"Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter." - Izaak Walton
Day 04: 25 June 2013
(Batemans Bay)
After a hearty breakfast we checked out of Katoomba Falls Tourist Park around 10:00, parked our campervan at a parking space nearby and drove the MPV to the Blue Mountains' attractions.
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| (Ready to explore the Blue Mountains scenic sites) |
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| (Discounted unlimited pass) |
The World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains region lies about 120km to the west of Sydney. It is a bushwalker’s paradise with its striking scenery, rainforest and spectacular wildlife. The region offers a myriad of activities for the visitors and we paid for the unlimited pass at a discounted price of A$29 for adults and free for children below four.
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| (Riding the Scenic Skyway) |
First we boarded the Scenic Skyway over the Katoomba waterfalls and experienced the thrill of walking on the Electro-Scenic glass floor revealing the valley floor about 270m below and on clear day one could view the beautiful Katoomba waterfalls. The Scenic Skyway is the highest cable car in Australia.
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| (Waiting to ride the steepest train) |
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| (Hana holding on strong on Scenic Train) |
Later, we rode the Katoomba Scenic Train, at 52 degree it is the steepest inclined passenger railway in the world and visit the historic mining attractions at the cliff base. From there we could walk to the valley floor and enjoyed breathtaking views of the surroundings. When we were there we could barely see the Orphan Rock, Mt Solitary, the Jamison Valley and managed to view the Three Sisters through thick fog and heavy rain.
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| (A glimpse of the Three Sisters) |
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| (The statues of the Three Sisters) |
The Three Sisters are a famous rock formation towering high above the Jamison Valley. Legend has it that three sisters fell in love with three men from neighboring tribes. As marriage between tribes was forbidden the men decided to capture the sisters, creating massive tribal wars. To protect the sisters an elder witch doctor turned them into stone. The elder was killed during the war and the sisters were left to erode as stone for eternity. This legend is falsely claimed to be an Aboriginal Dreamtime legend.
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| (Scenic Cableway under repair) |
We missed riding the Scenic Cableway as it was under repair. The cableway could carry 84 people and is Australia’s biggest cable car. It descends the 545 meters into the Jamison Valley and returns back up to the top of the escarpment. We skipped the Scenic Walkway as it was raining quite heavily and the 2.4km boardwalk could be slippery for baby strollers.
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| (Scenic Walkway in the valley) |
From the Blue Mountain we drove to Batemans Bay through the tourist scenic route avoiding highways and motorways. The more than 4-hour drive passed through Kangaroo Valley and big farms and small townships. Kangaroo Valley is a gently sloping wide valley surrounded on its sides by high mountains of the NSW Southern Highlands, approximately two hours' drive south-west of Sydney and about two hours south of Canberra. The township is accessed by the Moss Vale Road, which links Moss Vale to the Princes Highway at Bomaderry a little north of Nowra. It was raining heavily all the way and some roads were flooded.
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| (Flooded road along the country route) |
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| (Driving carefully on slippery road) |
As we will be arriving late at BIG4 Batemans Bay Beach Resort we gave them a call first to book a powered caravan site at a rental cost of A$63. The park is large and complete with amenities and swimming pool and surrounded by water on three sides. It is a perfect beachside destination away from the hustle bustle of urban life. We had a choice of camping, powered or ensuite sites. Or we could rent a luxury waterfront villa with fantastic views which could cost us a little more.
Dinner was fried rice, omelette and fried anchovies.
2013: Sydney/Blue Mt, Australia 👉👉
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