Bushwalking + Three Sisters + Thunderstorm in the Blue Mountains

Off we headed towards the Blue Mountains, approx. 2 hours drive north of Sydney for some bushwalking (Aussie for hiking). Blue Mountains is famous for its abundant trails for bushwalking, incredible views, the Three Sisters, and indigenous plants to name a few. When left the house it was sunny but when we arrived at Echo Point (the starting point for most of bushwalking trails) it was cloudy, windy, and downright gray, blah day. Echo Point jets out into the Blue Mountains landscape like a sore thumb but provides a great vantage point and gives way to the spectacular view of the Blue Mountains (it really does look blue) and its local celebrities the "Three Sisters" (see photos above). The Three Sisters are rock structures that holds spiritual meanings to Australian's Aboriginal and the three were part of the seven sisters.

We collected our maps at the visitor center and saw the weather forcast of the very high chance of thunderstorm. Under normal conditions, I probably would not have chosen to do bushwalking considering a thunderstorm is headed our way but given that my days are numbered here in Australia so I only have one option to proceed with the plan. We definitely paid the price for our decision as you'll see later. The trail we chose should take one and half hour and is rated as moderate/hard. The trail starts behind the visitor center which loops us down to the walkway behind the Three Sisters then decends down the Giant Stairway (~900 steps from Echo Point to forest floor), at the forest floor starts the federal pass trail (full of zig zags but relatively level, passes Katoomba falls, and ends at the base of the where one can take the railway or cable car back up to Echo Point.

My cousin Ali and I went bushwalking while my aunt and uncle stayed behind to do some shopping in town. We proceeded to decend the 900+ steps of the Giant Stairways and every few hundred steps we heard the threat of thunder and lightning in the distance. We momentarily stopped, looked at each other and confirmed our committments to keep going. Finally we reached the forest floor, we walked forl ess then a 200meters and was immediately met by thunderstorm. To our complete surprise it was not rain, it was hail the size of peas...the experience was surreal and made us alittle nerous. Who would have thunk it hailed in the forest! We quickly and luckily found cover under a rock formation and waited out for the next 30mins. We had two options go forward or backwards (which meant climb back up the 900+ steps which was probably very wet at this point and the least safe path). The storm didn't appear to be stopping any time soon so we decided to go forward to the end and hope + pray we don't get sick the next day (we didn't). It was now 3pm and 2.5K to go and the last cable car up to the top was at 4:50pm. We quickly covered ourselves and booked it! It was difficult to enjoy the scenary while the rain and hail poured down constantly. As we approach the end, we were met with the wonderful sound of trickling water of Katoomba Falls...it was a beautiful sight. It also meant that we were only 500 meters from the end...yippee! We emerged from the trail one hour behind schedule but enough time to catch the last cablecar back up to the top. We were completely soaked (note to self: pack raincoat at all times for bushwalking), exhausted, but relieved to be done.

Climb of a Lifetime

Today we took the three and half hours tour called the "Discovery Climb" to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (see collage below). After a doning the proper "star trek" uniform, gears, and safety harness we made our way up to the start of the tour. Our tour guide was named "Ed" short for Edna. We lucked out with the weather (it was a gorgeous sunny day) and no one else booked our timeslot so there was only four of us (Ali, Sarah, myself, and Ed). The experience was really cool, it took us through, under, and over the entire bridge. This is not for the weak stomach as you walk some narrow paths of either steel or wooden planks overlooking the harbor...yikes! Just don't look down. Once at the summit of the bridge we got to enjoy a 360 panaromic view of Sydney Harbor in all its glory. We took some very necessary cheesy tourist pictures. The only thing missing was the cheese platter and champagne to celebrate the accomplishment. The bridge itself is set in one of the older neighborhood called "The Rocks" along Cumberland street. After the climb, we continued to a separate structure which is situated in the middle of the bridge called the Pylon Lookout. We climbed 200 steps to the top of the Pylon Lookout and got a few moments of to enjoy the sunset over the harbor. It was an exhausting but fun day.

Almost a smooth take off...G'day from Australia

G'day mates...sorry for the slow update but just getting a chance to have access to the internet. One of the families live in the burbs so no easy internet access for a week but I survived with the occassional visits to the library. I have to say the library is still a very, very resourceful place to get all your info including wi-fi.

Its been one week since I took off from SFO and finally managing to kick the last sniffle and cough out of my system. It sucks being sick while traveling, on the bright side its better that it happened in beginning of the trip versus the end.

The start of my trip was an unfortunate blah...I was thrown a curve ball and got sick on the eve of my flight with a high 101.5F fever . It was a good thing the flight over was somewhat empty for me to monopolize an entire row to sleep it off. With enough drugs, I was knocked out for the next twelve hours of the flight. No bad considering the flight time was 14 + hours. On the downside (for me at least) it meant that I missed out on all the fine airplane cuisine with the exception of breakfast (stuff pancake with sausage, danish, and fruit salad). After my somewhat restful sleep, I peered out the window to catch the first glimpse of sunrise as we approach Sydney. Not a moment to lose, I grabbed my camera to captured the sunrise which btw never really equates to the real thing.

Munching through my breakfast, I am filled with excitement towards not only the RTW trip but to the meet my families in Australia for the first time. As I filled out the Australian immigration card, I was momentarily stumped because in all the excitment I forgot to take down my family's address and/or full contact information (critically important if I'm to stay with them). All I had was a nickname, a cell number, and lots of optimism that all will work out. Thank goodness, the immigration officer was extremely friendly and allowed me to pass as I informed her that my family would be waiting for me at the exit and they were with my name placard in hand which read "Tina Arousack" (they forgot a "n"). That's all for now folks, I have plenty more to update now that I've shaken the cold. Check back soon.