Wednesday, 1/13/10: Blue Mountains

The thunderstorm last night went on for quite a while. It was still in full force when Heather and I went to slept, but this morning it looks like it never happened. The weather is sunny, with some puffy clouds. Still fairly cool and a bit of a breeze—lovely. I wish I could bottle this perfect weather moment and unleash it as needed when it’s 90+ degrees again and humid as Hades.

Today’s outing is to the Blue Mountains, a huge area of rugged tablelands, sheer cliffs, raging waterfalls and inaccessible valleys densely covered with eucalyptus forests. The Greater Blue Mountains Area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising seven national parks. It’s located a couple of hours west of central Sydney.

The drive through the western suburbs of Sydney on the Great Western Highway took us by the site of the 2000 Olympic Games. The stadium is huge; it held over 110,000 people during the games but Bill said that the stadium was modified in later years and now doesn’t hold quite that many people. It’s still used extensively for sports and other events. We also saw the Sydney Ikea store, which seems immense; bigger than our West Sacramento Ikea for sure. Other than that, there wasn’t much that distinguished one suburb from the next. I’d hate to live that far away from my job, but the situation isn’t any different in U.S. metropolitan areas.

Once we reached the Blue Mountains, my enjoyment of the drive was marred a little by the endless construction that’s going on to widen the road. Apparently the Blue Mountains are very popular with Sydney residents and tourists alike, and the existing 2-lane road infrastructure isn’t enough to cope with the number of vehicles. Small towns that would otherwise have been enjoyable to drive through and maybe walk around in are now large construction sites with road workers, temporary traffic lights and an ugly, dusty appearance. It’s all temporary but for now, the area isn’t looking its best.

Eventually we reached Katoomba, with a population of about 7,500 by far the largest town in the Blue Mountains. Our destination was the Three Sisters, the most famous rock formation in the Blue Mountains. I had expected a winding mountain road which eventually ends at a scenic viewpoint, but the reality is that you drive through a residential section of Katoomba and, wham!, the road ends and the viewpoint is right there, at the edge of town.

We parked our car a little ways away from the viewpoint to avoid paying for parking (outrageous at AU$3.80 for the first hour, and AU$4.40 for each additional hour; more even than in Sydney) and dragged our overheated bodies along a dusty residential street. It’s ironic that we chose today to go to the Blue Mountains because we thought we would escape the Sydney heat; the temperature in Katoomba according to the outdoor thermometer of our rental van was 33°C (92°F). While the humidity was still higher than what we’re used to, it wasn’t as humid as in Sydney.

The view was absolutely spectacular. The Three Sisters—Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo—feature prominently in a legend that talks of three sisters who fell in love with three men from a neighboring tribe, but marriage was forbidden by tribal law. Battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them, but he was killed in the fighting and no one else could turn them back.

Unfortunately, mid-day is not the best time to photograph the Three Sisters (sunset seems to be the best time of day, judging from the postcards I saw at the Visitor Center). But since that’s the only opportunity I had, here’s my meager photographic haul.

We were all exhausted so we volunteered to part with our money for some outrageously priced “gelatto” (somehow using the Italian word is always an excuse for charging more). Here’s best friends Sophie and Laura enjoying their ice cream and posing in front of a giant Christmas koala.

 

After leaving Katoomba, we decided to swing by Wentworth Falls but unfortunately, the actual waterfall was practically dry. I’ve seen pictures that looked spectacular, but mid-summer is definitely the wrong time of year.

However, what I did enjoy were the views across the Jamison Valley. The deep sandstone cliffs and the eucalyptus forests (blue gum) that seem to go on forever are amazing. I’ve seen so many eucalyptus trees by now, and yet I can’t seem to get enough of them. Gum trees are uniquely Australian, and I like everything about them: their bark (or lack thereof), their stature, their open growth, and of course the heavenly smell of their leaves.

If it had been just the adults (i.e. Heather, Bill and me), we might have explored other areas and trails in the Blue Mountains, but the kids were so exhausted that we decided to head back towards Sydney.

We were able to check off one of the remaining items on my must-see list, the Anzac Bridge. When people think of bridges in Sydney, the invariably think of the Harbour Bridge, which is stunning. However, I find the Anzac Bridge, which I had glimpsed in the distance on several occasions, to be just as beautiful. It spans Johnstons Bay between the suburbs of Pyrmont and Rozelle near the Sydney Central Business District (CBD). I don’t know who designed it, but it reminded me strongly of Santiago Calatrava’s designs.

 

Driving through the CBD on the Western Distributor (with intrepid Bill Ellis at the wheel), I was busy snapping impressionistic shots of reflections of and in high rises. I can’t remember the names of the buildings, but I love the patterns.

Finally we reached the eponymous Sydney Harbour Bridge, truly one of the most beautiful bridges I’ve ever crossed. Heather and I walked across it last night, but unfortunately the view of the bridge from the pedestrian lane isn’t as impressive as it is from the car lanes. Here are two rather abstract/geometrical images that I particularly like.

 

6:26pm now, and the weather is gray and overcast and probably in the mid-70s. I’m loving it! Bill and I swung by the bottle shop to pick up more beer and wine. I was determined to try some wines from the Hunter Valley, just north of Sydney, an area Bill and Katrina, wine aficionados that they are, aren’t very familiar with. I picked up a bottle of 2009 Tempus Two verdelho, and I thought it was excellent. Tropical notes of grapefruit and guava, with a very pronounced citrus finish. VERY nice. I’ll be taking a bottle or two home.