Katoomba and The Blue Mountains 2009

1.01.2009 – 12.01.2009

Katoomba is in the heart of the Blue Mountains (BM) and we decided to take a 2 day trip up there to witness the jaw dropping spectacles of the canyons, amazing scenery, fantastic bush walks, beautiful waterfalls and a few adventure activities. The BM takes their names 33 sistersfrom the slate coloured haze from the fine mist of the eucalyptus trees that cover the vast majority of the range. Katoomba and the sandstone plates are just 65km from the heart of Sydney, so we hopped on a bus early Sunday morning and within 1 1/2 hours wewere in the foothills. We started on the our first bush tour to Wentworth Falls which is a massive gorge (approx 1000 or more steps) which leads down to a massive waterfall at the bottom. The walk down was a breeze taking in some spectacular scenery and views, the walk back was painful on the calves! The walk took most of the morning and when we got back to the top we were greeted with lots of water and a light lunch. After lunch we then embarked on our second trek of the day which took in one of the BM most famous spectacles – the 3 Sisters. Aboriginal legend has it that the three huge rocks formation were once three beautiful sisters named “Meehni”, “Wimlah” and “Gunnedoo” from the Katoomba tribe.

GOR3The three sisters fell in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe but their tribal laws forbade their marriage. The three brothers did not accept this law and tried to capture the three sisters by force. This caused a major tribal battle and the lives of the three sisters were thus threatened. A witchdoctor decided to turn the sisters into rocks in order to protect them and thought to reverse the spell only after the battle. Unfortunately, he was killed in the battle and the three sisters remained as the enormous and beautiful rock formations until today. The magnificent formation stands at 922m, 918m, and 906m respectively.

We then headed back to hostel in Katoomba where we were to stay that night before embarking on our adventure activities the next day. We decided to put ourselves out there and do some abseiling and canynoning with a recommended tour guide. The abseiling in the morning was set in some stunning scenery and we embarked on a 5m drop beforeBM then hitting the dizzy heights of 15 and 30 m drops. the 30 drop was pretty much a free fall from 20 meters to the floor. The afternoon was a canyoning trek which took us through the open-air playground that is Empress Falls where we swam, climbed, fell and scampered over rocks and rivers, all the while admiring the surrounding beauty. The final 30-meter abseil, through a waterfall and then dropping down in a refreshing green-water pool.

3 sistersThis new activity of Canyoning which was new to my until this day was a sure way to get the adrenalin pumping and a great way of exploring the local forests. After drying off and climbing back up to the bus we then had to get back toSydney to check into the hostel and say our goodbyes. Firstly however we had a last $10 steak and a few beers before i prepared myself for my next adventure – Surf Camp – 5 days of surfing from Sydney to Byron Bay. People had told me it was good, but it was even better!!

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