Steve had recommended to us heading into the Blue Mountains, a 2 hour train ride from Sydney. We packed our overnight bags, and set off for a bite to eat before heading to the train station.
The Sydney equivalent of the underground is nowhere near as large with only 5 or 6 lines, but the simplified map seems to be far, far more confusing! Eventually made it to the station, only to discover we’d missed a train by minutes. Damn that map.
We took that opportunity to arrange a later part of our holiday, a boat trip around the Whitsundays, but I’ll talk about that later (and boy do I talk about it!).
When we arrived at Katoomba – the main tourist town in the Blue Mountains – we headed to the Youth Hostel that we’d reserved a room at. Fantastic building! It had been recently renovated, following years of neglect, and was as nice as any 3 star hotel I’ve ever stayed in!
Despite being late, we decided to brave heading out to the trails on the advice of one of the receptionists. We later grew to dislike him!
The Blue Mountains are a tropical rainforest spread out over quite a large area, and we were staying at the top of one side. We headed into the brush, and down a steep slope in the thick of it.
As we walked, I became increasingly aware that the lift from the valley floor back up the mountain (a few hundred feet), was due to stop soon. We weren’t gonna make, and decided that we’d be having harsh words with the receptionist when we got back!
Darkness started setting in, and we had no idea where we were. Did we turn round or carry on the trail? Thankfully, we eventually found the base of the now closed lift, and the stairs up the valley side. We looked at them, and were instantly reminded of the stairs in the LOTR: Return of the King. This was going to be tough! Several hours later (well, that’s what it felt like), we reached the top. Do not attempt those stairs! They wiped us out in one foul swoop! Then our next problem was finding our way back to the hostel… We look back at it and laugh.
Washed, refreshed and knackered, we headed into town, grabbed a bite to eat in a very nice french restaurant, and found a local bar to collapse at with a comforting beer. Sadly the bar we had chosen had an ‘entertainer’ who appealed to the locals, but to use, it was an excuse to leave for an early night. Well, that and the fact we’d started to loose consciousness after our walk!
