Day 19: Blue Mountains

Today was a whirlwind of tourist activity!

We woke up very early to catch the first ferry of the day to Circular Quay, to catch a bus to the bus terminal, to catch another bus to the Blue Mountains (all went smoothly).

Our first stop en route to the Blue Mountains (100km from Sydney) was a quick visit with the critters of the Featherdale Wildlife Park.  This was another animal sanctuary that shelters only Australian critters, so, not only did we get up close to koalas and kangaroos (including some with joeys in pouches), but we also got to see some penguins, wombats, and, a crocodile.

We arrived in the Blue Mountains in time for lunch.  Our driver gave us an hour at Echo Point, close to the Three Sisters rock formation, to grab a bite.  We also managed to catch an Aboriginal demonstration at the Koomurri Aboriginal Centre where we were shown various tools used for everyday life and hunting.  The presentation included a didgeridoo performance which was quite entertaining and impressive.  By the way, didgeridoo is not its real name – there are many; all of which translate to “hollow log”, but not “didgeridoo”, which was Darwin’s nomenclature based on the sound he heard.  Before we had to run, we were fortunate to catch a glimpse of a traditional dance too.

Our driver dropped us off down the road to commence our Scenic World experience.  We boarded the Scenic Skyway which transported us 270m above the Jasmison Valley across to the Scenic Railway.  The railway, the steepest in the world, dropped us to the valley floor where we had a quick walk along the boardwalk to observe the rainforest and coal mine exhibitions.  Then we ascended the Scenic Cableway back up to the bus.



Our next destination was in the quaint mountain village of Leura, where we had a minute to buy some chocolate.



Back in Sydney, our driver took us past Homebush Bay, the 2000 Olympic Games site, for a drive-by of the Stadiums and facilities.



The bus tour culminated with a delightful evening cruise on the Parramatta River with commentary back to Sydney Harbour and Circular Quay.



Our touring completed for the day, we ate dinner in The Rocks, browsed in a book store, and then headed back to our jetty to turn in.

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