AUSTRALIA 2011: Autumn in Blue

AUSTRALIA 2011: Autumn in Blue (May 21, 2011)

A beautiful autumn day

When I heard about this beautiful mountain range called the Blue Mountains, the first question I asked was if the mountains really are blue, and if so, why? The best way to answer that question, of course, is to see these mountains for myself. Judging from how chilly and dreary most days are becoming, winter is approaching fast, and a visit to the Blue Mountains wouldn’t be such a good idea in this extremely cold weather. Autumn, however, wanted to exit gracefully and with a beautiful bang, so just before it came to a close, we were blessed with the perfect autumn day for a Blue Mountain visit.

K A T O O M B A

Welcome to Katoomba

The Blue Mountain region, in its entirety, spans several cities and towns. Katoomba is the chief town in the City of Blue Mountains, and is located 110 kilometres west of Sydney. It is also where Scenic World and the Three Sisters are located, so it’s a very popular tourist destination. We arrived at Katoomba main town center just in time for lunch. As we stopped to buy pizza from Domino’s and fish and chips from Greco’s, I looked around and instantly fell in love with the town’s charming architecture.

Some of Katoomba's heritage buildings

Now I’ve been to quite a few towns in Australia, and the one thing that’s common among all of them is the heritage buildings that remain standing. What happens is they retain, not ruin, the architecture from old buildings while still going on with their daily commerce. So you’ll have a functioning grocery store or a pizza parlor in a building that looks like it was lifted right out of the 1900s.

Our lovely picnic area

When you walk down the street, you feel like you’re lost in the middle of a movie set or somehow transported back in time. Most towns I’ve been to in Australia are like this, and Katoomba is no different. With our lunch in tow, we went to one of their public parks and had a picnic.

Scenic railway

S T E E P E S T  R A I L W A Y

Katoomba is of course home to beautiful sceneries, and one of the must-visit places here is Scenic World, which is a tourist complex and features most of what Katoomba has to offer.

It really was quite steep

We first went on the Katoomba Scenic Railway, the steepest funicular railway in the world. We got on something that strangely resembles a roller coaster, and was tilted 52 degrees (I swear it felt like it was almost vertical).

The coaster then goes down a 415-metre track, and at first you can’t see anything but this tiny light at the very far end of the tunnel. Then as it courses down the rainforest you realize that you really are going down a mountain, and while the initial go is quite novel and a bit scary, once you get that hang of it, it’s actually quite fun. We soon arrived at our destination, which is in the floor of the Jamison Valley. 

R A I N F O R E S T

A boardwalk in the middle of the forest

We were already deep down in the floor of the Jamison Valley, and from here we were free to explore the “Scenic Walkway” by ourselves.

Deep into the rainforest

The “walkway” is a boardwalk built deep into the heart of the World-heritage-listed rainforest, and was actually quite an experience. The first part showed some exhibitions about coal mines, but it was mostly just a beautiful rainforest. The flora and fauna we saw along the way were amazing, and there were occasional placards that showed information which made us appreciate what we were seeing even more.

Scenic Cable Way

We took our time walking, until we reached the platform for the Scenic Cable Way, which is basically a cable car that will take us back up. It’s probably tilted in the same degree as the railway was, and it sure looked scary from down there, but once we were inside we couldn’t really feel that we were climbing steeply back to the top of the mountain. The sights going up were beautiful as well.

S C E N I C  S K Y W A Y

View from the Scenic Skyway

Katoomba Falls

When we reached the top of the mountain, I went on to ride the Scenic Skyway while the rest of them just waited for me at the cafeteria in Mary’s Lookout.

The Scenic Skyway is basically another cable car that takes people from one mountain to another, as if gliding in the sky. This 720-metre ride gives people a 360-degree view of the Three Sisters, Mount Solitary, the Katoomba Falls, and of course the vast rainforest in the Jamison Valley below.

When I got to the other side, I went on to explore the Cliff View Lookout, which offered some of the most breathtaking views I’ve seen in my life.

The Blue Mountains as seen from the Cliff View Lookout

T H R E E  S I S T E R S

When I got back to the other mountain, it was approaching sunset so we left Scenic World to drive to Echo Point. Echo Point is where tourists flock to see The Three Sisters in all their glory.

The Three Sisters at sunset

“The Three Sisters” is one of the most famous rock formations in The Blue Mountains, and was formed as the forces of nature eroded the sandstone through time. If Aboriginal legends are to be believed, The Three Sisters’ names, from left to right, are Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo.

Legend or not, The Three Sisters are truly beautiful, and as we stood at Echo Point viewing the scenery before us the sun starting setting, which cast an orange tinge of light on the Three Sisters and valley below. The sunset also produced beautiful hues of orange and purple in the sky, and I’m beginning to think Australia truly has the most beautiful sunsets. It just took my breath away.

Gorgeous sunset

B L U E

As to the question whether the mountains really are blue, the answer is yes and no. No, of course they aren’t actually blue, but yes, they produce a blue haze that makes them appear blue from afar. The blue haze is caused by the blanket of eucalyptus trees. The trees release aromatic oils, and when sunlight comes into contact with these oils, a bluish haze is produced. The mountains did appear blue, especially as the sun began to set.

Blue or not, it was one of those beautiful autumn days, and while Winter is coming fast and soon, this Blue Mountains trip was Autumn’s perfect curtain call.