It Just Isn't Done That Way - Sydney and the Blue Mountains - TR Complete #284.

[PrincessInOz]

I am thinking Sept/Oct of next year...I tend to travel in off season.

Jill in CO

Hmmm. Sept/Oct was one of the dates we were considering for Europe. Let's see where we get to and how the dates line up. My other option was later in the year.

 

[PrincessInOz]

They're located on the Taranaki Coastline and are kind of like a small version of the 12 Apostles.

Even though the area is lovely, they aren't that well known. The route is not one frequented by tourists, they are in the middle of nowhere, you can't see them from the road, and you have to be lucky enough to be passing the area at low tide to walk out and see them.

I'll be knocking on your door for touring plans for NZ. I loved the one you suggested on the other thread.

Princess your dedication to your photography is admirable! And this shows in the photos that you take. Just beautiful.

Its a shame that you didn't find anything in Blackheath that appeals. I believe the eateries there are supposed to be more "foodie" and less "touristy'? But who am I to talk?!?! We drove straight past on our way home from Dubbo...

I'm guilty of taking the Blue Mountains for granted because it is so close to home. However, everytime we go, we do enjoy our walks and the feel of the place. I can understand why people love living in the area.

*I* found LOTS of places I was happy to eat at Blackheath. But I had two very very very picky boys with me that day.
As 'towns' go, Blackheath was not large and being right along the Great Western, DH found it noisy and none of the menus appealed to him.

Thanks! The Blue Mountains are lovely and I guess if you live in Sydney, it is very easy to take them for granted.

What did you do in Dubbo? Did you go to the zoo?

Beautiful pics of the Three Sisters and now I've been educated as to why they are called the Blue Mountains.

I'm still cracking up over the old fogie memory on your dinner reservation.

Yes. *cracked* indeed. It drove me crazy for about 30 minutes as I was scanning Trip Advisor, getting contact numbers and ringing the individual establishments. Can you imagine ringing up a strange restaurant and saying....

Hi! My name is [PiO]. I'm wondering if I made a reservation for dinner at the restaurant tonight. Table for 3 about 7 pm. I know I made a reservation.....I just can't remember which restaurant!

There would be a 10 second silence before the person at the other end would respond.

The second set of caves was even more exciting than the first!

The weather sounds like we want to travel before June or July. I admire your dedication to photography for going out in such weather to get those shots. I would have stayed in the warm villa, cooked dinner and gone to sleep early.

Visually, the second set of caves were more stunning!

Yes. There were lots of times where I wondered why I was out and not back in the warm villa.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

How interesting the caves were warmer. But then I guess folks use to live in them in the past in the British Isles so they must have provided shelter and warmth.

I would love to see those caves. But through the joy of photography I feel I have

 

[losfp]

How interesting the caves were warmer. But then I guess folks use to live in them in the past in the British Isles so they must have provided shelter and warmth.

Caves actually maintain a constant temperature year-round so long as there's a certain amount of sealing. The caves at Jenolan are about 16 degrees all the time. So in winter it is warmer than outside, and in summer it's cooler than outside

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Caves actually maintain a constant temperature year-round so long as there's a certain amount of sealing. The caves at Jenolan are about 16 degrees all the time. So in winter it is warmer than outside, and in summer it's cooler than outside

with the house price average in London now £492,000 maybe I should get myself a cave. I always fancied myself as a Wilma

 

[PrincessInOz]

with the house price average in London now £492,000 maybe I should get myself a cave. I always fancied myself as a Wilma

Hermit Paula. As long as there is connectivity, I'm there with you. LOL.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Sunrise; A Little Late but Sunrise all the Same







After last night, DH and I had every intention of getting up early and catching sunrise. We didn't quite get out of bed early enough and by the time we'd walked down to Echo Point, the sun had already risen to a point where the light was going to make capturing sunrise difficult. We really should have gotten here about 30 minutes earlier.







Besides, it was winter in Australia and the sun was rising up a lot further north than I would have liked.








I have seen wonderful pictures of the sunrise in this general direction. I guess I'll have to come back in summer when the position of the sun is a lot further south.








In the meantime, I'd capture the sunrise that was today.















There was no denying that the colour show was happening on the local sandstone layer behind me.








Mother Nature was providing me with a helping hand this morning.








Those cold storm clouds were wonderfully lit by the rising sun.








We spent about an hour here and by this stage, both DH and I were nearly frozen. Time to head back to the warm villa and breakfast!







(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

A Simple Breakfast at the Villa







After lunch yesterday, DH and I had stopped in the shops in Katoomba. We figured we would pick up a few provisions given that we would have full kitchen facilities in our villa.


I had to admit that I was surprised at the range of shops in Katoomba. The last time we were here, it had been a very sleepy village. Now, there is a very diverse range of shops and the shopping strip was much longer than I remembered. In addition, the large chains had descended here as well. So, we made full use of shopping at Coles Supermarket and picked up some bread from Baker's Delight.


But because we weren't sure exactly what we would find in the kitchen, we kept the groceries simple. We ended up just getting eggs, milk, fruit and water at the supermarket.







So we had scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast.








And some strawberries.







I think we spent about $10 - $15 for our breakfast provisions this morning. It was after this that DH finally 'got' why I had suggested some road provisions for Jenolan.
But in hindsight, he was right as well. The facilities at that family room in Jenolan were not good enough for a cooked breakfast so it all worked out in the end.








(Continued in Next Post)
 

 

[PrincessInOz]

Shiny Falling Water







Anyone remember that Katoomba means Shiny Falling Water? Well....there are lots of it in this area and I was keen to go seek some.



One of the main waterfalls in Katoomba is the Katoomba Falls area. Um....we didn't head in that direction. The reason?

I really don't know other than I didn't do that much research into this area. It just isn't done that way, is it?



Actually, the reason we didn't head in that direction was because the Katoomba Falls is pretty close to the Scenic Railway. This railway line is billed as the steepest passenger railway in the world.
The last time DH and I were here, rides down the railway were $6.50.
These days, the Scenic World area has become a bit of a tourist destination. It now includes the Scenic Railway, a Cableway, a Skyway and walkways, shops and the kitchen sink. Not that I'm adverse to partaking in tourist attractions but I drew the line on this one for this trip. This Scenic World offers one family ticket for $88, which includes all the rides. It kinda means that you'll end spending the entire day here.



DH and I talked it over. We figured that we would avoid the area as we really wanted to take in more countryside than just this one tourist destination. If we had another full day in the area, we would have gone. That railway is worth the trip and it would have been great for DS to experience it. Next time.



So what did we do instead?




We headed to one of the Shiny Falling Water places in the area.







To experience the Leura Cascades, it's a short walk of about 1 km (one-way).






It's meant to be easy walking for this area.







Despite the sun, it really was cold. Everyone had at least two layers on and gloves were the fashion statement of the day.








The walk takes you along a set of little cascades.








That's the Chelmsford Bridge (named because the road that goes over here is Chelmsford Road). This area is lit at night and I understand the bridge makes for a very lovely backdrop to pictures. I thought it was lovely in the daytime as well (and there was no night time wanderings here for us).







It is a very pretty walk. There are a whole bunch of steps that you head down and the trees and tree-ferns make gorgeous canopy.







You're pretty much walking along the side of many little cascades.









At the base of the walk, there's a little area for a decent view of the cascades.







You can always count on my family to stay off-the-beaten-path.







After my boys cleared-off, I did have some fun playing with the brief bursts of sunlight.








Most people will head back at this point of the walk. But if you walk another 50 meters or so, you'll get to this vista point.







It really is a good view of the Jamieson Valley.








Did you notice that there might be some shiny water in the bottom left hand side of the picture?



Keep walking up a flight of stairs up the escarpment and there is another vantage point. The shiny falling water here is the Bridal Veil Falls.








I expect the name is more appropriate when there is more water.










Time to head to the next vantage spot.






(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

A Quick Stop at Gordon Falls






DH and I have always loved road trips that are unplanned. We particularly love being able to pull-in at a tourist attraction along the road and go see what it offers. Sometimes you get to find the most unexpected gems....and sometimes....you don't.


This is the Gordon Falls lookout area. The view of the escarpment is nice....but not significantly different to anywhere along this area.







Gordon Falls? The water flow was pretty low. Might be better when there is more water but this was one stop that we could have done without.







We pressed on to the next tourist destination in this area.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Well I can't imagine what the summer sunrise photo's must look like then I considered these eye candy!

Sandstone sure is pretty imho. I love the name in Aborginal language meaning shining water fall. Are there any Aboringal descendants left?

Scenic world sounds like the set up around Nigeria Falls. But you mention the Kitchen sink...see how my greedy ice cream eyes perk up lol.. Not the Beach Club version though!

You made me smile with you mention of Coles supermarket. We enjoy Australian Masterchef and all the produce is supplied by them.

It looks a lovely visit. I. Think my MIL & FIL did the train ride on their visit of Australia a few years ago.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Lovely pics! And I must say that your son has gotten so grown-up!

 

[jedijill]

The scenery looks stunning...very beautiful. Too bad it was so cold!

Jill in CO

 

[zanzibar138]

What a shame about the sunrise. You still got some great photos though

I love the cascades. That's definitely going on the list. I had no idea how rainforesty the Blue Mountains were - I always assumed it was drier bush. It really does seem to be much like the Dandenongs in many ways. Except size

 

[dolphingirl47]

Thanks Corinna. Have you ever gone in caves in your travels? I think you've probably done some snorkeling through the caves in Mexico. I'd imagine that if you're fine with the snorkeling, you might be fine with these caves??

Not on my travels, but we had a number of caves near where I grew up. They were a lot more spacious though. I have never snorkeled through caves either. All my snorkeling has been open water snorkeling.

The Orient Caves are so pretty. I think I would have been fine with those. The scenery is yet again stunning. Dinner looked delicious even if you could not remember where you made the reservation.

Corinna

 

[PrincessInOz]

Well I can't imagine what the summer sunrise photo's must look like then I considered these eye candy!

Sandstone sure is pretty imho. I love the name in Aborginal language meaning shining water fall. Are there any Aboringal descendants left?

Scenic world sounds like the set up around Nigeria Falls. But you mention the Kitchen sink...see how my greedy ice cream eyes perk up lol.. Not the Beach Club version though!

You made me smile with you mention of Coles supermarket. We enjoy Australian Masterchef and all the produce is supplied by them.

It looks a lovely visit. I. Think my MIL & FIL did the train ride on their visit of Australia a few years ago.

There are quite a few Aboriginal tribes still living in Australia today. The indigenous community seeks to maintain their traditions as best they can.

When you and Jo decide to come to Australia, we'll definitely have to do something that involves the Kitchen Sink for dessert. I know just the ice cream to use.

My DH is quite the bargain shopper where supermarkets are concerned. He tends to do the rounds at Coles, Safeway and Aldi every week to pick up the items on special that we regularly use.

Lovely pics! And I must say that your son has gotten so grown-up!

I'm in denial. I may or may not admit to my son being marginally taller than me. In 6 months time, it will be a totally different story. I suspect by then I won't be in denial...rather delusional.

Yes, he's getting that "fey", out-of-world look that teenagers get when they are stretching.

The scenery looks stunning...very beautiful. Too bad it was so cold!

Jill in CO

It was a bit colder than Melbourne on a cold winter's day. But it was the wind that was the killer. It just blew us around and bit into everything.

It might not snow here but wind chill can be pretty bad.

What a shame about the sunrise. You still got some great photos though

I love the cascades. That's definitely going on the list. I had no idea how rainforesty the Blue Mountains were - I always assumed it was drier bush. It really does seem to be much like the Dandenongs in many ways. Except size

The fauna is definitely more eucalyptus than the tree ferns. It was just around the Leura Cascades where I noticed the tree ferns. But that escarpment you find in the Blue Mountains is NOT the Dandenongs. There definitely are a lot of long drops for waterfalls at the Blue Mountains.

Not on my travels, but we had a number of caves near where I grew up. They were a lot more spacious though. I have never snorkeled through caves either. All my snorkeling has been open water snorkeling.

The Orient Caves are so pretty. I think I would have been fine with those. The scenery is yet again stunning. Dinner looked delicious even if you could not remember where you made the reservation.

Corinna

Welcome back!

I had thought you might have snorkeled some of those open caves in Mexico. Oh well....

I think you would have been fine in the Orient Caves. There was a lot of open cavern to this set of caves.

 

[zanzibar138]

The fauna is definitely more eucalyptus than the tree ferns. It was just around the Leura Cascades where I noticed the tree ferns. But that escarpment you find in the Blue Mountains is NOT the Dandenongs. There definitely are a lot of long drops for waterfalls at the Blue Mountains.

Oh, sounds like my first thought was more accurate then. Maybe a cross between the Dandenongs and the Darling Scarp in WA? Although the Darling Scarp doesn't have any of those massive cliffs either. I guess I'll just have to go and see for myself

 

[Aussie Wendy]

We flew into Sydney. I don't think it was on our route. Or perhaps I missed it?

Now that's why our trips in Aus have never been as expensive because they are mostly road trips not flights and we stay in delux caravan park cabins! Not on your route no.

 

[zanzibar138]

Now that's why our trips in Aus have never been as expensive because they are mostly road trips not flights and we stay in delux caravan park cabins! Not on your route no.

Hmm I still struggle to find caravan park cabins for under $150 a night though And petrol is expensive too!

But you're right, a road trip definitely doesn't have to cost as much

 

[PrincessInOz]

Now that's why our trips in Aus have never been as expensive because they are mostly road trips not flights and we stay in delux caravan park cabins! Not on your route no.

I did price the road trip. It was about $200 cheaper; but DH didn't want to drive and we would have had less time in Blue Mountains and Sydney.