Sydney - The Blue Mountains

Where I stayed at The Blue Mountains is actually in Katoomba, which is about 2 or so hours outside of Sydney. I previously wrote a post on some of the things I experienced during my bushwalking there at - http://dreamjourneytooz.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-blue-mtns-my-senses-in-writing.html . This post will be for some more detailed anecdotes of the trip as well as some pictures of the beautiful scenery.

My Hostel

In Katoomba I bought a bus pass that allows you to hop on and off the company's buses throughout your stay. I had everything planned out for my first excursion - what stop to get off at, what directions to turn, what things I will see, landmarks, etc. When I got on in the morning I told the bus driver, Jimmy, that I wanted to get off at stop 15. Well what I didn't know is that the bus doesn't stop at every stop. He kept mentioning things that I had seen in the guidebook, but wasn't putting stop numbers with them, so naturally, I missed my stop. At stop 17 I went to the front of the bus and told him that I wanted to get off at 15. He had completely forgotten and felt terrible. He dropped me off at stop 18, told me a different route, and told me he would pick me up at stop 17. I smiled politely and thanked him while inside I was a wreck. I got off the bus and walked towards the path with tears in my eyes. I had no idea where I was, didn't know which way to go, and didn't know what I'd be encountering on my walk. I decided, however, that I only have 2 days here and I needed to make the best of it, so I took a moment to collect myself and look at the guidebook and replan. Turned out that I ended up doing my originally planned route, just backwards, so it all worked out in the end. At the end of the day Jimmy gave a big sigh and looked quite relieved that I was there (at stop 14) waiting for the bus. Turns out I gave Jimmy quite a fright when I didn't turn up at stop 17 the first, second, or third time he went by there. I explained to him that once I got started, stop 17 was too soon to stop and before I knew it I was at the valley floor and I just kept going. When I told him the route I had taken he told me he was absolutely shocked that I had covered so much in such a "short" period of time (6 hours).

The Bus

I went to Katoomba alone, so naturally I would be bushwalking alone. The hostel had this neat sign in/sign out sheet for people bushwalking though for you to say where you were going when you left and when you plan to be back so that should something happen they would know when and where to look for you. As soon as I got off the bus and into the trees... slight anxiety set in as I realized just how much land was out there, how I'd be out there alone, and there are no railings along the cliff edges... anything, anything at all could happen... All I could think about were all those episodes of "I Shouldn't Be Alive" that I had watched where people go on trips/excursions and something goes terribly wrong and they almost die. Luckily, while all these awful thoughts ran through my head I had beautiful scenery to counteract them. After quite some time I passed someone walking the opposite direction and at one lookout I could see another lookout and saw people there, so I got over the whole fear of the fact that I might fall over the edge and no one would find me. It's just a weird kind of solitude.

A plus side to traveling/bushwalking alone is that you get to make all the decisions, which is a weird thing to like coming from someone who is so indecisive. I only had to stop when I was hungry or I could push myself through the hunger if I didn't want to stop right then. I only had to stop to rest when I was tired or I could push myself through the pain and fatigue and get to the top/destination faster. I got to do and see what I wanted to do and see when I wanted to do and see it.

In certain areas of The Mountains there are heaps of trees that are bare and pitch black because a year ago some idiot decided to light a match. Australia is a very dry place and because of that when the smallest bit of bush catches fire it spreads and spreads fast. They were going to clear the trees and replant, but they noticed some of them have recently begun sprouting new growths, so they have decided to let the trees do their own thing. There was just something about these black, burnt to a crisp, bare trees in the middle of these lush, gorgeous, full of life mountains...

As soon as I entered the bush I saw a butterfly, a few minutes later, another one. I think by the end of the first day I counted some 22 butterflies that had crossed my path. Constantly seeing them took my mind off the possible horrible tragedies that could occur from me bushwalking alone and kind of made me feel like I wasn't alone. At some point I decided to stand still when I spotted one. It flew over to me and around me and then next thing I know it lands on my backpack. Then I flew and landed on the bottom hem of my shorts and sat there for quite some time. If I wasn't looking I would have had no idea it landed in either spot. There was just something about such a fragile creature being so trusting (if butterflies can trust) that it would land on me, not once, but twice...

During one of my mud puzzles made of stones and sticks over sludge I misjudged and my right foot (closest to the edge) slid over the edge. There was that immediate increase in heart rate and rush of adrenaline as I thought, "Ah crap, here goes the beginning of my 'I Shouldn't Be Alive' episode..." but luckily there was a tree right in front of me straddling the path and the edge that I grabbed onto and steadied myself and then continued on my way with a bit more caution.

I had a bag water bottle with me and took a sip and then set it down on the rocks. There was about 1/4 left. I put all my stuff down next to it to take some pictures. When I was ready to go and my bag was packed back up I swung my backpack onto my back, knocking over my water bottle. No big deal... except that I had left the top popped from my drink earlier and the remaining water spilled out on to the rocks and dried up in seconds. Again, one of those events that occurs in that "I Shouldn't Be Alive" show. Luckily, I was semi-near the road since I was at the top of the cliff by this point and I just so happened to also be semi-near a random cafe. I went in and they gladly gave me 2.5 free drinks of water and refilled my water bottle for me.

On my 2nd full day I accidently left my phone on the bus and I didn't realize until I was already quite far into the mountains. Luckily, when I realized there was an Australian family nearby and the dad let me use his phone to call the bus company. Luckily, my phone was still on the bus and the driver (Bill) held on to it for me and I collected it a couple hours later. It was quite unsettling to be bushwalking with no phone (or watch) though... When I did get my phone back about 2 seconds later I was able to use it to help someone. I had just gotten my phone back when I walked on the bus and overheard the guy that came in after me telling the driver about his missing bag. Turns out he thinks he may have left it at some cafe. Everything of his was in his bag - phone, guidebook, hat, wallet, everything. I offered him my phone to call the cafe, but he said he didn't have their number, so I told him I would look it up. I found the number and called the place for him (because his English wasn't too good) and he told me the details they needed about what his bag looked like and where he had left it. When they said they had it and I told him the change on his face and in his body language was so visible. The relief when I said three words, "They have it". I know that feeling though. I have lost way too many things, some found some not, and that anxiety is the worst. I thought it was neat that when given back what I had "lost" I was then immediately able to use that item to help someone else find something they had lost.

I rode in a massive cable car from the valley floor up to a cliff edge and then rode one across the divide between two cliffs. Both of these offered brilliant views. It's just a shame there were so many people on the cars and windows... those were in the way too.

SkyWay

Look close enough and you'll see the CableWay (from the SkyWay)

Looking through the glass floor of the SkyWay

The main icon of the Blue Mountains is a rock formation called The Three Sisters. It's three rocks standing vertical off the same foundation rock. The cool thing is if you take a short path and then some very steep stairs down a ways you can actually walk across a bridge onto one of the Three Sisters.

If you look close enough you can see the bridge railing between the cliff side and the first of the Three Sisters

During my 2nd full day at the Blue Mountains Sydney hit it's record all time high of 45.7C/114.26F. The day before was quite hot as well - at least 40C. The one good thing about being in the mountains when it is this hot is that if you walk to the valley floor the temperature drops drastically. Believe it or not, there were times when I actually felt chilly at the bottom of the mountain, with all the trees covering overhead, and waterfalls and cascades around. I knew when I was coming up on a waterfall or cascades, even tiny ones, not just from hearing it or from having to create puzzles/paths with sticks and stones to get around the mud, but also from the almost instant change in temperature.

Now that, that was the good part of the mountains when it is that hot. The bad part about the mountains when it is that hot is that my hostel had NO A/C!!! Not just the rooms, even the lounge area and reception area didn't have A/C. It was absolutely miserable. My room had a fan way up on the wall by the ceiling, but it didn't work properly. The air only blew out of the sides of the fan, so I did what any rational person would and sat on top of locker in my shorts and sports bra and played cards for a couple hours because this was the only way to stay cool. Here is a link to my vlog regarding this situation: http://www.dreamjourneytooz.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/im-meeeelllllting-v9.html or you can watch it on YouTube here: http://youtu.be/KBYab4-vr10


Jimmy was the best tour guide / bus driver. He greeted every passenger in their native language, gave great commentary, told really cool stories about past passengers, left the doors open for us so we could get air circulation even though it was illegal, dropped me off twice as close to my hostel as he could even though it wasn't an actual stop, and so much more. On my last day in Katoomba I used the bus service to get to my message because they just so happened to have a stop near the spa. Bill picked me up, but I was so hoping that when I got out that Jimmy's bus would pick me up for the drive to the train station (which was about a 45 minute drive). I got out from my glorious massage (1st ever) and went to the stop. The bus came almost immediately and it was Jimmy!! We chatted most of the way to the train station and he dropped me off closer than he usually does. I made sure to thank him and tell him what an amazing guide he was and how much he added to my Blue Mountains experience. I also gave him a rave review when I went into the company's office (which is at the train station).

When bushwalking you have to make quite a number of decisions about which way you are going to go, when can you rest, how much work you want to do, etc etc. Well, unfortunately I came to a point in my walk that gave me two somewhat equally awful options... Option #1: Walk down some (by some I mean over 300) stairs, along a fairly long path, and then up 1,000 steep steep stairs. Option #2: Walk down some (again, over 300) stairs and then turn around and come back up those same stairs. Or... Option #3 (which in my head wasn't really an option because I wanted to see what was down the stairs) Don't walk down the stairs at all and just continue straight. Well, I went with Option #2. I'm very glad I chose to walk down the stairs as it took me deeper into the valley floor so there were more waterfalls and more lush, rainforest vegetation. When it came time to turn around I had to mentally prepare myself, count myself down, and then go full steam ahead. With just a few short breaks I made it back to the top of those stairs in much less time than I expected. So I then continued on with my journey. I turned the corner to find... more stairs!!! Keep in mind I have already climbed 300+ stairs after 3.5 hours or so of bushwalking (and other stair sets) in 40C+ heat. And these stairs... kept going. I kept telling myself, "Come on. You are almost there. It can't be much higher." At some point I told myself to stop telling myself that because it can ALWAYS get higher. So a little Note to Self: if you walk to the very bottom of the valley floor of a mountain... you WILL have to walk back up... However, when I reached the top of the cliff and realized just how far I had just pushed myself... I couldn't have been any prouder of my determination and perseverance.

And just because, here's a few of my favorites. =]

Sunset on the 1st night