The Blue Mountains

I visited Katoomba in the Blue Mountains to do a dummy run with my tent gear. All OK but it was a bit cold up there!

With no accommodation booked in advance (which ended up being the norm for me) I grabbed the train from Sydo central and enjoyed the two hour ride up into the mountains. Katoomba was a bit of a hippy dippy sort of place, busy during the day with sightseers like myself walking along the mountain trails, then very empty at night.

For the first day and a half I walked LOADS! Some of the trails are quite long but you also have a lot of walking down into the canopy and then back up. There are cable car and funicular rides for those wanting to enjoy the easy routes! For the final twenty four hours I hired a car to visit an observatory in the evening and then the following day drive to the Jenolan caves.

The blue mountains are named such because of the blue haze that tends to surround them. This is caused by evaporated oil in the air from the thousands of eucalyptus trees in the forest - you can see from the picture the ground is just totally covered by them all.

Waterfalls are all around the mountains and you never have to walk to far to see some.
With trail map to hand it is not too difficult to find your way around, though some of the trail junctions could be better marked. Packed lunch is definitely a great idea around these parts, as is water - I made good use of a flexible water container that I used to take up the NZ slopes with me.

You may be able to see the blue hue just a little bit better here in the distance.
It was quite funny walking around the trails, most people were kitted out with serious walking boots and there was me with my US$15 beach sandals! Oh well. On the left of the tabletop here was the Kingsland observatory, another one which I managed not to see as it was closed that night. From the look of it the set up was literally a small, white dome in the back of someone's garden!

Just to the left of my head are the Three Sisters.
This is one of the main attractions of the mountains, a series of three outcrops from the main cliff edge. Now there is Giants Staircase (841 steps!) leading up from the base all the up to the top of the cliff! Nearer the top you are able to cross a small bridge and walk onto the closest sister - where you can have a bit of a breather!
Aboriginal myth tells how the sisters were formed, but I found at least two different stories!

It was nice getting into a car and driving to the Jenolan caves, there was no other way for me to get there and back in the time I had.
There was still so much more of the blue mountains to see and I managed to glimpse some views while on the road. The countryside alone was worth driving through

The Jenolan caves are a HUGE system with many tours that can be done (nine at least, and they are still exploring). I only had time for the one tour and it was a nice introduction to the limestone system. Above you can see ribbon formations, where water has run across the cave leaving a deposit of calcium carbonate.
On the right is one of the main attractions. Originally it was thought that this piller (formed when stalactite and stalagmites join) was broken by a strong earthquake, but this is now not to be thought true as the caves seem unusually protected against such tremors. Several tour groups have been underground when large tremors have occurred and emerged none the wiser from the ordeal above!

Disposable Camera Pic
There are many caverns to go through, with amazing formations to look at. Many are named, 'alter' & 'cathedral' are two that spring to mind.
The caves play host to hordes of 'micro bats' and we were able to spot some hanging from the ceiling and the odd one flying around!

And the birds dont miss a trick either. Loads of very colourful birdies where prowling about outside the cafe and on the grounds, on the look out for scraps. This cheeky little red number pinched a bit of my sausage sandwich (a bit of a holiday favourite of mine).
You should definitely make a whole day of the caves. Getting there early enough you will be able to pick which of the tours to go on, as there are limited numbers and you would be surprised how quickly they get booked up - watch out for the coaches turning up!

This picture I took at one of the lookout platforms on the mountains. It overlooked one of the largest waterfalls of the region but I found the rock I was standing on fascinating.
Very, very weird the way the rock had been weathered.

	The blue mountains are named such because of the blue haze that tends to surround them. This is caused by evaporated oil in the air from the thousands of eucalyptus trees in the forest - you can see from the picture the ground is just totally covered by them all.
Waterfalls are all around the mountains and you never have to walk to far to see some. With trail map to hand it is not too difficult to find your way around, though some of the trail junctions could be better marked. Packed lunch is definitely a great idea around these parts, as is water - I made good use of a flexible water container that I used to take up the NZ slopes with me.
	You may be able to see the blue hue just a little bit better here in the distance. It was quite funny walking around the trails, most people were kitted out with serious walking boots and there was me with my US$15 beach sandals! Oh well. On the left of the tabletop here was the Kingsland observatory, another one which I managed not to see as it was closed that night. From the look of it the set up was literally a small, white dome in the back of someone's garden!
Just to the left of my head are the Three Sisters. This is one of the main attractions of the mountains, a series of three outcrops from the main cliff edge. Now there is Giants Staircase (841 steps!) leading up from the base all the up to the top of the cliff! Nearer the top you are able to cross a small bridge and walk onto the closest sister - where you can have a bit of a breather! Aboriginal myth tells how the sisters were formed, but I found at least two different stories!
	It was nice getting into a car and driving to the Jenolan caves, there was no other way for me to get there and back in the time I had. There was still so much more of the blue mountains to see and I managed to glimpse some views while on the road. The countryside alone was worth driving through
The Jenolan caves are a HUGE system with many tours that can be done (nine at least, and they are still exploring). I only had time for the one tour and it was a nice introduction to the limestone system. Above you can see ribbon formations, where water has run across the cave leaving a deposit of calcium carbonate. On the right is one of the main attractions. Originally it was thought that this piller (formed when stalactite and stalagmites join) was broken by a strong earthquake, but this is now not to be thought true as the caves seem unusually protected against such tremors. Several tour groups have been underground when large tremors have occurred and emerged none the wiser from the ordeal above!
	There are many caverns to go through, with amazing formations to look at. Many are named, 'alter' & 'cathedral' are two that spring to mind. The caves play host to hordes of 'micro bats' and we were able to spot some hanging from the ceiling and the odd one flying around!
And the birds dont miss a trick either. Loads of very colourful birdies where prowling about outside the cafe and on the grounds, on the look out for scraps. This cheeky little red number pinched a bit of my sausage sandwich (a bit of a holiday favourite of mine). You should definitely make a whole day of the caves. Getting there early enough you will be able to pick which of the tours to go on, as there are limited numbers and you would be surprised how quickly they get booked up - watch out for the coaches turning up!
	This picture I took at one of the lookout platforms on the mountains. It overlooked one of the largest waterfalls of the region but I found the rock I was standing on fascinating. Very, very weird the way the rock had been weathered.