Travel | Blue Mountains, New South Wales
Last Monday was a public holiday here in Sydney so we met up with some friends and headed to the Blue Mountains a couple of hours out of the city. A 6.45am wake up call on a bank holiday isn't the best feeling but after a 2 hour train journey it was well worth it.
The Blue Mountains run for miles and miles and miles, spreading across a large part of New South Wales. They get their name from the gum trees that line the mountains. It's said that as the gum vapour evaporates and glistens in the sunlight it creates a blue colour.
The Three Sisters are probably the most famous part of the valley, the three rock formations above. We were expecting it to be ridiculously busy around here as it was not only a public holiday but also a fantastic day weather wise. But we got luckily and managed to see everything we went there too. Ideally you need to hire a camper and camp up there for a night or two as there are many treks to be done with incredible views and lookout points. These treks vary from 30mins to 3-4 hours. We had the chance to do a couple of the smaller ones but were soon pushed for time and found ourselves rushing the last couple of sights.
We decided to buy tickets for an explorer bus when we got to Katoomba (the closest train station to explore the mountains). You pay $40 for a ticket and can hop on and off the bus as many times as you want. There's 2 buses that run every half an hour from Katoomba and stop at 22 different points around the Blue Mountains meaning it's easily accessible if you don't have a car like us. Otherwise having a car/camper van would be the best option to take things more leisurely.
It was a great day out :) I'm really happy that we're getting to make the most of our days off and exploring Sydney as much as possible. I have a long list of things I want to see before leave and we're working our way through it pretty well now. This has made me sad to think we'll be leaving in just under 3 months. Don't get me wrong I can't wait to go traveling and to be reunited with my friends and family next year. But we have a good life here in Sydney. The weather is amazing, I love my job, work with great people and we've made some really good friends.
It's a weird feeling to think this is our home but soon we may never live here again, and certainly won't be visiting again for a few years at least. Odd! I don't regret only doing 12 months here in Australia though, I think 2 years would make me even more torn between countries and I couldn't go 24 months without seeing my besties! However good it is here my heart will always be pulling me back to the UK to my friends and family.