Retired Pimms: the Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains 2nd January 2016

This was a bonus day for us; we had been expecting to go on to Newcastle on Saturday, but Bill and Brenda organised an outing for us all to the lovely mountains 86km west of Sydney.

These are called the blue mountains because the oil from the eucalyptus trees evaporates and fills the air with a blue haze. The area is enormous, with steep sided rock face dropping into the heavily forested valleys below, with similar topography to the grand canyon.

Forest fires are a hazard in the region, since during the very hot weather a lightning strike or a careless match can light the trees with their combustible oils. With a wind behind the flames, a fireball can spread faster than a speeding car.

Bill and Brenda previously lived on a small-holding with a pool, and had volunteered to donate their water during fire fighting procedures. Helicopters scoop water from pools to fight the fires.

Our first stop was for breakfast at Katoomba, quite close to three sisters. These rocky outcrops are quite distinctive, and close to Orphan rock. There are various viewing points across the chasm, and we visited several of these which included pleasant walkways and amazing views.

Our lunch stop was at the Ivanhoe Hotel, with a famous pie shop. The small mountain towns reminded me a a lot of Zimbabwe suburbs, with similar wide roads and plentiful agapanthus. There is a type of protea which is indigenous to the area called a Wareta, and another rather colourful flower called a kangaroo’s paw.

I think we had looked at the trip advisor top ten attractions in and around Sydney, but of course the Blue Mountains are some distance away, but not to be missed if the opportunity arises.

The scenic rides are arranged around the very steep railway down to the old coal mines. At 52’ gradient, the railway is the steepest in the world I believe, and although the town at the bottom was dismantled and taken away after the mines closed, there is a very peaceful and interesting walkway passage through the forest of trees around the old coal mining region.

The trees are mainly eucalyptus, but interspersed with Turpentine trees, which are very hard and straight, and used in harbours since they are so durable. There are wattle, with their distinctive flowers, figs with long vines, and very tall tree ferns.

After taking the walk around the forest floor, we went back up via a cable car, had some coffee before taking the skyway to view the falls.

It was the most amazing day, and we were so fortunate to have friends take us there and to all the lovely viewing spots around the rim of the canyon. There are bus tours that go from Sydney of course, but these go direct to the scenic park and the railway, and miss out places like the Wind Eroded cave.