Jan. 3rd, 2003 We've had a streak of great days here in Australia. First off we finally met up with Bruce Felix and his brother Joe at the Bondi Junction train station. Laura is sadly back in the states already. Anyhow, we immediately set off to a nearby Irish Pub and went through 4 rounds of Guinness swapping travel stories and the insights into the care and feeding of scientists back on the boat. Then we wandered back up to Sarah's Nana's place and got ready for the New Years Eve fireworks. Bruce and Joe and I climbed up on this unfinished building next door and had a premium spot for photos of the whole harbor.

Fern Tree

The show started precisely at midnight and the Sydney harbor bridge was suddenly spraying fireballs in all directions with various other islands exploding with pyrotechnics all along the harbor for as far as you could see. Some really impressive high altitude bursts that just illuminated the entire city. I shot almost a whole Gig of pics and movies while Bruce and Joe whooped and hollared and rolled around on the roof like a couple of drunk monkeys in Hawaiian shirts. (photos to be posted tomorrow)

Dardanelles Pass

The next day we got on the train and headed out to the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. The train service here (like absolutely anywhere on the planet except for the US) is really great for getting around the country. We pick up a train right by Grandma's and make one change at Central Station and then we head right up into the mountains.

Lots of cool little mountain towns in route but we finally got off at a place called Katoomba. This town is situated on the edge of a major cliff network where the mountains which have been climbing steadily all the way from Sydney just drop precipitously into this low wilderness valley. Katoomba is on this little spit of land with huge cliffs on 3 sides. The first night we checked into the Youth Hostel and grabbed a pizza at a local place and then went to see the new LOTR movie again (Bruce hadn't seen it yet).

The next morning Me and Sarah and the Felixes split forces (since they wanted to get an early start, a practice which I do not condone and have only lately learned to tolerate in others) and we wandered off to explore the cliffs.

Sarah and The Giant Steps

Sarah and I started off with The Giant Steps heading down the side of the Three Sisters rock formation. This is a series of 990 steps usually carved right into the cliff, but occasionally supplemented with metal steps, from the top of the cliff right down into the rain forest. Very steep, very narrow, and definitely NOT to code if you know what I mean. Boy did I feel sorry for the people who decided to climb UP the steps. Can't anyone read a bleedin' map anymore? Anyhow, after a nice decent into the canopy of eucalyptus trees and giant tree ferns we wandered along a trail at the base of the cliffs watching parrots and lizards and waterfalls.

Skink

The place is fairly wild and muddy but the strange thing is that this has been a resort spot for people from Sydney for 100 years so some places the park service has restored old picnic gazebos from the 1920's and there are pictures of guys in top hats and women with parasols and hoop skirts standing right on the cliffs where we were standing. Lots of trees and rocks are sporting graffiti from the 20's too.

Second Sister

We walked all along the cliff face for a few kilometers in each direction and then took an old mine car incline railway up to the top again. Very steep 57 degree grade, so when you get in the car you're lying back like a Lazy-Boy chair in full recline, but as soon as you hit the slope you're pitched forward and have to hold on to keep from sliding out of your seat. More of an elevator than a train really. Then we did a shuttle bus hop to another section of cliff and did a trek along the top of the cliff.

There is just an amazing difference between the semi-desert climate at the top and the rain forest at the base. The Blue Mountains really are blue, because all the Eucalyptus oil from the trees refracts blue light. Incidentally, that's why they had such hideous bush fires here is because all that oil is flammable and the trees just go off like bombs. We heard that the early settlers in South Africa imported Eucalyptus trees from Australia but now they're gradually ripping them all out because they're such a fire hazard over there. Over here it's native, and besides a lot of the vegetation here wont even start to seed until right after a fire. Besides, the Koalas ONLY eat Eucalyptus leaves.

Anyhow, we're back in Sydney now and about to head off (via rental car this time I think) to the northern coastline. The Felixes are going on a "Surf Safari" up the coast and we should meet up with them again somewhere around Byron Bay at the end of the week.

All for now,
Andy