blue mountains

Hello,

Thank you pauline for recommending the blue mountains!

Sydney itself is an amazing city, but the hostels are all geared around party people. i don't really mind that but i'm not the kind of person that wakes up in the morning wanting to hear dance and party music. that really is the only cds they had, so thats all they played.

Yesterday i took a two hour train ride to Katoomba (i like the name, it sounds like some place in africa) where the blue mountains are located. and the music at the blue mountains youth hostel--jazz and norah jones. the place here has a lot of character and the people say hello in the halls. all the information that i had for the blue mountains was that the "three sisters" were there.

The lady at the reception said that it would probably rain the next day, so it would be a good idea to walk to the three sisters that afternoon. the first walk option she gave me sounded good, so i went with it. now, i'm not sure if she said "900 steps" or if i read it somewhere, or even if it is 900 steps (it should be 900 stairs, steps sounds too easy), but it was tough however many there were. i think if i were to pick, i like going up stairs better than down. going up is painful but controlled with the speed you go. going down didn't hurt at all; the problem was the uncontrollable shaking of my legs (i'm guessing since i don't use those parts of the muscles as often).

So, that was the hard part of the trek. the blue mountains themselves are really cool. imagine the grand canyon but instead of deathly hot and dry, its filled with rainforrests and waterfalls. something about the clay and moisture makes it a perfect place for rainforrest. along the way there was this section that was filled with birds making the strangest sound (at least i'm assuming they were birds, i didn't actually see any of them). the sound that they made was identical to a submarine radar ping, and when it was coming from all around, it was really creepy. at the end of the 5 hour trek was echo point (there is a quicker route from the hostel which takes about 20 minutes...but i didn't go that way), with a lookout on to the "three sisters"--its just three towers of sandstone. i thought the rest of the view was way better. the overcast day made it look like misty blue mountains (is that a lord of the rings thing?).

This afternoon i checked out Katoomba, which didn't take very long. the rest of the day it was crap weather (good thing i walked yesterday) so i lounged on comfy couches, read, and wrote. tomorrow i'm going to the opposite side of sydney--bondi (bon-die) beach. i guess its pretty popular, but i've never heard of it before. then its off to my uncle's house in brisbane on the 15 nov. my dad's there too, so it should be fun. i'm still debating on if i should go to whitsundays (for a 3 day/ 2 night boat cruise) and fraser island (for a 3 day/ 2 night 4wd truck trek on an island). I'd like to, but i think i might be rushing things--since it would take about 4 days to get there and back. i refuse to be the rushed traveller, so i'm thinking it may be better to say "next time" on this one. i figure i'll enjoy brisbane and surrounding area with the family (including thanksgiving!...but they don't cellebrate thanksgiving, since they are austalians.... and they're vegetarians). maybe my dad and i will sneak out for some turkey sandwiches.

have a good day
your friend

chad