The long trip down under part 9

[Cannavar]

Boxing day and the Blue Mountains!

After a lazy start on Boxing Day we went of to the Australian Reptile park. Its a small place but quite nice non the less. Highlights include being inches away from a funnel web spider being held by staff, the reptile show which was very funny indeed and the Hard Croc Cafe! We bought a great mug from there with the Hard Croc Cafe logo on!



Next up we took a trip for a couple of days to the Blue Mountains. We drove ourselves thanks to the wonders of Sat Nav and stayed in Katoomba which is where the backpacker who got lost for 12 days recently was staying.

Oh heres the beast of a car we hired. They love big engines over there but they tend to forget to build the rest of the car to match it



The hotel was Awful, the worst we have ever stayed in and the only one my sister booked We normally use Tripadvisor and this place showed why! The Blue Mountains were great but the "attraction" Scenic world was awful! We have NEVER been so stressed and treated like cattle as we were there. It was a nice trip down the side of a cliff in a near vertical train to the tune of Raiders of the Lost Ark but to get back up via cable car was terrible. There were no staff and with so many different nationalities the queuing went out the window. It literally became survival of the fittest. If you could push yourself to the front you got on the next car. If you couldn't you waited 15 mins for the next one. It was horrible.

Once back up the top we enjoyed the views but the whole thing was a bit tainted.

The cable car which took so long to get on..



The View from the top..







We found the next day that it was better to ignore the attractions and just pull over some times to check out the views. Here is a picture which really doesn't convey the size and the colour of the place. A bit like the Grand Canyon!



On our second day we headed to the Jenolan Caves. A complete opposite to the day before. We really enjoyed this place even though it was a nightmare to get there. The route down was 2 miles of single carriage way on the side of a cliff. The whole place was huge with lots of different caves and underground rivers. We all really enjoyed it there but as we had to drive back to Woy Woy we couldn't stay as long as we would have liked.

Heading down from the car park!



I look like I've seen a ghost!



The boys heading off..







Heading out from one of the tours..



BTW as a footnote to this report, on the long journey back I fell foul of the EXTREMELY strong speed controls they have in Australia. It seems more important than any other crime and almost every advert break has an anti speeding message in it. Anyway, I was about 1k over the limit (61kph) on outside lane of a dual carriageway in a deserted area. They even showed me a photo as proof. I've never been caught speeding in all my years of driving and a few days over there and I'm done. Oops!

[Fairy+4]

Another fabulous day with lovely photos, you are very brave going on the chair lift i am not a fan of heights at all, that journey would have seen me off i think.

[shirley]

did you get an instant fine for speeding, seems a bit OTT for 1 km great piccies

[Cannavar]

Originally Posted by shirley

did you get an instant fine for speeding, seems a bit OTT for 1 km great piccies

See more...

No it arrived a few weeks later in the post along with an admin fee from the hire company for passing on my details.

The fine was only about £30 and I got 2 free pictures of us driving the car thrown in

The have zero tolerance over there to speeding so there is no messing when you are 1km over the limit. If its in a "school zone" you can double all points and fines.

[Tartan Tigger]

That chair lift would've terrified me.

[Guest]

Stunning photos. They are very strict about speeding here, I've even seen cops with speed guns hiding in buses - a bit extreme, when it's a public holiday it's also double dermit points if you are caught speeding. DH has driven in the UK for 30 years with no speeding fines, comes here and gets caught just like you.

[Guest]

Another great report with lovely photos.

[Strommie]

Amazing views. Shame about your speeding fine

[cartoonp]

great report we went to blue montains but we went around may which was less bizy lol love the pics

[roonlou]

Look back on your stressed experience but fill your hearts with joy - the photo's were worth it!