular quay and caught the ferry to Darling Harbour where I got good views of Opera House, the bridge and the harbour. When I got back on the quay and I had an ice cream of passion fruit, berries, It was one of the most delicious ice creams I ever had.


Then I took the ferry to Manly Island and it was really nice there, I saw a nice hotel bar so I had a drink, sandwich and home-made chips, the guys serving there were really nice. I used my day pass to the maximum and took the train, trolley buses at Katoomba, ferries and the local buses all for only $23. If you are there longer, buy a weekly pass and it will be great value as you can use buses trains and ferries with the pass. I got back to the hostel and the wash rooms were only accessible by the card key but mine did not work so I had to rush half dressed to get it programmed again, I did manage to get the shower but then I had the same problem again. Finally I got back to my room and I went on the roof top for views of the city which were nice, there was pool and spa there but I went back to my room after long day and I hit the bed.

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