Taking the High Road, Blue Mountains

Manda writes:

Ian and I took a stroll down towards the Minni Haha Falls. We didn't actually reach the waterfall in the end. We were just happy to take a walk further into Grose Valley. What caught our attention immediately was how dry the trees looked. Bark looked like it had been ripped from the trees and was just hanging on by a thread. Walking further into the valley, we could see a wide area of burnt trees - all the trees had turned to charcoal. No doubt as a result of the most recent bush fires that took place a year and a half ago.

Burnt trees show effects of previous bush fires.

We took a trip down to Wentworth Falls next. The last time we were here, there were news reports on the TV about a British tourist falling to his death from the top of the cliffs. Looking down to the bottom of the falls made me shudder and I moved away from the barrier's edge. The Wentworth Falls themselves looked lovely. We could see people trekking across to the top of the falls and some had reached down to the bottom. It was tempting to join them but we thought the best views would be where we were - right opposite the top of the falls.

Manda and Ian at Wentworth Falls.

We met an elderly couple on the steps back up to the car park who had stopped to take a breather. "Glad you are finding this tough too!" they exclaimed after I commented on how it was not as easy as the journey down. This is the thing about Blue Mountains, the best views often require some effort but the results are definitely rewarding.

Having visited most of the lookouts yesterday, we found we had covered most of the sights along the Great Western Highway. The guidebooks had recommended that if we had our own vehicle, it be worth driving along the Bell's Line of Road. It meant double backing on ourselves somewhat but it was worth the trip. The scenic views from this road were more impressive than the usual route in to the Blue Mountains (that being the Great Western Highway), although there didn't appear to be any obvious lookout points where we could stop along the way. Presumably, this is because not as many tourists take 'the high road' as we had.

From this road we drove up to Mount Wilson and Mount Tomah. The temperatures here were cooler than elsewhere in the Blue Mountains, and the vegetation looked a lighter shade of green - we even saw ferns competing with the ever-present eucalypts. After driving for most of the afternoon, we decided to stop off and stretch our legs at Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens.

The gardens cover part of a mountainside and from the top we could see the rock garden in the foreground and vast mountain ranges in the background. This view in itself was worth the entry fee. The gardens have a wide range of well-kept flora and fauna. The highlights for me were the rock gardens, plant explorer's walk and formal gardens.

On the road to Richmond (via Bilpin and Kurrajong), we could see many apple orchards and fruit farms by the roadside. Every now and then, we'd pass signs advertising fresh fruit and preserves. However, try to find a café open, or any other kind of non-fruit based eatery, and we were completely out of luck! It's apples or nothin' in these here parts!

We arrived back at Katoomba after dark and decided to pop over to Echo Point to get some night-time photos of The Three Sisters. As you can see, the floodlights were very powerful and the sisters were clearly visible amongst pitch darkness.

Three Sisters at Night, Katoomba.