MacsTravel Blog

“We’re not in Collingwood anymore!”

With apologies to “The Wizard of Oz”

We landed in Sydney after a three hour flight from The Red Center to find the city in the grips of a wicked heat wave, recording its hottest temperatures in more than two years. Ian greeted us at the airport and shepherded us and our luggage to the car. With over 40 fires burning in various areas of the state we were looking forward to a few days in the relative cool of the Blue Mountains.

As I assume is the case for many of you non-Australians I was not all that familiar with the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. Ian and Sarah settled here with their kids Connor and Lexi and various pets over twelve years ago and we were keen to check out this area they now call home.

Ian took us out of the city and into the hills to Glenbrook, a little community in the Lower Blue Mountains about an hour from the city centre. With excellent train and highway access this area is a popular bedroom community without the “suburbia” feel of many Canadian cities. We had a wonderful evening catching up by the pool with the banshee calls of the local flock of cockatoos ringing from the trees.

The next day the house emptied early: Sarah to her teaching job, Connor to his flight program and Lexi to her part time job at Scenic World (more on this later).

Ian suggested a ridge hike in the Blue Mountains National Park near Leura followed by a visit to see Lexi in action at Scenic World in Katoomba. Although there was a welcome breeze and we were no where near Sydney temperatures it was still well into the 30s so we slathered on the sunscreen, filled the water bottles and headed out before the day got too warm.

The Blue Mountains get their name from the distinctive blue haze that drapes over them which is particularly visible from the lookouts as you gaze into the distance. The haze is the product of evaporating oils from the eucalyptus (or gum) trees.

The next stop was Scenic World in Katoomba. If you Google “Things to Do in Sydney”, tours in The Blue Mountains will pop up and this is the most accessible and popular one. Right on the edge of the National Park, Scenic World sits on the site of a former coal mine.

The landscape is absolutely stunning with views of the landmark Three Sisters, long views down the valley over the bush forests, access to the valley floor and the temperate rain forest that hugs the cliffs… there is lots to see. The trail infrastructure is accessible and there are lookouts everywhere. Pete observed that our entire trip has been essentially moving from one lookout to the next: he’s not far off.

Scenic World also boasts three distinct methods of descending into, ascending and crossing the valley all of which are operated by drivers, which is a part time job for both Connor and Lexi: the world’s steepest railway, which is the best way to descend down into the valley, a cable car for the return and the “skyway” car to go across the valley. Lexi was driving both the train and the skyway cable when we took them: we enjoyed her smooth commentary!

Tuesday was noticeably cooler with a nice breeze and temperatures in the high 20’s. Ian suggested that we go to Wentworth Falls, promising a trail with fabulous waterfall views. We explored part of the National Pass, a 110 year old 100 m descent carved into the cliff side. If you zoom in on the rock face below you can make out people in this trail. It was something else.

We walked just under 5km but it took about two hours with a break at the bottom and rests as we climbed back up. Below you will get a sense of the pass as well as the incredible views.

This was our last full day in Glenbrook and The Blue Mountains. Yet another fabulous Aussie evening with great food (including vegemite and pork sausages!) and great friends.

Tomorrow Sydney, and our final three days in Australia!