We spent the day in the Blue Mountains, that is, if you count the two hour train there, and two hours back, as part of the day.
The Blue Mountains are "Ontario" mountains, not "Alberta" mountains. It would be similar to our Collingwood area, and is a popular destination for weekend getaways for Sydneysiders, as they call themselves. Pretty scenery, lots of hiking trails, parks, and small villages.
We visited the main scenic area at Katoomba, one of the villages. Tourism is the main industry. The lady at the info desk told us that they had a snow storm a week and a half ago. The roads were closed, and nothing was open. Hard to believe!
It is a very scenic area, deep valleys, and some interesting rock formations, the "biggie" being The Three Sisters. We did some hiking to get views of the rocks and the valleys.
We also took a cable car across a gorge, and by a waterfall. The next part was a ride down a very steep incline on a cog railway. It was steep, 52 degrees, most of the way. The railway was built to transport coal from the mines in the valley to the top. Coal mining was started here in the 1890's, and continued until1940. They have done a beautiful job to make this a really nice attraction. There are displays of mining history, and also several walks through the rainforest, at the bottom of the valley. The walks are all along very well constructed boardwalks, about 2 m wide, and railings all along. No steps, just inclines, so baby carriages and wheel chairs can be used. It is quite an extensive system, covering several kilometers.
There are some gorgeous trees, huge and very impressive. Lots of varieties of eucalyptus trees. One of the reason for the blue coloring of the sky is that the trees give off an oil vapor, that refracts blue light more. ( The science lesson of the day)
The highlight of the walk was that we saw a lyrebird, which is quite shy and rarely seen.
After the hike through the rain forest we took a cable car back to the top.
Before we boarded the train back to Sydney, we walked through the village of Leura. It is very pretty, lots of flowers, and lovely, upscale shops.
As we were walking back to our home, we passed a noodle shop, and had soup for supper. I had trouble finishing my bowl; it was the best soup I have eaten since my trip to Vietnam.
Great way to finish the day.
By the way, the weather.....another perfect day, high 26, clear and sunny. I could get used to this.
Only two more days!
Ralf
The Blue Mountains are "Ontario" mountains, not "Alberta" mountains. It would be similar to our Collingwood area, and is a popular destination for weekend getaways for Sydneysiders, as they call themselves. Pretty scenery, lots of hiking trails, parks, and small villages.
We visited the main scenic area at Katoomba, one of the villages. Tourism is the main industry. The lady at the info desk told us that they had a snow storm a week and a half ago. The roads were closed, and nothing was open. Hard to believe!
It is a very scenic area, deep valleys, and some interesting rock formations, the "biggie" being The Three Sisters. We did some hiking to get views of the rocks and the valleys.
We also took a cable car across a gorge, and by a waterfall. The next part was a ride down a very steep incline on a cog railway. It was steep, 52 degrees, most of the way. The railway was built to transport coal from the mines in the valley to the top. Coal mining was started here in the 1890's, and continued until1940. They have done a beautiful job to make this a really nice attraction. There are displays of mining history, and also several walks through the rainforest, at the bottom of the valley. The walks are all along very well constructed boardwalks, about 2 m wide, and railings all along. No steps, just inclines, so baby carriages and wheel chairs can be used. It is quite an extensive system, covering several kilometers.
There are some gorgeous trees, huge and very impressive. Lots of varieties of eucalyptus trees. One of the reason for the blue coloring of the sky is that the trees give off an oil vapor, that refracts blue light more. ( The science lesson of the day)
The highlight of the walk was that we saw a lyrebird, which is quite shy and rarely seen.
After the hike through the rain forest we took a cable car back to the top.
Before we boarded the train back to Sydney, we walked through the village of Leura. It is very pretty, lots of flowers, and lovely, upscale shops.
As we were walking back to our home, we passed a noodle shop, and had soup for supper. I had trouble finishing my bowl; it was the best soup I have eaten since my trip to Vietnam.
Great way to finish the day.
By the way, the weather.....another perfect day, high 26, clear and sunny. I could get used to this.
Only two more days!
Ralf
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