Foggy Blue Mountains

Day 31 - Katoomba

We woke this morning to a big fog - the type where you can't see more than a couple of metres in front of you. Here's the view from Echo Point, where normally you can see the Three Sisters and right across the mountains...

This of course meant trying to see any of the scenery at the Blue Mountains was not an option today.  Luckily, we had another alternative up our sleeves...the Jenolan Caves.  Doesn't matter what the fog is doing down there.  We were looking forward to this adventure since we missed our previous attempt at seeing some caves...

There are several caves to explore at Jenolan and we decided to go with the most popular - Lucas Cave.  It was truly spectacular, and very interesting.  The caves are formed from limestone so we saw a lot of stalagtites (holding on 'tite' from the ceiling) and stalagmites (they 'mite' reach the top)...

There was also a broken column, where the 'mite' had reached the 'tite', but then a landslide caused the column to break...

Our tour guide was Scott who was very patient with the kids and some of their questions.  Stewie had the question of the day, or rather, it was more of a statement than a question.  When asked if they had anything they would like to ask, he piped up and said "I love my Mum and Dad".  That's our boy!

One of the most exciting things we saw (according to the kids) was a wombat skeleton...

Over the years, many animals have found their way into the cave and then been unable to get out.  As a result, there were lots of skeletons left.  Unfortunately, most of them were taken before the caves were protected.  This wombat skeleton was actually bought in to give an example of what happened.

When we emerged from the caves and headed back to Katoomba, there was still fog around and no sign of it lifting.  So we just hung around the caravan together.


Day 32  Blue Mountains

Another day of fog confronted us and the temperature was a little cooler.  I think I may have underpacked the warm clothes!

So with no views to see again, it was time to have a train ride on the Zig Zag Railway at nearby Lithgow.  The railway was built in the 1860's and now is only in operation as a tourist attraction.  Here's a little bit of information...(click on the photo for an enlargement)...

Everyone was very excited about this ride as we were riding in an original, old fashioned steam engine...

Here's the big black 'steamie'...

It was run on coal and we had to take on water halfway through the trip.  There were over 200 people on the train, but only our kids got to have a ride up the front as well.  They got to feel the heat of the steam fire, watch the coal being shoveled into the boiler and hear the noise of the engine (Maggie found it a little too noisy)...

The train wound its way down the mountain and we got to ride over some viaducts...

After the ride, we had a quick bite to eat in Lithgow and headed back to Katoomba.  Finally the fog had lifted enough to see something, so we went to a lookout within walking distance from our van park.  This gave a great view of Katoomba Falls.  Maggie explored the top of the falls...

 

and we could finally see The Three Sisters...

Day 33  Katoomba to Sydney

Finally we woke to a clear and beautiful day in the Blue Mountains.  This was our chance to visit the Scenic Railway and really take in the spectacular views of the area before heading to Sydney.

We visited Scenic World where you can do three different rides - Skyway (in the background of the picture above), Cableway and Railway.  They all give a different perspective and view so we decided to all three.

The first was the Skyway which takes you across the gorge and gives a view of the Katoomba Falls not only through the windows, but also through a clear floor (a bit freaky for those who don't like heights).  We gave the Skyway the thumbs up...

 

When we arrived on the other side of the gorge, there was a walk around the side of the mountains to Echo Point.  This point provides the best and closest view of the Three Sisters (we discovered our camera was out of battery on the Skyway so we didn't get any close up photos).

Once we walked back around to Scenic World, it was time for the Railway (and we quickly got my mobile which has a back up camera).  It's only a very short track and very steep...

 

 

and we had to sit in little cages and hold on tight...

From the railway there was a rainforest walk which weaved past the old Katoomba coal mine that used to operate in this area...

At the bottom of the walk we caught the cableway back to the top which gave another perspective of the mountains...

 

 

Now we'd finally seen the Blue Mountains in all its glory it was time to leave and head for Sydney.  On the way we had a few detours to make, one was to visit the Lewers Bequest (yes, it involves relations) at Emu Plains...

Gerald and Margo Lewers (great uncle and aunt) were renowned Australian artists who used to live in this area and on their passing, their children donated the house and property to the Penrith City Council "to create a centre of excellence for the presentation and appreciation of art for the community".  Gerald was a sculptor and one of my favourite pieces is his pelicans...

 

 

Next stop was Jayco to get a new bathroom hatch - the other went missing somewhere.  Still not sure where??  From here, we headed to Narrabeen and our home for the next 10 days.

We arrived, set up, then quickly had a look at the beach and lake before it got to dark.  We're very happy with the location and look forward to our time in Sydney.  

 

The final excitement for the day was Sissy (my sister) arriving from Melbourne to spend some time with us over Easter.  My cousin Anna (who I haven't seen for 15 plus years) met her at the airport and bought her to us.  It was wonderful to see them both and catch up, but there will be more of that during our time in Sydney.  More on that next time.