The Blue Mountains

Today I ventured out a couple of hours west of Sydney on a day trip to the Blue Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed region known for its dramatic sandstone cliffs, deep valleys, eucalyptus forests, and the iconic Three Sisters rock formation.

The Three Sisters (four with me)

I’d visited this area when Mike and I were in Australia in 2003, but the weather then was sub-optimal so I wanted to see it again. The day started rainy, which made me imagine it would be another washout, but the skies cleared as the day went on and its was pretty spectacular!

We took several bush walks in the course of the day, with two leading to waterfalls. This seems to be a recurring theme on this trip, and I’m not mad at it

Requisite shot of me and a waterfall - I just keep chasing them!!

After some time in the mountains, we stopped by the Featherdale Wildlife Park, a sanctuary for many of Australia’s unique animals. I saw koalas, kangaroos, echidnas, wombats, crocodiles, bats, emus, and many different varieties of birds, among other things.

Like my Dad, I like nature. But like my Mom, I also like shopping, so was happy we stopped for lunch and a little free time in Leura, a small town known as "The Garden Village". It had many small shops and antique stores, and I really enjoyed poking around after I’d grabbed a lunch of Caesar salad.

Turned out to be a really fun day, with lots of variety and it was great to have a second chance to explore this beautiful area.