|
General Trip Reports Reports that don't fit in to the other categories |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Display Modes |
9 Dec 18, 11:08 PM |
#1
|
Imagineer
|
Reef, Rivers and Rainforests – September/October 2018 - Day 10 - Blue Mountains
Day 10 – Monday 1st October 2018 – Blue Mountains
Reef, Rivers and Rainforests – September/October 2018 Link to trip report index – including pre trip report: Here We woke up this morning (and Alison had slept well, woo hoo!) to a bright and clear day, with a spring like feeling outside and thank goodness for the blackout curtains in the bedroom. We went downstairs to the dining room for the buffet breakfast that was included. A magnificent looking room, full of stained glass windows and lots of character. The items on offer included hot drinks, toast and bread, pastries, cereals and cold cuts with hot food being offered at additional cost. In comparison to other hotels we’d been the selection was just about adequate enough to start the day but nothing special. And so today’s plan was to see the Blue Mountain sights and what better way without a car than our favourite Big red bus hop on and hop off tour. We really should have bought shares in the company with the amount of cities and places we’ve used them! We walked the short distance into town and found the booking office for the trip that was right next to the train station where a small queue had already formed. Most of the groups had English as a second language but luckily we were served quickly and decided not to include Scenic World as we had something similar booked later in the trip. Our bus driver, Jimmy, was excellent, I think he’s become a real legend on these tours so if you get on his bus you’re ready for a treat. Apart from being extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the area, he manged to say hello and converse with everyone in their own language – some feat indeed! The bus was ultra clean (almost new I think) and had USB charging points at each seat. After a couple of initial stops, mainly for pick-ups, we arrived at Katoomba Cascades and falls and jumped off for our first walk around. Jimmy got off and pointed out the right way to go and what to look out for. The walkway down to the viewing point was quite easy but gave you a feel for adventure before the impressive falls come into view. We were lucky to see a couple of cockatoos taking a bath in the shallow area. Apart from the falls the whole vista was impressive, such a wide expansive of preserved area. We were really pleased as we passed by Scenic World as the place was absolutely rammed with tourists, our driver said that if you were planning to visit then you’d really need to arrive as soon as the place opened for the day. Next stop was the Blue Mountains Chocolate Company and we felt the need for coffee break anyway so decided to go in and take a look around. Ok, it’s a pure tourist trap but a pleasant enough place. I don’t have a particularly sweet tooth so the chocolates weren’t doing it for me but I did notice their special hot chocolate drink. Well, the hot chocolate was basically hot milk in a container above a small tea-light with chocolate buttons on the side that you fed into the milk which melted down and mixed. This was you could have as much or as little chocolate in the drink you wanted. The stirring spoon had a straw built in so that your mouth didn’t burn on the container – genius! And delicious! Back on the bus and our next stop was Echo Point and the 3 Sisters. Now for the history bit: - The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe. These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle. As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come So there you have it, in reality it was quite a breath-taking site but the only downside was that one of the walking tracks down to the Honeymoon Bridge and across to the first sister was closed due to rock falls. Not a big issue as there’s plenty of landscape for miles around to marvel at. Next up, Leura cascades and picnic area. Pleasant enough easy access along a woodland path to the low cascades, nice treat for kids and the infirm to get a good view of nature but this makes the spot very popular indeed with lots of crowds. A couple of stops away was Leura town, I’d looked into staying here or Katoomba but dismissed the place although I may have missed a trick in retrospect. It’s a hugely popular tourist destination, far more so than Katoomba. The shops were full of Cath Kidston, coffee shops, vegan restaurants, crystals and dream catchers – well, you get the idea and not necessarily my cup of tea. However, saying that the place was bustling and very pretty with a nice vibe. At least there was lots of restaurant choices here to be had. We wandered up and down the street for a while and went into Woolworths (which is a supermarket here slightly bizarrely) and bought a meal deal of sandwiches, crisps and a drink. Places to sit and eat appeared to be at a premium with some people taking a picnic on the grassy central reservation! We decided to go a bit upscale and found a park bench next to a roundabout to eat and watch the world go by. Classy eh? We walked through Leura town to the train station and settled down for the bus to take us back to Katoomba. On reflection, Leura may have been the better place for us to stay in the Blue Mountains, much livelier and many more facilities and restaurants, a real contrast to Katoomba. We arrived back in Katoomba and checked the fares and timetables for the train back in the morning with the train office staff as things weren’t 100% clear from the website. We also topped up our Opal cards in readiness. As we arrived at the hotel I remembered that there was The Katoomba Brewing Company located on the premises but didn’t seem to be advertised very well. Round the back we found the place but not only that it had huge real ale, gin and Cider shop – I was in heaven! Although I was a bit overwhelmed with choice I chose a couple of local brews and Alison chose some ciders and we happily took them back to our room. After the lack of restaurant choices from the previous night we decided to check out The Old City Bank Bar, conveniently located at the bottom of the main hotel driveway. Apparently this was the towns bank and the managers accommodation was upstairs where the dining room was now located. Our meals were delicious (pizza and a burger), all washed down with the local brew. We took the short walk up the drive to our room and had a couple of games of snooker before going back to our room to pack, drink beer/cider and get ready for the early start in the morning. We’re heading back to Sydney to fly on to Cairns. We’ve loved the picturesque Blue Mountains and the quirky hotel – but North Queensland is calling! Transport count (running total!): Flights: 4 Ferries: 2 Trains: 9 Trams: 2 Tubes: 1 Ubers/Taxis: 3 Coaches/Buses: 8 Step Count today: 13290 Total step count for the trip: 107700
__________________
http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/sign...igpic534_1.gif 1988 ~ Contemporary ~ Honeymoon 1989 ~ Off site 1994 ~ EuroDisney ~ Santa Fe 1999 ~ Off site 2001 ~ CBR (Aruba) ~ Poly (Tahiti) 2003 ~ WL & HRH 2004 ~ Pop Century, RPH, CSR, PBH, Contemporary 2006 ~ DLP ~ Newport Bay 2007 ~ POR ~ HRH ~ GF 2008 ~ All star sports, BCV, RPH, Vero Beach, VWL 2010 ~ OKW ~ BCV ~ HRH ~POP Century ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL 2013 ~ AKL ~ HRH ~ BCV ~ Vero Beach ~ VWL Edited at 11:25 PM. |
10 Dec 18, 06:47 AM |
#2
|
|
Imagineer
|
What fabulous views! The hot chocolate sounds divine!
__________________
Index of my trip reports 2016 Quebec - Kuala Lumpar - New York City 2017 Dubai - Eurocamps France - Ontario and Quebec - So-Cal 2018 Montreal - Bangkok - New England 2019 Argentina - Quebec City - Hong Kong - 2020 Switzerland 2022 Arizona - Costa Med Cruise - Oslo 2023 Hong Kong - Gothenburg |
|
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
DIBB Savings |
AttractionTickets.com
Get £10 off each Disney Ticket with the code ATDIBB10 Get up to £50 off per room at Disney or Universal with the code DIBBHOTELS |
theDIBB Blog |
Aquatica Orlando announce the grand opening of its newest attraction, Tassie’s Underwater Twist, on 15... Read More »
Starting April 5, 2024, at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and Disneyland Paris, the... Read More »
With spring breezes already gently blowing across Walt Disney World, it is time to welcome... Read More »
|
theDIBB Menu |
Exchange Rates |
US Dollar Rates
Euro Rates |
DIBB Premium Membership |
Did you know you can help support theDIBB with Premium Membership? Check out this link for more information and benefits, such as... "No adverts on theDIBB Forums" Upgrade Now |