Day 238: Surfing at Non-Couchsurfers’

Sydney – Blue Mountain – Jenolan – Sydney, Australia

Stephen and Christine picked me up at Aunt Lily’s place early in the morning. They had planned the day for me: visiting Blue Mountain and Jenolan Cave. I also had my bag packed ready to relocate to their apartment. While Aunt Lily was fine with me staying longer because I still hadn’t figured out my transports to go up north in Australia, I didn’t really want to overstay my welcome. It’s time to bother some other poor souls :] There had been a lot of friends and strangers whose kindness I would love to repay later. Some may be feasible, some not so.

Blue Mountain is claimed by Australian tourism as Grand Canyon of New South Wales.  It took about an hour and a half drive to reach the site. The view was indeed impressive but I wouldn’t know how it compares to the Grand Canyon. Despite being in the proximity on the Grand Canyon when I was travelling the West Coast of America at 10 years old, I did not get to see the view.

The main attraction in the Blue Mountain is the famous Three Sister. As named, it’s three peaks by the cliff of the mountain. These peaks pale in comparison to the three towers of Torres del Paine. However, the lush green and expanding bush forest beneath it made an incredible view. Stephen had planned so that we took a hike all the way down the cliff into the bush, but alas, this wasn’t happening. Ten minutes going down the staircases, the path was blocked off with a landslide warning sign, forcing us to hike up. It was a real disappointment. But then again, it would have been such a pain to hike all the way back up had we made it all the way down.

Our next stop was Jenolan Caves. These are natural caves with plenty of different excursion paths to choose from. We picked one and headed in with the tour. Times like this I wished I had had a better lens. My camera could hardly take any decent photos without a flash. Also, the fact that my lens has a constant blur on the lower left corner began to bother me so much that I really ought to look for and invest on a new lens.