Sydney – In the blue, blue mountains of New South Wales
One of the things that Mike in Perth had recommended I go and see when I was in Sydney was the Blue Mountain Range. Although they start 65km inland from Sydney, they are effectively part of the extended suburbs, and it’s possible to get there on the train direct from Sydney in a couple of hours. Andy and I had been to the supermarket the night before, and had stocked up well on the picnic foods. A proper valley day out, as Andy says (Jonesy, care to give a full definition?).
The Blue Mountains get their name from an apparent blue haze that hangs over them, which is the result of the oily mist given off by eucalyptus trees. It’s only visible from a distance, and even then is questionable – I kept insisting I could see it; Andy was more dubious.
We got off the train in Katoomba, 109km away from the centre of Sydney, and headed out through the small town towards the mountains. It was a lovely little town – the small size was definitely noticeable after the great metropolis that is Sydney. It was a lovely place to wander in, a real suburb, and we were walking through mainly residential streets on our way to the mountain ranges. It was also noticeabley cooler up there in the hills, and we were grateful that we’d brought a couple of layers.
We walked out to the Three Sisters viewpoint, for an amazing photo opportunity. The Three Sisters is the name given to a fabulous rock formation of three large monoliths in close proximity to each other. The views of those, and out over the rest of the mountain range, were stunning, and we stayed for a good while, just drinking in the views and feeling those batteries recharge.
Heading off to find a picnic spot, we passed a shop advertising free wine tasting, so naturally we ducked in and sampled their wares. We both fell in love with a locally produced Sauvignon Blanc, called Farmer’s Daughter, from Mudgee, and bought a lovely cold bottle to go with our picnic. We ended up in a lovely sunny park, overlooking the mountains, and dug eagerly into our picnic, the perfect accompaniment to our lovely wine. True to form, we chatted and laughed the day away, both looking round in shock to realise the sun had gone down from out of nowhere, and that we were very cold indeed.
Back on the train, I was in touch with my friends Elaine and Red, who I’d met in Vietnam, and who had since moved to Sydney. We arranged to meet up out in Bondi for a few drinks, so Andy and I went back to our hostel, quickly changed, and headed straight out there. It was fantastic to see them again, and it was as if no time had gone by – big hugs all round, and reminiscing about our time in Asia. It was lovely to see Andy in the middle of it – isn’t it a great feeling when new and old friends get on?
So I raised drinks that night to the Blue Mountains, and to friendships, new and old.
Tags: Australia, Travel
Suzanne