Blue-tiful Mountains

We arrived in Sydney on an overnight flight from Hong Kong.  By 10am, we had cleared customs, visa control, picked up our hire car and were on our way to the Blue Mountains, with Rob as driver and Claire as his trusty navigator.  The main town in the Blue Mountain region is Katoomba and it only 90 minutes away from Sydney.  We arrived with the whole day ahead of us, but promptly fell asleep, still exhausted from our flight.  When we awoke, we decided to explore the town, but upon walking outside, we ran back in immediately.  It was freezing!  Having been in 30 degree heat for the past three months, this was a huge shock to us.  In reality it was no colder than an autumn day at home, but we put on the layers, fleeces, hats and scarves and “braved” the elements.

Claire and "Matilda", our hire car

Katoomba, itself is a quaint little town and typically Australian with clapboard houses and verandahs.  There are plenty of scenic hikes to do around the area and so we set off the next morning, eager to explore.  The scenery we encountered was simply breathtaking.  We hiked into the valley and through the rainforest.  We came across a number of beautiful waterfalls, including Bridal Veil Falls and Katoomba Falls.  As we hiked out of the valley, the views across to the other mountains in the Blue Mountain range were magnificent.  Flying around us were white cockatoos and other multi-coloured tropical birds. 

Cockatoo

Katoomba Falls

Bridal Veil Falls

We could also see across to the famous Three Sisters rock formation, where legend has it three sisters were turned to stone by a sorcerer to protect them from the unwanted advances of three young men, but the sorcerer died before he could turn them back again.  Oh, well!  Because the weather wasn’t good during the walk, we could also see the blue haze that gives the mountains their name.  This comes from a fine mist of oil exuded by eucalyptus trees.

The Three Sisters

Blue Mountains Mist

View across the valley

We also got lost (nothing new there), but we didn’t mind too much as the scenery was worth the detour.  On our way, we befriended an Israeli man, Eihud, who taught me how to tie my shoelaces (a miracle after 26 years!).  He also accompanied us to a chocolate café, which served what might be the tastiest hot chocolate we have ever tasted and hence worthy of a mention!

Rob and Eihud

Delicious hot chocolate!