BLUE MOUNTAIN, NEW SOUTH WALES
The
Blue Mountains is a mountainous regions and a mountain range located in New South Wales, Australia.
The name
Blue Mountains is derived from the blue tinge the range takes on when viewed from a distance. The tinge is believed to be caused by mie scattering which occurs when incoming ultraviolet radiation is scattered by particles within the atmosphere creating a blue-greyish colour to any distant objects, including mountains and clouds. Volatile terpenoids emitted in large quantities by the abundant eucalyptus trees in the Blue Mountains may cause mie scattering and thus the blue haze for which the mountains were named.
Continued from last post which we arrived at Katoomba, a most visited town in Blue Mountains.
By the time we reached there, it's raining heavily!! There are few attractions at Blue Mountains and one of the famous one is
Echo Point Lookout.
(i) Echo Point Lookout
Echo Point is a great point to have a close up view of the
Jamison Valley and the iconic
Three Sisters. Who is Three Sisters or more exact what is Three Sisters??
Three Sisters are actually three rocky monoliths sticking out conspicuously from the ridge of the mountain. Their names are
Meehni (922 m),
Wimlah (918 m), and
Gunnedoo (906 m). There are many legends surrounding the Three Sisters. The commonly told legend of the Three Sisters is that a father who had three beautifull daughters, Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo, lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. They fell in love with three brothers, warriors from the neighbouring Nepean tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters. A major tribal battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by their father using a magic pendant (some say magic bone) to conceal them. The father then turned himself into Lyre Bird to escape from the warriors pursuers, and flew away carrying the pendant. Alas, the pendant was too heavy and it dropped down to the forest below.
Once the battle was over, the poor father as Lyre Bird returned and shouting out his woes in all sorts of languages as he scratched the forest floor looking for the pendant, yet this was never to be found. The Lyre Bird has been searching for this pendant ever since. Remaining in rock formation, The Three Sisters stand silently in their magnificent rock formation overlooking the valley hoping that one day he'll find the pendant and turn them back to original state.
Nowadays, when visiting The Three Sisters, if you listen carefully you may be able to hear the Lyre Bird (the father) as he continues his quest for his lost pendant. The Lyre bird is versatile and can imitate the calls of many other birds and even the sounds of modern day civilisation.
Such a sad legend isn't it? Well the fact behind the Three Sister's formation based on geologic explanation was that the Sisters were formed by land erosion. The soft sandstone of the Blue Mountains is easily eroded over time by wind, rain and rivers, causing the cliffs surrounding the Jamison Valley to be slowly broken up.
So what do you think? For me even after knowing the fact, I still preferred the aboriginal legend then the scientific one :D
It was really a bad day for us as we couldn't even got out from our car to the lookout point. The rain fell heavily, so we just had lunch inside the car while waiting the rain at least if not stopped, subsided.
Echo Point Lookout Information Centre
Deserted... Everyone took a shelter inside the Information Centre
Mountain range
This is what we should expect from Blue Mountain in a shiny day. View of Jamison Valley; Three Sisters far left, Mount Solitary left of centre and Narrowneck Plateau far right. (Credit Photo from WIKI)
Beautiful, isn't? (Credit photo : viator.com)
One of favourite moment.. The best place for lunch, inside the car. No, actually it was second best. Wait until my post at Sydney city for the best luncheon place we had..!!
Alhamdulillah, my fried rice accepted by the judges 😜😜
Answer = No sunshine ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
I insisted to go to the lookout point just to satisfy myself. So once the rain slow a bit, I went there while the others waited in the car. Just had a quick view and took some photos. At least managed to get this photo of The Three Sisters from the lookout point. Jadila kan....
Since we already in the Blue Mountain, and no way we could return back here on the other day (we had a very limited time for this trip remember?), so we decided to proceed with next attraction,
Scenic World.
(ii) Scenic World.
Located just a stone’s throw from Echo Point and the town centre, Scenic World comprises four unique ways to experience the Blue Mountains, the
Scenic Railway, the
Scenic Skyway, the
Scenic Cableway and the
Scenic Walkway. These together with the one of the largest souvenir shops in New South Wales, a cafe and a cafeteria, make up the complex known as
Scenic World Top Station.
Based on the map, we started our ride with Scenic Skyway (Yellow ride) from Scenic World Top Station to Echo World Eastern Station then came back to Scenic World Station. Next, embarked to Scenic Railway (Red ride) and descended to the rainforest at the bottom of Jamison Valley. From there we had a walk at Scenic Walkaway (Green ride) to Scenic Cableway (Blue ride) bottom station. Then we ascended back to main station.
So we arrived at the Scenic World Complex and parked our car (parking is FREE!).
The Three Sisters and their father sculptures are displayed outside the Scenic World Top Station
We entered at the main building and bought the tickets for unlimited rides of all 4 attractions at
AUD35/person. Children under 4 years old is free so no charged for baby Musa. For more info can check at
Scenic World Website.
Purchasing counter
Souvenirs are also available however I not recommended to buy it here as the prices are quite expansive.
Interesting facts. Conquering all the records which are the steepest, the highest, the biggest and the longest... Isn't that impressive? Definitely worth the price!!
Scenic Skyway
Glide between cliff tops and gaze at the rainforest canopy through the glass floor of the Scenic Skyway!
Suspended 270 metres above ancient ravines, the Skyway provides a unique thrill as breathtaking views are revealed beneath your feet through the electro-glass cabin floor. For the less adventurous, seating and solid flooring is also available. With 360° views, the 720 metre journey provides the best views of Katoomba Falls, the Three Sisters, and Jamison Valley stretching to the horizon.
We started to queue in line for our first ride.
We saw this huge bell hanged on the roof like a greeting to Scenic World.
Scenic skyway approching....
And we proceeded to board the Scenic Skyway.
In the middle of the Skyway is a transparent floor that allows you to see the valley below!
It should offers you an awesome view of the mountain and Katoomba Falls from the Skyway, however the mist had limited our view. Quite upset.
The best pictures of Katoomba falls we managed to shoot. Hope these won't give you a bad impression of this place as it is actually very beautifull and amazing. Just we came here at the wrong time... ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
Arrival of the Scenic Skyway to the Eastern Station. It's a short 5 minutes walk from the Skyway Station to Echo Point or you may want to spend time trekking down to the bottom of Katoomba Falls where you can get even closer to nature. However since it was raining, no point for us to have an outdoor walk, so we just stayed in the skyway and returned back to the main building. (Infact all of the passengers did the same).
Walkaway to Echo Point
In the skyway, you may choose either to sit, stand or lay down on the floor like Kayrie did while selfie.. 😜😜
Nevertheless, it was still an interesting experience...
Arriving back to the main building
Scenic Railway
From the main building, we continued to ride the Scenic Railway; that boasts it is the
steepest passenger railway in the world with a 52º incline and is now one of the most popular man-made tourist attractions in Australia. The ride takes you down the steep descent 310 metres past Orphan Rock, through a a short natural sandstone tunnel and emerging into ancient rainforest at the Jamison Valley floor.
4 attractions at Scenic World
Let's explore..!!
Reading about the history of Katoomba along the way
Getting all excited
Riding the steepest railway in the world
This is how it looked like from the inside as we were passing inside a tunnel; our legs were literally at the level of the heads of the people below us.
The newly revamped carriages let you adjust your seat in three positions, ‘cliffhanger’ which makes the incline 64 degrees, relax into the ‘laidback’ position or stick with the original seating at 52 degrees. Whatever you choose, be prepared to hang on as you feel the incline get steeper and steeper as you ascend the cliff face. This is a thrill ride so be prepared to scream!
1..2..3... Ready!!!
Plummeted down the bottom. Praying hard that the breaks are in good function. Imagine if the breaks are faulty.. Gedebush... smash to the floor. Nevertheless, this ride is safe so don't worry ok! 😄😄
The steep railway once used by the miners. Coals were obtained from the side of the mountain near Orphan Rock using a cable car to bring the coal to the top.
Once we'd finished screaming, we arrived at bottom of the cliff and took the stunning views of the rainforest and sandstone cliffs up close and glimpses of the Jamison Valley, Three Sisters and Orphan Rock, which is a pillar of rock separated from the main cliff and standing solitary like a sentinel on duty.
Three sisters covered by mist
Three Sisters from Malaysia 😜😜
Honestly by looking at this photo, one might think that we just took it at normal quarry in Malaysia. Lebih kurang view Bukit Kuari Cheras jer rupanya 😜😜
Off we go.. To the Rainforest / Scenic Walkaway!
Scenic Walkaway
Next, the walk through a Scenic Walkaway for a closer view with nature. The Scenic Walkway is 2.4kms of elevated boardwalk through the rainforest at the bottom of the cliffs. Once you disembark the railway you have three options for walks along the Scenic Walkway, each of varying distances which may take you approximately 10 minutes, 30 minutes and 50 minutes respectively. We decided to take the middle route to the Cableway Bottom Station.
Wandering around the Scenic Walkway of boardwalk and valley floor, the rainforest just towers above you.
Amongst the Jurassic Rainforest is information about the mines and miners who worked in this place and had to get the coal up that crazy incline.
A peek into an old, disused coal mine.
In 1879, Katoomba became known when J.B. North opened the Katoomba Coal Mine.
Along the way, explore elements of the site’s coal mining history including the mine entrance, a replica miners’ hut and scale bronze sculpture of a miner and his pit pony.
Coal Mine Artifacts
Whichever walks you choose to take, keep your eyes peeled for birds, especially lyre birds that are frequently spotted drinking from the streams. All of the walks are well signposted with information boards along the way that tell you about the rainforest and the history of some of the items left from the areas mining past.
Boardwalk a bit wet because of the rain
Benches are available along the walkaway for a short rest
Scenic Cableway
We had a leisurely walk and very soon we arrived at the Bottom Station of the Scenic Cableway known to be the steepest aerial cable car in Australia. The Scenic Cableway takes you on a 545 metre ride into the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area rainforest of the Jamison valley.
We waited patiently for the cable car to arrive then went into the Scenic Cableway, a large glass cable car that travels the stretch across the Jamison Valley where you can catch glimpses of the Three Sisters, Orphan Rock and Katoomba Falls. As we already descended via scenic railway, now its time to ascend back to the main building.
The cable operator shared information about the area and pointed out the Three Sisters, Orphan Rock, Mt Solitary as we slowly passes the area.
Unfortunately it was not a good day for us as the rain still not stopping so the only thing we could see were fogs!!
It's nearly evening and the fogs got thicker..
For those who didn’t like heights or just the idea of being suspended by only a cable, I could assure you that being on-board feels very safe. The car moves so calmly that if you had your eyes closed, you wouldn't even know you were moving. In our case, the mist had blocked our view, so we didn't see the valley and didn't aware on how high we were from the ground. 😄😄
Back to the main building, we called it a day for our Blue Mountain trip (if you have more time, you can actually repeat any of the rides you want as the ticket available for unlimited ride). As per our case, since it's already 4pm, we needed to get back to Sydney for check in to our next accommodation at Bass Hill Holiday & Residential Park. Overall, despite the bad weather, we really enjoyed the experiences we had. Don't forget to visit Blue Mountain if you come to Sydney ok!!
So read my next post on my journey back to Sydney. Till then, Bye!!
Sydney, The Land of OZ Fast Link Here
1) Day 0 – The Journey KL to Sydney and 1st Night at Ibis Hotel
2) Day 1 – Pick up Rental Car and Start of Grand Pacific Drive
3) Day 1 – GPD (Otford Lookout, Stanwell Park and Cliff Bridge)
4) Day 1 – GPD (Wolonggong & Kiama)
5) Day 1 – Night at Windang Beach Tourist Park
6) Day 2 – Trip to Blue Mountain
8) Day 2 – Night at Bass Hill Holiday & Residential Park
9) Day 3 – Darling Harbour / Waterfront
10) Day 3 – Sydney Wild Life Zoo
11) Day 3 – Madam Tussauds Sydney
12) Day 3 – Ferry Ride, Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge at Night
13) Last Day – Checked Out and Shopping Paddy Market
14) Last Day - Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge
15) Last Episode Sydney
