Blue Mountains!

Hi there! I'm back and ready to launch a new entry here. I just made my second official road trip whilst in Australia. Could not have been a better one really. I had wanted to visit the legendary Blue Mountains for a long time and when the guys told me they were planning on renting a car and going there, I was certainly more than down for that.

The closest I could compare these misty "mountains" to is the Grand Canyon, but maybe that would be a bit far fetched. Anyways, not all people know about this attraction and it's only an hour away from Sydney CBD! Actually, they're not really even mountains, but highlands that have been formed by erosion over thousands of years.

We took off early in the morning and made our way past a town of Glenbrook. Our first stop was right after that as we wanted to visit a nature reserve with the intention of spotting some Kangaroos. At first it didn't look too good as it was getting hotter and we were told that the best time to see some animals would be either early in the morning or right before dawn. We were already on our way back to the main road as we saw some people pointing at the bushes. There they were..."ROOS" as the aussies call them. It did not take long until we all were in position snapping pictures like crazy. It was surprising to me how close these hopping animals would let us come until they moved further.

After the fulfilling experience of seeing wild Kangaroos, we made our way to the first scenic lookout at a place called Wentworth Falls. The first sight was simply stunning. They don't call them Blue Mountains for nothing. There is this mist hovering over the highlands and the cliffs giving the area a blueish look. The whole area is covered by a thick forest that almost looks like a soft green carpet. We went down the trails and accidently chose the longest bushwalk we could find that certainly did not lead us to the same place we started from (and where the car was)...hence the word: "Wentworth Scandal". Doesn't sound too bad but after hiking up and down those trails for 2 hours we were all more all less pissed off and soaked.

Last stop: The Three Sisters at Echo Point near a city of Katoomba. A bit further into the mountains lies perhaps its most known and famous attraction. There is an Aboriginal myth behind these cliffs but check out the pictures and the captions to learn more about that.

Tired by the hiking, we decided to head back into the city. It was also time to switch drivers and so I got my first experience in driving on the left hand side of the road. I must admit the first 20 minutes were challenging. You sit on the "wrong" side and what often happens is that you drive too far in the left without really noticing it. I was lucky not to take out the side view mirrors of the parked cars on my left. Also, every time I wanted to signal for a turn, I turned on the windshield wipers. Nice going. After a while it started going ok and I even found a parking spot in the city so I was pleased with the overall performance...

Looking forward to my next road trip...will probably be to the vineyards of the famous Hunter Valley. Before that, there is an F1 Grand Prix in Melbourne next weekend and a WC 2010 qualifying game between Australia and Uzbekistan. Also, FINALLY I will have my broadband up and running tomorrow. OK, I think I should finish this entry before it gets too large. I'll try to write a short entry about other things before I head to Melbourne. Check out the new photo album and keep those cheerful messages coming.

RGDS.