Day One - Sunday 7th July 2013
Manly - Katoomba
After attending an electric ANZ stadium last night with 84,000 crazed Lions and Wallabies fans, the last thing we needed before packing up our little studio apartment in Manly today was a bad night of sleep. However, the fire alarm system in our building has been somewhat sensitive lately and we were woken twice in the wee hours of the night with false alarms.
Elliot and I struggled to get up and feel excited about our drive out to the Blue Mountains when we knew just how much cleaning and packing we had left until the last minute. Clearing out the freezer, I managed to snarf down a brekie of Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey, so the morning wasn't a complete waste.
Elliot is currently sporting a heavily bandaged index finger after losing a battle with a Stanley knife on Friday whilst tinkering with a bike rack, which made loading up the car a difficult process. However, we waved goodbye to Manly in the early afternoon and headed to Woollahra to say our farewells to my auntie and uncle.
With plenty of advice not to swim in crocodile infested waters as we get further north, we headed west out of the city along the M4 to mountain territory. We quickly realised why my step-dad (and fountain of all car related knowledge) had advised us only to drive at dusk when strictly necessary - the sun was blinding and almost completely debilitating. However, it did produce some incredible red and pink skies as it quickly set.
Before we knew it, we were in mountainous terrain, and having to pull over and rummage in backpacks for warmer clothing (even Elliot had to admit defeat and change out of his shorts). We decided that as it was already dark, and we hadn't booked a campsite, we would find a motel for the night and get our bearings.
We pulled into the Heritage Motel on Katoomba Road and were greeted by a very friendly and helpful gentleman who gave us a room for $118 (big brekie included!). The motel is perfect; the heat lamps in the bathroom keep you nice and toasty when you hop out the shower.
We took a look around the town which is full of quirky little shops and restaurants, and picked up a quick bite to eat. Both of us are marvelling at just how quickly we have gone from beach to mountain town, and are finally experiencing some real winter weather in New South Wales.