Update 27 - Sydney - The Blue Mountains

In blog 26 I told you that we had had probably the best meal of the Australian holiday at the Harbourside restaurant over looking the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. And it was, except for one detail, it kept Stef up all night and she didn't feel well enough to join me on the day trip to The Blue Mountains the following morning. Big shame for Stef, but armed with my new camera and video, I promised to record it for her and you. It was another early start at 7am with a mini bus pickup from the hotel. Annoyingly the bus then meandered back and forth across Sydney for the next hour picking up the other 16 passengers. Eventually we got going and the guide, like all Australian guides we'd had on this trip was both excellent in terms of knowledge and entertaining, keeping up a running dialogue as we drove to the first venue.

1st stop was Featherdale Wildlife Park

We arrived before the Kangaroo's woke up

Six Tawny Frogmouth Owls

Four Kookaburra's

It was a good wildlife park and as usual you could walk amongst the less dangerous animals. The above were no threat at all! After Featherdale, we drove to some open land where we were each given a boomerang and instructed how to throw it, unfortunately mine must have been broken! Still at least it didn't come back and knock me out. Next stop Wentworth Falls and the Blue Mountains proper.

Wentworth Falls map click twice to enlarge

The Blue Mountains

Our party - guide in the blue shirt and a mixed bunch of English, Chinese, Dutch and Filipino

The Blue Mountains covered in greenery

Yes I was there to - picture courtesy of the Dutch contingent

Impressive waterfall

No-one tempted to white water raft it then..

I bet they filmed Westerns here

We took the glass bottomed Skyway cable car down the mountain

Three Sisters rock formation - can't see why they got their name..

Coal Railway History

The geology is interesting

Having taken the cable car down, we took the train back up

It was only as we were leaving that I saw this sign, sure steepest in the world - whatever, but in terms of priorities I would have had it - 1. Cameras 2. Valuables 3. Infants

Next stop was Leura picturesque village

And finally for this trip, we took the boat from the Sydney Olympic Park O (a.k.a SOPA - yes Sydney had the Olympics in 2000) to Darling Harbour, where I met Stef in the hotel bar in time for free drinks and snacks....
That's it for the Aussie blogs, now to catch you up all in one blog from 6th April to the 1st June. Keep cool, it'll be in bullet point format!