Good ol' blue

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Trip Start Apr 18, 2011 Previous
Entry Trip End Dec 09, 2011 Next
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  Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia
Monday, July 18, 2011

Deciding against the $60 guided tour from Sydney to the Blue Mountains, I go for the inexplicably cheap $15 do-it-yourself return trip. Considering the destination of Katoomba is a 2 hour train ride away, I feel like I'm getting a bit of a bargain.

An early start, the hostel kitchen isn't open yet, the supermarket is still closed and the I feel like the troop of prostitutes have only recently departed the still warm pavement of King's Cross.

Looks like a bacon and egg McMuffin from 24hr McDonalds is the only option.

I share the double-decker train carriage with a couple of other backpackers, but the majority of passengers are of the older generation. I'm not exactly off to a discotheque so I let it slide.

After the spectacles of New Zealand, Niagara Falls and my personal favourite The Grand Canyon, I wonder whether The Blue Mountains can compete. After a fairly lengthy walk from the train station I eventually get up to the main viewing deck. I am not disappointed.

Once again I'll let the pictures do the talking, unfortunately there are no daring press-ups this time at the request of several worried family members.

The itinerary for the day goes: Echo Point, Giant Stairway down to The Three Sisters, along the Federal Pass, and then up the Furber Stairs and back along the Prince Henry Cliff Walk. Sorry to bore you with that but I just wanted everyone to know how far I walked.

It's a nice trek and my personal highlight comes from a waterfall that looks like a face- no, not your typical Jesus or Satan depiction but instead Donkey Kong in limestone - check it out.

Pleasantly surprised by yet another national park I return back to Sydney for the night- tomorrow I head out to Canberra on my first Greyhound bus since Canada. I've not heard great things about the city but being the capital of Australia I feel like it's a bit of a must-see.

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Post your own travel photos for friends and family More Pictures

Katoomba train station	God the koalas are big over here	The three sisters	A large valley
some more of the Blue Mountains	The Three sisters again	Echo point	Bleedin' stairs
On the valley floor	Waterfall	More rainforest	Another nice waterfall
Cable car	The Three Sisters from a little further away	More waterfalls	Donkey Kong waterfall
Blue Mountains National Park	Me	Cable car again	Shopping trolley pushed off the edge

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