Blue Mountains

Our last major stop before departing Sydney was to spend some time a bit outside the city in an area called the Blue Mountains. Located about a 2 hours drive from Sydney's city center, and just over the border from where the boundary of Sydney actually ends (showing how sprawling Sydney is), the Blue Mountains were named as such for the eucalyptus leaves that give off a blue vapor, reflecting the color of the sky. It covers a huge area, about 11,000 square kilometers and is older than the grand canyon.

John and I were hoping to make an overnight trip out, but we had far too many bags to try and lug around and our friend Joel was getting ready to head to the States so we were on a time crunch. So instead we opted for a rather inexpensive day tour and will head back again after we leave Melbourne, when we tour the east coast, and do some proper hiking on the trails there. 

The day tour was a nice introduction, though. We were picked up early in the morning by a nice guy and spent the next hour and a half or so picking up other people all around the Sydney CDB. 

We were then off finally to the Blue Mountains, stopping for a brief period for morning refreshments and so the tour guides could collect payment. There were 4 buses, all from the same company running that day, but they split the groups up into no more than 22 people so as to keep them small. Our tour guide was a nice guy from Scotland who has lived in Sydney for the last 20 years and knows a good bit about Sydney, but not as much about the Blue Mountains it seemed. Whenever we stopped somewhere with one of the other groups, the other tour guide knew all this factual history about the place and so our guy took advantage by just having us listen to him. Mostly out gave us a lot of information about property values in the Blue Mountain towns--not really that useful for John and myself.

The first place we stopped was a really great lookout point where you got a great view over the Blue Mountain valley. It's technically known as a dissected plateau, and like the Grand Canyon, there are valley's and plateaus that make up the whole thing. 

The next stop was this cool skyline ride over the valley that led to a big visitors center and forest walk on the other side of the valley. So we loaded up in this cable car and headed across the valley--I was able to get some video.

 There is a famous rock formation there called the Thee Sisters, it looks like three pinnacles really, and we got a great view of it.

The next part was a little ride that they have there that is actually the world's steepest railway car, and it was originally used to bring coal up from the valley of the Blue Mountains. They still have an abundance of coal but use more modern techniques to extract it from the Blue Mountains. The ride was pretty cool and definitely quite steep, and it took you to the bottom where you could learn about the flora and fauna of the Blue Mountains wall following a boardwalk path. 

Next stop after that was lunch, in a small town called Leura. There weren't very many dining options and there was one place where if you mentioned you were with the tour group you got a 10% discount, so after walking through the small streets and seeing there weren't many other feasible options, we went back to the place even though it was quite full as most of the tour group decided to stop there. 

The next stop was a short walk down to a lookout over a waterfall. It was very short and mostly steps and took all of 5 minutes. We got down there and once again it was a nice view, though we saw better waterfalls in New Zealand. It's called Wentworth falls and is apparently kinda famous in Australia as it's named after some important historical figure in Australia named William Wentworth. The other guy, once again, told us the story of it's history. 

The last stop on the trip was as we were heading back into Sydney proper. We stopped along the way as the other tour guide new of a great original aboriginal carving site that he discovered a year ago while doing some mountain biking in the area. It was a bit out of the way, but wasn't too far off of the road. It was kinda cool as it was a carving of a kangaroo into the stone. Below the rock jutted up and out to make an overhang over the ground below, crating a small cave. The roof of it was covered in black carbon from fires that were burned by aboriginal thousands of years before. 

In relation to Kangaroos, the very last stop of the trip was trying to let us see some Kangaroos in the wild. We saw some in a few very rural areas behind fenced in land, so we couldn't get much closer--though we could see them hopping around in the distance. Finally we got to an area where all the other buses had stopped and we could see them all in a huge group taking pictures of kangaroos hopping around right next to the highway. It was a bit of a sketchy place to stop as it was a bridge and major roadway, so there were cars flying in both directions. The people from the bus on our side of the road walked underneath the bridge to get a view of their kangaroos. We, luckily, found a few hoping around on our side and everyone quickly hopped out to snap some pictures--while getting honked at because we did look like a bunch of crazy tourists. One of the guides headed back through the woods and was going to try and chase them towards us so we could get a better view, but unfortunately they ran the other direction before we could get any good photos. Bummer. Oh well, we will see heaps when we get to Queensland eventually. 

The tour ended when they dropped us of at the ferry dock and we took an evening cruise down the Paramatta river back to Sydney. It was included in the price of the tour and was a nice touch and a good way to end the day, as it was such great weather (and also very hot). 

We got back to Sydney's Circular Quay and headed on a bus back to Joel's place just in time for dinner. It was time to start preparing our trip down to Melbourne!

Surfs Up!

Of the long list of things I would like to do that I have never done, I can now check surfing off the list!

John and I planned to spend the day at one of the other big beaches near Sydney--Manly Beach, a popular ferry and destination--as it's on the ocean side and further out on one of the peninsulas that creates Sydney harbor. 

The ferry, especially for a Sunday, was packed full of beach-goers. We got there and meandered around the main strip before stopping at a popular fish n' chips place for lunch. As we walked through the ferry station there was a gelatto place handing out a coupon for buy one get one free! We had also found a deal in a Sydney guide for $10 off surf lessons, and the Manly Surf School offered two hour lessons for $60 per person (or only $50 for us). We figured while we were in Australia, we might as well give it a go! It was actually quite fun and there were a few instructors to help everyone out. We got there early so we managed to snag bigger boards to make it easier for us to surf. 

The only downside was that it was a class of about 20 people, all beginners, and all within a very small area trying to learn to surf. It got frustrating when people would get smack dab in your way, or lose control of their surfboard so that it flew up in the air and landed right on it's edge right on your hand. It happened to me and it hurt! Surfboards are not light. 

We started out on the small surf in the beginning, which was a good place to start, before they took us out through the rip and out the back to catch the real waves. It was very tiring trying to paddle all the way out there! I now know why surfers are in such great shape! At one point, after my first short-lived ride in the deep water (and a large mouthful of salt water) I was battling to get over the breaking waves and get back to the rest of the group. Despite going out through the rip so it would make it easier, I was simply too fatigued to make it over the waves that broke closer to the shore. The instructors showed us how to get over them--mainly by trying to move the board up and over the back--but I was getting battered! Thankfully, a nice local guy saw that I was majorly struggling and took my board and helped me get through! He had to help me twice, as the first time I just got pushed back by another huge wave. But thankfully, I made it back in time for one last ride!

I would love to try it again in the future, as heaps of companies offer surf schools, some over several days, and in much smaller groups. 

But still, with the help of the instructors John and I managed to get up a few times and ride for a bit. It was quite exciting when you actually got it!  Once, I almost got all the way back to the beach until a girl ran into me. Same happened to John as well. There was a small group of girls there who were a bit precious, wearing makeup and pearl earrings and they weren't very keen on trying very hard--or staying out of the way. Unfortunately, I didn't get any video or pictures of the action, but I got a post shot!

And the best part--despite the jellyfish warning we didn't get stung or bitten by a shark! I call that a success. 

A Day at the Zoo

The day after our beach adventure, John and I decided to take further advantage of the nice weather with a trip to the zoo! One of the nice things about some of attractions around Syndey is that they require a cheap harbor ferry to get there. So, instead of paying for a more expensive harbour cruise, you just hop on a ferry and get your own little tour. As we pulled out of Circular Quay, we passed right by the Sydney Opera House.

We got there and were able to take a nice gondola ride up to the zoo entrance, rather than walking up hill the whole way. It was nice to see it from up above, and it was actually quite large!

It wasn't too crowded, considering the fact that it was a nice Saturday afternoon. There were a fair bit of young children running around, though. It was also a bit of a touristy thing to do but it had plenty of animals that you don't get to see in any zoo in the U.S., so for us it was worth a visit.

We got to see Koalas, which used to be my favorite animal when I was younger. In fact, what they call "Koala cuddling" or basically getting to hold one, is one of the things that I REALLY want to do while we are here. Apparently they outlawed it in New South Wales (the state that Sydney is in) a few years back, but you can still do it in Queensland. 

We also got to see Kangaroos and Wallabies. As we were walking through their exhibit--which was pretty much an open space with just a pathway through it and a big wall surrounding it, there was a zoo keeper there feeding a wallaby and letting people pet it. Everyone was hovering around it and I felt kinda bad for the thing, so I just got a quick picture and got out of the way. 

We also saw some other native Australian animals--a platypus, wombat, and a cassowary--which is a type of big native bird. 

We also saw some other cool animals not necessarily native to Australia--like meerkats and a Komodo dragon. 

We also saw the Fierce snake, which is the world's most venomous land snake! It was surprisingly active--slithering around it's exhibit and it was troublesomely plain looking--it was just tan and blended in with the dirt. I think the general rule in Australia is to avoid any and all snakes at all costs. 

But anywho, we had a nice mosey through the zoo. At one point John and I ran into a peacock that was having a fight with it's reflection on the side of a mirror-covered building! It was kinda funny, John got some video:

Overall it was a day well spent, as it actually gave you a great view of Sydney harbor. The giraffes having one of the best views in the place!

Now, I just hope to be able to see some of these animals in the wild at some point!