Monday, May 07, 2007

Australia - Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains

After spending another few days sightseeing around Melbourne it was time to hit the road again. On Monday 30th April I got a bus ticket and took the night bus to Sydney, a journey of 12 hours. Arriving in Sydney central in the early hours I waited around for the Thai embassy to open in order to get my visa processed. I left my passport there as it takes a few days and made my way back to the train station. Destination Katoomba and the Blue Mountains, 2 hours inland. Katoomba is a nice quiet place and just the ticket to relax. It is situated on top of a plateau, so strangely all the walks start going downhill into the valleys below, via steep steps cut into the cliff face. I went on a few day hikes and saw the "Three Sisters", a famous rock formation that everyones goes there to see. Unfortunately on the second day my knee gave way and I had to hobble back to base after several hours. I limped most of the way back to Katoomba and in a momentary lapse of concentration I fell down over some loose rocks, cutting and bruising my arms and legs. A bit shaken and fed up at that stage... Spent the remainder of the time there resting up and letting the knee heal. Took a train back into Sydney on Friday lunchtime to check out the city for a long weekend...