She'll be comin' round the mountain

Trip Start Aug 23, 2007

Trip End Jul 17, 2008

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Flag of Australia Katoomba, Australia
Sunday, September 2, 2007

Yikes, I have fallen behind and there is so much to tell. I will begin with my last day in the mountains. It was by far the best day filled with more than I expected. I headed out fairly early on Sunday morning to catch the first bus and discovered one of the perks to travel on the shoulder season: I was the only one on the bus. So, I had the wonderful tour guide to myself and he set me up with a plan for the day.
I began in the Everglades garden which had spectacular views of the sandstone cliffs, but in a surrounding of native plants in full bloom after a sunny spring week. Then after several attempts to find the trail and a minor panic attack when I realized that I was totally unprepared to be lost in the mountains, I ran into a family who had just come from the direction I was headed and they sent me walking. The trail was really a staircase that seemed to go on forever and I just kept thinking that at some point this was going to become an uphill staircase. I reached a beautiful waterfall and lagoon called the Pool of Siloam and began the upwards climb that was rewarded with spectacular view of the Three Sisters and the surrounding cliffs. It was a blustery day with strong wind gusts and the tourists had to hold on tightly to the railings or be blown off the cliff. The hike lasted longer than I expected and I just caught the last bus back to a town called Leura which was not the one I wanted to be at for the afternoon. Managed to catch the train back to Katoomba and rushed down the hill to grab my bag and haul it back up the hill (it's getting better, Diane). Finally, seated on the train I eased in for the relaxing ride home to a nice B&B, or so I thought.