Easter in Sydney, Part 2

Having five days in Sydney allowed us enough time to explore the town while also having time to get out of town and see some of the surrounding area. For Saturday we planned to catch an early train out to Katoomba to see the Three Sisters, one of the more famous rock formations of the Blue Mountains. With the late evening with Nicole, we ended up sleeping through our wake-up call and ended up on a train an hour after our planned departure. We were able to grab a quick bite to eat in the train station and then away we went. The weather forecast was not very pleasant for the day, with scattered showers and clouds the entire day. Not having traveled by train much it was a nice way to see the countryside without the hassle of having to drive or follow a map. We arrived in Katoomba on schedule and started the day by walking through town to Echo Point check out the rock formations. We picked up some pre-made sandwiches and crisps for lunch, packed them in our camera bag, and were off to explore the trails around the Three Sisters.

The views from the lookout were amazing, but we wanted more adventure and decided to take a hike down to the bottom of the valley, around past some waterfalls and then back to the top. The way down was called The Giant Steps and they definately lived up to their name. Almost straight down the side of the cliffs with not much room to maneuver. Many fewer people were taking the hike than were on top at the lookout but it still seemed pretty busy when you are trying hard to not slip and end up a lot farther down than you wanted! Eventually we made it to the bottom and began our hike through the forest. Generally it was a very pleasant hike - not much uphill, not much downhill. After the Bridge Climb and town-exploring on Friday, followed by the Giant Steps already that morning, our legs really needed the break. Apparently we're not in as good of shape as we might hope! The solitude of the old gum trees on the valley floor was only disturbed by some horrendously loud and obnoxious kids that refused to stop screaming at each other - it put a damper on things but luckily we went one way and they went the other. A nice reminder that it isn't always the American Tourists causing all the problems.

We stopped for lunch in Leura Forest - an old rest depot on an abandoned rail line that once ran in the area. The rain had given us a break and so we ate and relaxed under the trees, preparing ourselves for the hike back up to the top of the hill. A few folks came walking past and gave us some hope that it would be a more scenic and less intimidating climb going up a different way instead of back up the Giant Steps. We pried ourselves off the picnic table and continued down the trail towards some waterfalls and Fern Bower (apparently the name of the path to the top, but we never saw any other story or details for background). We stopped a couple times on the way up to take pictures of the pleasant waterfalls - the amount of water in New South Wales was really astounding as compared to Victoria. Gardens were green, the Blue Mountains were lush and there was even water in all the falls - an amazing feat given the drought. With more than a little sweat we found ourselves at the top and after taking some celebratory pictures it was back on the trail to the original lookout - hoping to catch a glimpse of the Three Sisters with some sunshine instead of clouds. Folks may remember our trip to the Healsville Sanctuary in January where we saw all sorts of birds in enclosures and aviaries. While on our hike we actually saw a wild Lyrebird! Several signs had said that they were in the area, however we didn't really expect to see one. Josh tried to take its picture many many times but only a few could focus on the very quick and well camoflaged bird. This began our day of 'Wild Bird Bingo,' inspired by Kronk on The Emperor's New Groove. We made it back to the lookout just in time for the sun to illuminate the rocks beautifully and, you might not have expected it, but we took a couple pictures ;-)

Our 'Bingo' continued once we left the lookout in search of supper and a place to wait out more showers. The Sulfur Cockatoo's were out and having dinner as well on top of a pine tree along the main street. The cockatoo moms sure could have taken some lessons from our parents as all the birds were chewing with their mouths open and making all sorts of a mess along the sidewalk and street. Not to mention the noise of five or six birds all chomping on pine cones in the same tree at the same time! Not much farther along the road and our gamepiece continued to fill as we saw a Cookaburra on an old TV antennae on someones roof. He seemed comfortable but the rain was back and so we were on our way again. There is a technical term for how much it rained that day, however due to the broad demographic of this blog's readership I'm not at libery to share. Perhaps in the future when some of you come visit I can explain better - or for those of you that have explored the U.K., I would imagine you've got a pretty good idea. Once the rain decided to slow a bit we headed on and explored some of the shops in Katoomba - mainly used bookstores and antiques but some outdoor outfitters and hardware shops as well. For dinner we found a small local Italian place (Papadinos) and enjoyed lasagna, a wonderful Minstrone soup to start, and some garlic bread to munch inbetween. The place was packed and the food was excellent, just what we needed after a long day walking and soaking. We timed dinner perfectly and finished with 15 minutes to spare before the next train back to Sydney arrived. The train was yet again a soothing way to travel and we were able to sleep a bit on the way back to the hotel. A great day exploring but glad to be at the hotel and not in a tent in the wet!