Here is the story of our incredible first days in Australia that began in Sydney Harbor at the end of our 23-day transpacific journey across the Pacific ocean. The entire trip was a fabulous adventure, one we will never forget.
Once upon a long time ago, Steve and I traveled to the Great Barrier Reef for a few weeks. This is where our love of and fascination with Australia began. We had never visited Sydney before and are so grateful and delighted for the circumstances that provided this opportunity.
Considering the distance traveled and the length of the trip, this month-long adventure, was one of the least expensive trips we have taken in some time. That is another story I will fill you in on soon.
Travel cost is always our first consideration when planning our trips. Still, instead of focusing on our limited resources and what we cannot afford to do; we work with the resources we do have to create what are, to us, fun and exciting travel experiences.
Sydney
We will never forget our excitement as we cruised past the Sydney Opera House. After our 23-day unforgettable cruise across the Pacific Ocean. Steve and I were finally in Australia. The sight of the Opera House was the perfect start to our trip.
We spent the next seven days sightseeing, and we loved every minute of it – despite the chilly rain we sloshed through every day. I know that sloshing through rain sounds terrible, but sloshing through the rain in Australia for seven days is not a bad thing at all. It just adds another layer to the trip.
Our first day in Sydney
Disembarkation was easy, with just a tiny hiccup at Customs. We requested an Uber to take us from the port to our car rental. The Uber arrived within five minutes – very impressive since thousands of people were getting off the ship simultaneously–all requiring transportation.
We had a little mixup when our Uber driver took us to the exact address I’d given him but in a nearby suburb, not the Sydney location with the same address. After some confusion, a phone call, and an additional hour, our driver sorted out the problem and took us to the correct location.
We were amazed to discover it was late afternoon after we picked up the car and had a quick lunch. These old folks were exhausted for some reason, so we drove to the hotel we’d chosen, located halfway between downtown Sydney and the Blue Mountains, and called it a day.
We had planned to hop in our car and drive the two hours from Sydney to the Blue Mountains for our first day in Australia. That did not work out, but the following morning we were rested and struck out for these fabled Blue Mountains looking forward to an entire day of exploring.
Blue Mountains
The Blue Mountains World Heritage Site gets its name from the blue haze created by oil released by the eucalyptus trees growing in the area. The Blue Mountains National Park covers over 620 acres in Victoria and New South Wales.
Katoomba, one of the more popular villages in the area, is located in the Blue Mountains National Park and is a top-rated destination for tourists and locals. Katoomba is also home to the Scenic World, a tourist attraction that includes a cable car, a railway, and a skyway.
This area is one of Australia’s most popular tourist destinations, and it’s easy to see why. These mountains are home to all forms of wildlife, from kangaroos and wallabies to echidnas and platypuses.
There are also plenty of opportunities for hiking, camping, and other outdoor activities, and the views are simply stunning. If you’re looking for a place to rejuvenate and relax, the Blue Mountains are the perfect spot.
Scenic World
An amusement park, Scenic World, in existence since 1945, is an unusual feature and a wildly popular tourist attraction in the Blue Mountains. Once a former coal mine, the amusement park has three parts, a skyway, a cable car, and a rail ride.
We purchased tickets for each of these experiences but only managed to take the rail ride. I agree that this is undoubtedly the steepest passenger train in the world –at a 52-degree incline, it just has to be!
The rail ride travels very fast, almost immediately barreling through a tunnel, but then suddenly opens up to these fantastic views of the valley through the glass roof. Before we knew it, the ride was over, and I was delighted to disembark and stand upright again.
The ride ends in the jungle valley, where we opted to take the 10-minute walk back toward the Skyway ride and enjoy the scenery – in the rain, of course.
As we walked along the walkway, we found sculptures and informational signs explaining the local plants and the history of coal mining in this area. The drizzling rain kept us moving more quickly than we might ordinarily have, so the Blue Mountains are now on our list of places to revisit.
We lined up to take the Skyway ride, but unfortunately, a mechanical issue caused it to be closed for the day just before we boarded! We were looking forward to the views from the glass enclosure over 2,000 feet above the ravine.
Even on a rainy day, the view from the Skyway would have afforded us great views of the famous Three Sisters, the Katoomba Falls, and the Jamison Valley.
We ran out of time and could not ride in the Scenic Cableway car either; as a matter of fact, we never even saw it. The cable car is considered the steepest in the Southern hemisphere. It transports guests to the walkway in the rainforest.
I can imagine how lovely these three rides at Scenic World would be on a bright sunny day, and I sincerely hope we find ourselves in this part of the world again to experience the Blue Mountains properly.
This tale covers only a day and a half of our week in Australia and Sydney. If our Australia adventure interests you, please subscribe so you will receive my next installment of this dream-come-true trip.
