Blue Mountains

Couple of weeks back we decided to head out to the Blue Mountains, about 2 hrs drive west of Sydney.

Honeymoon Lookout

We've visited this area last year but we couldn't see a thing due to the unrelentless fog. This time around, the weather was gloomy and thunderstorms were forecasted. But we decided to give it a shot anyway.

Queen Elizabeth was here

See how blue the mountains are

It doesn't portray in the pictures but the mountains really had a strange blue hue to it, hence the name "Blue Mountains". It remains a popular tourist destination and a holiday to Sydney would be incomplete without a visit here.

Three sisters (background)

The Great Ocean Road has the 12 apostles, and blue mountains has the "three sisters". It's basically 3 rocks that are strategically located in a pristine environment.

Legend has it that the 3 sisters fell in love with 3 men from a neighbouring tribe but the marriage was forbidden by tribal law .... link.

Close up

Some would claim that it's nature's creation. But to be frank, a rock's a rock, no matter how grandeur the name may seem. =p

The previous time we were here the fog was so bad that we couldn't make out any sisters and had to pose as the 3 sisters ourselves. haha

Gateway to the 1st sister

Steps going down

Now this is where we could actually climb/walk over to the 1st sister. It was quite scary for me (who's afraid of heights). The last time it wasn't that bad as the fog covered up everything. The clear weather today ensured that everything was in sight, all the way down below.

Walkway to the 1st sister

Entrance to Scenic World

Naked statues outside the Scenic World

The old me would had taken a shot like that as well, but considering that my status is now "Not available" I decided against it to prevent conflict. Besides, the wife was just beside me. ;)

Next we moved on to Scenic World, where we paid $28.00 pp for 3 rides, the Cableway, the Skyway & the Railway.

The Railway

The railway was quite an exhilirating ride as the inclination when it descended was 45 degrees or almost that. Eventhough the ride only took about 1 min but it did feel like a roller coaster ride and set the hearts pumping.

Look at how steep it was

The rails

The tracks were used to transport minerals from the mines down to the towns. It's actually quite amazing that the tracks are still in tip-top condition considering that mining started in the 1800s.

The platform - I just wonder what'll happen if the brakes doesn't work?

Miners from faraway land

The mines

This is a replica of how the mines looked like in the old days. The only modes of transportation back then was horses and human legs. Moving tons of minerals without mechanical assistance is no mean feat.

Rest houses

Life back then was probably quite miserable. The climate here is much cooler than Sydney, even with all the green house gases. So one can only imagine how freezing it was back in the old days, when there's no heaters and electricity.

The Cableway

After a supposedly 10mins walk (ended up spending 45 mins walking around due to different detours - the worst being the treehouse thingy that took 10 mins to reach but was an absolute disappointment) around the old mining area, we used the Cableway to get back to the Scenic World entrance.

In the Cableway

The Cableway is a huge cabin that ascents and descends via the cable. It can probably take more than 50 people and the view of the waterfalls and the surrounding scenery while we slowly ascent was quite memorable.

The Skyway

At the Scenic World entrance, we then took the Skyway, which is a horizontally moving cable-cabin.

See-through glass

We were offered the view of an entirely different section. But the Skyway was unique in the sense that the mid section of the cabin consisted of glass that become see-through whenever the operator flipped the switch.

Wentworth falls

This place was actually quite amazing and we would have given it a miss was it not for Roy's persistence. It was just a small street located in the middle of nowhere, literally. And it took us more than half an hour to locate it.

It's still in the Blue Mountains area but its in one of the small towns.

The view was breathtaking

We knew of this place through a traveller's magazine. Strangely there isn't any sign whatsoever that pin-points the location.

The place was deserted

It was actually a good thing that they didn't advertise the place with signboards and stuff as it is very rare to actually find a nice spot with amazing views not swarmed with tourists.

Carvings on the stone floor

Someone carved a date on the stone floor everytime they were up here, once a year since the 1970s until it stopped abruptly in 1994 .....

Cars that went overboard

..... that's probably what happened in 1995 before they had the chance to carve the date on the stone floor.

R.I.P.


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