Blue Mountains:: Week 3

yes, the mountains are really blue!!

our trip there was rather unexpected. it was supposed to rain during the weekend, but some gorgeous weather turned up later in the day on saturday and pushed our decision the good way.

the mountains are about 100km north-west of sydney, located in the australian-indian preserve area and therefore have indian names:: australian-indian names. (yeah, surprise surprise: the aborigins even here are called indians.) we got to a place called ::katoomba:: which is sort of the center of the forest. (by the way, the name sounds really cool when you say it out loud.. katooomba.. hehe.)

after finding out about what to see and do there, we got a map from the visitor's center and headed for the katoomba (hehe) waterfalls. we started at the top of the falls (katoomba cascades) and went down to the bottom. it was a pretty steep 1.5 hr hike down, but the views on the way, and down at the waterbed, were pretty good. here, see this to get a glimpse.

we then took a hike along the cliff to reach the three sisters, one of the famous attractions in katoomba. it is a tripple rock formation in .. eh! i think this picture will explain it to you better.



the thing that got us wondering was the fact that the rock was actually blue. a collegue later on told us why:: the mountains are filled with eucalyptus trees, and the eucalyptus oil from these trees forms layers on the rock by oxidizing itself (using water vapour), thereby making it blue. and more beautiful!!

we hiked down to the mini-orifice in one of the sisters, and it reminded me of a ride in six flags. the sheer vertical drop of the cliff accentuated my acrophobia, but like the ride, it was well worth it.

we did a little bit more hiking and wanted to get to leura cascades, but unfortunately, the light gave in and we had to change our plans. oh well, there is so much there that we didn't do:: we'll probably go back once more in the coming months.