Off to Bathurst I go with Jay, Winnie and their uni buddies! Trip took about 3 hours by train, and another 1 hour by bus. Watched the city fade into suburban areas, then into townships with their cute little railway stops, and on into views of gaping valleys and distant plateaus. Saw endless fields filled with sheep, horses and cattle, huge expanses of blue skies, all sights that are worth sighing over..
Bathurst is a small old town (one of the oldest in Sydney since the gold rush days). Population of only 30,000, it has wide streets, old Victorian houses, and friendly people. It’s such a quiet peaceful place to laze away.
Once the sun sets, it gets crazy cold there. I was pretty sure that during one of the nights, the temperature dipped below 0c.. (was outside chatting with Jay, looking at stars, blowing steam and shivering like a madman).
Spent the rest of the next day exploring the town and checking out Charles Sturt University where Jay and Winnie were studying. In contrast with the night before, the afternoon was uncomfortably hot instead!
One of the parks in Bathurst. I simply love how families will just gather there in the mornings, sit down on the grass and have picnics under the sun.
I love spring in the countryside!
Next day, we got ready for an early start, and off to the Blue Mountains we go!
Blue Mountains! Click image to enlarge
We rode a cute little old double decker bus around.
L-R : Tommy, Jay, Gabe, Lili, Winnie, Fooie and our bus!
Our first stop was the Scenic Skyway which takes us across one of the ‘gaps’. The cable car has a section with a transparent glass floor so you can actually see all the way to the bottom!
Well, once we reached the other side, we took the Scenic Railway down into the valley – noted by the Guiness Book of Records as the steepest railway in the world. The ride was kinda short though, and they even played the Indiana Jones theme as the ride descended down into a cave. The railway was used to transport coal from the Katoomba mines up the mountain since 1878-1930. It has been transporting passengers instead since..
We trekked for a bit at the bottom.. These people really take conservation seriously….
This huge turpentine tree got burnt during a bushfire some time back.
It’s amazing how it’s still standing.
Took the Scenic Cableway cable car back up to the plateau (Australia’s steepest cable car), hopped on the bus, and travelled to Echo Point. Echo Point has the most amazing view of Blue Mountains ever as you can see in the panoramic shot I took below.
The funny looking rock formation at the left side is the famous Three Sisters.
Click image to enlarge.
“An immense gulf is unexpectedly seen through the trees… This kind of view was to me quite novel.. And extremely magnificent..” – Charles Darwin, The Voyage of the Beagle, 1836
We trekked a bit again around the place, and I took this on one of the trails. We climbed over the railings onto the dangerous rockface – one slip and we’d be dead 800 meters below.
We also hiked to the Three Sisters. There’s a special bridge built across to the ‘First Sister’ into a small cave like enclosure called Honeymoon Point. The following shot was taken near there.
It’s a steep steep drop to the bottom..
Notice the bluish tinge down in the valley? It’s what gives the Blue Mountains its name – caused by the refraction of light on the volatile gases released by the eucalyptus jungles below.
Don’t know what this shrub is called, but I think it’s pretty funky.
Loved this photo. We were fooling around this park which happened to be the last stop of the day for me, before I had to hop on the train back to Sydney. Bye bye Jay, Winnie and gang and thanks for the great time together!
Oh well, I was fully satiated on the gorgeous scenery. 3rd part coming up next, as Andrew joins us, and we all go on a drive to the best beaches around Sydney!
jen on October 9, 2007
*speechless*
the mountains … breathe taking !!!!
M* on October 10, 2007
That shrub could pass off as a chastity dong belt.
FoOie on October 11, 2007
jen : yeah they really were.. I was rooted to the spot.. didn’t want to move..
but then, lots more other breathtaking views to see before I die hehe.. the Alps being one of them..
M* : you can’t possibly be that deprived! hahaha
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