Our next stop on the Australian tour was The Blue Mountains. Blue Mountain National Park is located about a two hour train ride west of Sydney, and there are several small towns and areas to explore once you are there. On Monday morning, we took the light rail to central station and then transferred to the train to the Blue Mountains. We departed at Katoomba where we picked up our rental car, and then drove about ten minutes to Blackheath where we were staying. The Airbnb here was one of our all time favorites - a cozy two bedroom cabin in a eucalyptus forest. That afternoon, we did a short hike from Govett's Leap Lookout to Bridal Veil Falls and caught our first views of the Blue Mountain Canyon!
 |
| Could there BE any more luggage... |
 |
| Blue Mountain Train Ride |
 |
| Waiting in Katoomba for Jay to come back with rental car |
First bush walk in Blackheath - Govetts Leap to Bridal Veil Falls
 |
| Cackatoo |
 |
| Parrot |
Tuesday, November 21st - Grand Canyon Track
Kids and Jay continued to bust their butts to get work and school done in the morning, and then we headed out to brunch followed by an AMAZING hike on the Grand Canyon Track. It's super interesting hiking down into a canyon that is so lush and feels like a rain forest. The only canyons I've been in are all rock and bone dry - this was really neat to see.
 |
School time
Pro: teaching from the couch in my jammies / Con: teaching your own kid who loves to complain |
 |
| First sips of milkshakes at Brunch |
 |
| Avo toast with fresh tomatoes, feta, and balsamic glaze |
 |
| Brekkie Sandwich |
The Grand Canyon bush walk:
 |
| When you look over and realize your "little" brother is taller than you |
 |
| It's dark in this tunnel |
 |
| Lizard rock |
 |
| Hello, Miss Lizard |
 |
| Crayfish |
 |
| Pano at top of hike |
 |
| This is what happens when we try to grow and shrink to each other's height |
 |
| Red pepper as big as my head!! |
Wednesday, November 22nd - work/hike/Sarah has a cold
I started feeling a sore throat coming on Tuesday, and woke up to a cold on Wednesday. Luckily it was nothing a little cold medicine and ibuprofen couldn't cure. We more or less followed the same routine as the day before; work and school followed by a hike then lunch. Today we drove a little farther south to a hiking area called Wentworth Falls. We hiked down to Empress falls and then back up to The Wentworth Cafe, where we grabbed lunch.
 |
| Empress Falls |
 |
| A well deserved lunch at the cafe, with a nice view :) |
 |
| Another cockatoo sighting |
Thursday, November 23rd - Sunday, November 26th - Manly
On Thursday, we headed back towards the city of Sydney on the Train, then caught a Ferry to Manly Beach for our final destination in New South Wales. The weather was rainy everyday we were in Manly and only cleared up on Sunday morning, right as we were leaving. I was still recovering from a cold, and then Jay caught it, so we more or less laid low. The kids got all their school work done so we could have a true vacation in Fiji when we get there!
The highlights of our Manly time included a trip to the Taronga Zoo to see the Koalas and an afternoon at The Ballet at The Sydney Opera House.
The Zoo:
Comments
Post a Comment