Trip to Sydney - Day 1: The Blue Mountains
We left the city around 8:00am and headed out in an air conditioned coach towards the Blue Mountains. Our first stop was the Featherdale Zoo, which I have to say, is one of the most interesting zoos I've ever been too. When you first walk in there are a few gates that tell people to please keep them closed. On the other side of the gate are wallabies, owls and other wildlife simply walking around amongst the visitors wherever they please. It was better than a petting zoo because you could sit on the ground right next to them and feed them or pet them, some of the little birds would even come and sit on your arm if you let them.
The zoo also had a few caged animals as well including some of the more dangerous animals such as the crocodile and Tasmanian devil.
After the zoo we went to a local inn where we were served with a light buffet lunch. It was then off to the Blue Mountains, our tour guide drove us to a lookout called "Echo Point" where we got to take a few photos of the range. The first thing you notice when you look at the mountains is a blue haze that covers over the entire area. This effect is caused by the gases released by the eucalyptus plants mixing with the air.
Our next stop was "Scenic World" which is a park that was setup within the Blue Mountains where you can take several different rides to get different views of the mountains.
Starting with the Skyway which is a sort of cable car with a glass floor that goes across a valley between the Blue Mountains we saw an overhead view of the forest from above. It was then onto the railway which is the World�s steepest railway track sloping at a steep 52 degrees.
From there we walked around the area for a look at the surrounding foliage as well as a look into the history of the mining that was done in the Blue Mountains back in the 1800's.
The last leg of our journey had us traveling up and over the mountains on the Skyway which gave us a great view of the "Three Sisters"; an outcropping of three large pointed rocks that are said to be the remains of three sisters who were turned into stone.
Our last stop on the trip was to the Sydney Olympic Park where the 2000 Sydney Olympics were held.
Here's a picture of the Telstra Stadium where the opening and closing ceremonies were held.
And remember this thing? It was used to hold the Olympic flame for the duration of the games.
Check me out; here I am five years later standing underneath it! They put it up on these weird stilt things and turned it into a water fountain for kids to play in at the park!
And thus ends day 1 of my trip to Sydney, stay tuned for more posts in the upcoming days, and don't forget to check out my Flickr album for more photos, because Craig and I took LOTS!
2 Comments:
That plate must be huge, espcially when you see the pics of the runner at the opening ceremonies. (I believe she's a Baha'i) It looks like loads of fun. Makes me want to run under it with a bunch of screaming kids. Whee!
../Forbes
Haha, that would be interesting indeed Forbes.
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