It takes about an hour to drive from Sydney to the town of Blackheath – the gateway to the Blue Mountains. We had a pretty leisurely day and arrived in the early evening, setting up camp at the Blackheath Glen Tourist Park. We made gnocchi for dinner before setting down for an early night, ready to explore the area the following day.
The next morning, after a pretty impressive home cooked breakfast we headed towards Scenic World deep in the Blue Mountains in the town of Katoomba.
Scenic World is essentially a way to see the mountains from different viewpoints; they have cable cars, scenic railways and bushwalks which, for a small fee, is definitely the way to get the best out of this incredible scenery.
On arriving in the park we decided to hop first aboard the Skyway car which, suspended 270 metres above ancient ravines, the 720 metre journey provides breath taking views beneath your feet of the Katoomba Falls, the Three Sisters, and Jamison Valley stretching into the horizon. It really was amazing.
After stepping off the skyway, we took a leisurely walk around the steep cliff faces, which certainly isn’t for the faint hearted. You are, however, rewarded with the most stunning of views!
Interestingly enough, although they look it, the Blue Mountains are in fact not blue. They are clad in vast forests of eucalypts (commonly called gum trees), which in the hot sun discharge a fine mist of eucalyptus oil from their leaves. The mist refracts light, which makes the haze look blue at a distance.
After enjoying the scenery for a little while, we decided it was time to head south, and hopped on board the Katoomba Railway which, with a 52 degree incline, boasts the title of the world’s steepest railway!
The Railway experience descends 310 metres through a cliff-side tunnel, emerging into ancient rainforest at the Jamison Valley floor. Operating since 1945, the Scenic Railway has thrilled 25 million passengers – this is the fifth generation train to ride the tracks since the Hammon family opened the attraction.
When we arrived at the bottom of the railways we embarked into the Scenic Walkway and began a fantastic stroll through 2.4 kilometres of Jurassic rainforest. Along the way, you can 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. It really was such a lovely walk through the most incredible scenery.
After an action packed day exploring this amazingly beautiful place, we headed back to the campsite for all the pasta and all the cards. There’s no denying it, the Blue Mountains are one of the most incredible natural areas of beauty that either of us have had the pleasure of visiting. If you have time time to make a day trip from Sydney, we couldn’t recommend it more!
For us, life in the camper means no rest for the wicked, it was time for us to hit the road again towards our next destination – the Snowy Mountains (aka. ‘’the Snowies’’). We had a couple of days driving ahead of us and, there’s no denying it, the weather was a’changing….
