Sydney

So, today I got in the car and drove the appx. 90 mins into Sydney. I'd researched the route on Google Maps and thought it looked pretty straightforward. It wasn't. Sydney, like most big cities, is a hellhole to drive in, and as with most big cities the signposting of streets is atrocious. Additionally, as I found out to my great consternation upon trying to leave, some of the streets Google wanted me to take were not accessible from the prior street. Gaaaaah!

Anyway, after a good deal of hit and miss driving I finally found the parking house next to the famous Opera building. I parked, got up, walked around for a bit, had lunch, walked around some more and then left. I can not foresee an early return to that city, if at all. Sydney's nice enough for a day visit, nothing more.

The big cities in Australia are generally soulless, generic places with little of the old world charm that I like about many European cities, and they also lack much of the feeling of vibrant innovation that makes many US cities tolerable (in general, big cities in the US are way inferior to the smaller places and the sweet, sweet national parks). It's not that Australian cities are bad, they're just not terribly interesting. The Opera house, for example, is really the only thing worth going to Sydney for. And that can be done in five minutes.

The scenery around there was nice enough and there were lots of sweaty exhibitionists jogging, mothers pushing strollers and groups of uniformed twats from private schools waiting to get inside the building and how I'd like to take a baseball bat to them all. I have come to realize that I must severely limit my exposure to crowds in the future, or risk committing unspeakable crimes. The more I see of humanity in general, the more I hate it. Ugh.

The experience was not helped by the fact that lunch was served by a crazy, old Yugoslavian guy who took it upon himself to try and begin discussions with me on everything from Norse Mythology to the imminent deindustrialization of Europe. Honestly, do these people exist only to bother me? Double ugh.

All Sydney pics here.

Methinks you may have seen this building before?


From the other side.


From the third side...


And from the fourth.


Skyline of Sydney Harbour... well, one of them. The city hugs both sides of a loooong bay, so it has several "centers".


The view across the water.


The Harbour Bridge. I felt I got to know it intimately, having gone TWO times back and forth on it - both drives totally unnecessary.


People were actually walking on it. People way more fit and way more bored than I'll ever be.


During one of my many, many stops at red lights I spotted this statue, of Queen Victoria. Rule Britannia!

Cahills Lookout

I believe this place was called Cahills Point, after some former PM of the state, who had opened the lookout point or some such thing. Possibly fallen down from it? Anyway, it provided a glimpse into the pleasant landscape beyond the rainforest.

All pics here.

The ridge that separated the two valleys.


Less rainforest and more farmland & grassland.


But the horizons are still blue...

Scenic World: The Boardwalk

One of the features at Scenic World was the Boardwalk, a route through the rainforest at the bottom of the valley. It held some moderately informative stuff about trees and wildlife and such.

All pics here.

I walked down there. Call me Indiana Ghost.


The railway where I came down.


*Whimper*


The Boardwalk.


Termite hill.


The skies as seen from the dark rainforest floor.


I caught this bird, a lyrebird on film. It makes the most incredible noises.


Insanity.

Katoomba Falls II

Some more pics from the Katoomba Falls area. This is from the part known as the Katoomba Cascades.

Just a little bit deeper and you could dream yourself away to any number of films featuring a pool at the bottom of a waterfall.


Experimenting with the shutter speed on my camera. It says something about either my lack of technical expertise or my laziness (probably both) that I still haven't figured out anything more advanced with my $400 Nikon than making running water look like fog.






More experimenting with my shutter speed.




Ah crosshed theshe.

Katoomba Falls I

Having safely made it across the chasm, I walked down to the river and got in some pretty good pictures of the cascading stream just before it went over the cliffs. I also got some pics of the surrounding area, particularly the trees. The pics of the cascading river will come in a separate post.

All Katoomba Falls pics here.

I believe this area was called the Katoomba Cascades.


Where the river flows over the edge.


A heartshaped hole in the treetrunk.


Fires had ravaged much of the vegetation.


A eucalyptus tree shedding its bark.


It was a long way down.


Stone? Tree trunk? Combo?

Scenic World: Katoomba Falls from the air

Some of you will know that I'm not very good with heights. I believe I've alluded to it earlier on this blog; it's at the point where I get dizzy when I'm standing on my toes... So it was a major step out of my comfort zone when I bought an all day pass to Scenic World, just north of Echo Point this morning. It included free rides on "Skywalk" which is basically a cable ride across the valley, with a glass bottom. Also, it includes a ride on skyrail (more about that later) and skycable, both steep rides down into the valley below.

You can see all pictures related to my day at Scenic World here, or limit your views to Katoomba Falls here.

There's a story that the name of the cliff formation "The Tree Sisters" comes from an aboriginal story involving... three sisters. The story is a hoax, meant to increase the legend (and presumably the flow of tourists) surrounding the cliffs in the 1920s. Yet, there are three nekkid bronze statues outside the entrance, all strangely Caucasian in features.


A formation called Orphan Rock. It used to be a major attraction, but access to it was closed in 1974, due to erosion having made it dangerous. We were told that in the summer the water coming down the mountainsides would take huge boulders with them down into the valley. In a few million years, the mountains will all be worn down.


This is the view straight down from the cable car, of the rainforest at the bottom of the valley. It is the only picture I took through the glass floor, on account of being absolutely terrified of heights.


Some pics of the falls.

Echo Point II

While at Echo Point I also got in some incredible pictures of the sun going down. Feast your eyes on the red, white and blue, ladies & gangsters.















The sunset almost looked like a nuke blast at times.

Echo Point I

I've decided to circumvent the noise, crime and expensive hubbub of Sydney for the peace and tranquility of Katoomba, high up in the Blue Mountains. This is a very popular tourist region, situated only about 90 mins away from Sydney, and with lots of things to see and do, most of it very accessible. I may take a day trip into Sydney tomorrow, if so I shall duly report on it with pics, etc.

When I arrived at my hotel on Monday I went just over the hill to Echo Point, one of Australia's most famous lookout points. In addition to presenting a stunning panoramic view of the mountains, it also provides a good look at the Three Sisters, possibly the most famous cliff formation in the country after Ayers Rock. They're what's (currently) left of a ridge, which has been eroded by wind and water. In a few thousand years, they, too will be gone.

All pics from Echo Point here.

The three sisters.


With the Jamison Valley behind.


This ridge is known as Mount Solitary.


Dem valleys be blue.


It has been speculated that vapor from the eucalyptuses break up the sunlight more than usual, increasing the blue tint.


It does look like a fairyland, doesn't it?

Quote of the Day

I like work, it fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my heart.
- Jerome K. Jerome