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Driving there in the hire car we looked out the window and could see... nothing! The world was white. A thick blanket of mist shrouded everything. You really are "up in the clouds" here, so it's often like that, and on our first two days it was cold and rainy too.
But that didn't stop us exploring the area, taking long walks through the bush and around the cliffs. The mist gave the place an eerie feeling, and you can see why they call it the Blue Mountains - the eucalyptus oil in all the trees evaporates into the air and gives the already spectacular scenery a distinctive blue tint.
By the 3rd day the weather had cleared up beautifully, the clouds had gone, and we went to Scenic World, the main "touristy" thing in the area, with rides like the SkyWay, which takes you out over the Jamison valley to get stunning views of the mountains, waterfalls, and the "Three Sisters" (the 3 jagged rocks in the picture). We also went on the "worlds steepest railway" down into the valley, a very scary trip as it's a descent of over 50 degrees in a rickety little open-air cart with no safety gear! How all the Japanese tourists managed to take so many photos and not fall to their doom I have no idea!
Another activity was the Jenolan Caves, a huge beautiful underground cave system underneath an area that looked like something out of the Swiss Alps. It's quite pretty down there, but they do like to cram as many tourists in as possible and when you're already claustrophobic from the tiny tunnels and stairways, sharing a miniscule cave with 50 sweaty people is not pleasant!
So anyway now I'm back in Sydney staying in Kings Cross - an area like London's Soho, infamous for its dodgy goings-on, with lots of seedy joints mixed in with classy restaurants, designer cafes, upmarket hotels and backpacker hostels!! So quite interesting & very cheap - the main concern!
Speak soon,
A.x
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