Blue Mountains, Australia March 16, 2000
Australia's Blue Mountains sit about an hour and a half west of Sydney. City residents often head up there for a week-end getaway, and we decided to see what the mountains are like (in the ever-present, especially for us, rain). The road up to the mountain top wends its way through numerous small towns dotted along a rail line.; many people commute into Sydney. The drive up was a bit hectic, given the traffic, especailly getting out of Sydney. Not very special.
Eventually 
we
got to the top of mountains (at about 3,400 ft) and discovered that all the great scenery is at the
bottom! Or rather,
that this is Australia's Grand Canyon National Park. There are many scenic
overlooks
to check out and, naturally, as it was raining the numerous waterfalls were at their most
gushing. Still, my desire to hike definitely diminishes as the visibility
decreases. The rain did let up occasionally, making the sights quite
spectacular, complete with clouds, fog and mist.
The trails in the Blue Mountains vary in length and difficulty; many descend part or all the way to the canyon's base. A few meander along the ridgeline but most go down, down, down, often hugging narrow ledges built into bare rock. (Of course once at the bottom of these great hikes, it's up, up, up again.) Talk about getting sweaty: these hikes are not for the faint of heart. If you lived here you wouldn't need a Stairmaster. For example, we took an uneven, bumpy trail part way into the valley. Aside from the traverses, it included over a thousand uneven man-made steps, varying in height from 2 to 15 inches. When we finally arrived at a fine-looking multi-tiered waterfall that cascaded down into the tree-canopied rain forest (now only a thousand vertical feet down), we figured it was time for us to start back up.
A fun hike we 
recommend
goes from the top to
the bottom of the Zigzag railway. Interestingly, this train route was designed
to minimize the amount of track required to traverse a rather steep hill.
At the midway point, the train's engine is moved from
the front of the cars to the back. Then the train continues -- upwards
and backwards. We timed the 45 minute hike so we'd have plenty of time
to catch the steam train at the bottom. Unfortunately, we got lost.
(Dick failed to look closely at the clearly marked sign post.) So after
some back tracking, we set off again with just enough time to catch the train,
if we got there in 40 minutes. The hike was interesting enough; it traversed a eucalyptus forest, a
scrub brush area and then there were some hundred feet or so of rather steep rocks. The trail on
the rocks was actually poorly marked, although occasionally there'd be some wooden or
metal steps to let you know you were still on track.
As we approached the bottom we could hear the train whistle blowing. Later, we could see the train station, and it looked like the train was getting ready to leave. We rushed and hurried along the slippery rock path, which maddeningly seem to lead away from the station. We were moving at a healthy clip when we finally ran across the tracks. And there we were: made it just in time. Or rather, there we were 20 minutes early! Another misstep, yours truly had misread the train schedule. So we got to catch our breath, savor an ice cream bar and then ride back to the top in a real steam train. It was neat -- even with the soot getting into our eyes and dirtying our clothes. Near the top we entered a long, totally-dark tunnel. No train lights here. Then the temperature of the car unexpectedly changed from cool to warm to hot. Once out of the tunnel we realized why: the insides of the train car had steamed up. Apparently, as the train slowly worked its way through the tunnel, the steam had nowhere to go but into the rail cars through the open windows. Quite a surprise to us.
The
mountains also gave us a chance to see some of Australia's unique wild
life. White cockatoos with yellow head feathers can be seen flying
overhead. At several bird feeders we found colorful green and red, and
green and blue parrots, red-headed finches and other exotic birds,
all quite close. This photo was taken on the patio of the Mt. Tomah Lodge,
a B&B where we
spent a peaceful night with delightful hosts. There are also kangaroos to
be seen in the Blue Mountains, although not when the clouds are kissing the
ground. Maybe some other visit...
Oh yes, one other special bit of wild life came our way. As we were getting ready for bed, Dick found a slug on the bedroom floor. It was still raining and we figured he must have found a way into this warm dry place. Dick bravely scooped him up with some paper and threw him into the toilet. Interestingly, he emitted a bright red ooze as he drowned. The next morning the sheet where Dick had slept had a bit of dried blood on it. Then more dried blood along his leg. Finally we found a small hole that was the source of the blood. Suddenly we remembered last night's "slug" and realized it was actually a blood-sucking leech! Our hostess confirmed that they're common in the Blue Mountains; she'd picked one up that week as well. Still, perhaps it was a plus; I'm sure Dick is much healthier now that he's had some of his blood letted.
Our trip to Australia was short. And in the end, it rained all 8 days we were there. So we're ready to move on. Exotic Thailand, here we come.