Bushed in the Bush.

Tuesday 13th December 2016 - move from Sydney to Mount Victoria in the Blue Mountains.

We were up and packed in good time to get the hire car from the city.  Surprisingly there were no problems at all and we got a brand new Hyundai i30 with only 1000km on the clock.  It was a slow journey out of Sydney but at least it gave us a chance to get used to the automatic gears and the windscreen wiper switch being where the indicators should be.  The driving is otherwise pretty easy as they drive on the left and the signs are clear although the lane discipline leaves something to be desired.

We briefly stopped at Penrith on our journey west.  It was an unremarkable place (a bit like Penrith!) but it had large sports fields.

We stopped at the main town of the Blue Mountains, a place called Katoomba.  We will revisit again tomorrow for sure.  Janice treated me to a piece of cake with a coffee.

What a whopper!

We went on to our accommodation at Mount Victoria, it's a small village.  It seems to comprise of one pub, the guest house we are staying at and nothing else!  It is nice to get a feel for the 'real' Australia but the guest house is a little past its best.  We were pleased to be upgraded to a room with an ensuite but when we saw the room it was plain to say the least.  The hotel has a bit of an odour!  The room itself seems clean (it still smells).  The place was built in 1914 and it probably needs a new carpet by now! 

The breakfast room is interesting.  We were told they normally do meals but they haven't got a chef and they have opened a new wine bar but it's closed Mon, Tues and Wednesday, thank goodness because it looks rather dull.  We are taking this as a positve experience of proper Australia.

In the afternoon we went out to Blackheath, (the rhododendron town, as they have a rhododendron festival here)! which is nearby and has a bit more to offer.  We walked down to Govetts Leap, a superb viewpoint over the valley and cliffs.

Quite a view.  Does it look blue?  Well there may be slight hazey tinge of blue and supposedly it has been studied and it is due to an optical effect called 'Rayleigh Scattering'.  I could try and explain it but you may not be that interested, look it up if you are.  The area of Katoomba, Blackheath and Mt Victoria are part of a plateau over 3000 feet high and they look down onto the valleys below.  The cliffs are rather impressive, don't you think.

 I compared the view to a small Yosemite in California or a large Malham Cove in Yorkshire.  We continued with a walk through the 'bush' along Pope's Glen Creek.  It felt a million miles from Sydney as if we were in the jungle.

We considered doing a Jenny Aguter scene from 'Walkabout' but decided against it.

Where is my digeridoo when I need it?  We were bushed by the end of our trek.  Temperatures have been up to 34 degrees here.

We saw a whole group of cockatoos and I called them a flock of cockatoos, quite a mouthful?  I wonder what the correct collective noun is for cockatoos.

Had an evening meal back at Katoomba at The Yellow Deli, a very bespoke cafe with a wood interior where they played calming Celtic music.  It was reminiscent of a cafe in Hobbiton.  We joked that they play Folky music on a Tuesday but it will be Grunge tomorrow and Trash Metal on Thursday!  The food was excellent and the lady in charge was lovely.  We may go back tomorrow....just to see what the music is.