for those without fear of heights there runs a trail above the Wentworth Falls
note the typical blue haze yonder
at the jetty a pelican keeps watch
in the Katoomba Scenic Skyway Cable Car you can gaze down
all aboard the Katoomba Scenic Railway
at the Sublime Point Lookout, the name says it all
the Three Sisters glow in the evening sun
this is a Kookaburra, a kind of kingfisher. They make a loud laughing sound
The
Blue Mountains is a forested and mountainous region, west of Sydney, sporting high ridges and deep gorges.
The name
refers to the blue haze when viewed from afar. Fine airborne particles from Eucalyptus trees may be causing this.
The
Gundungurra lived in the area long before European colonists showed up in the 19th century to mine for gold, coal and shale.
By the end of that century the Blue Mountains were fully colonized.
In the early 1900's,
Katoomba had already switched from coal
mining to catering to visiting Sydneysiders and tourism remains the town's main economy.
Nearby waterfalls are the Bridal Veil Falls and the multi-staged Wentworth Falls.
We visited the Blue Mountains in July 1999,
entering from the north via
Wisemans Ferry and exiting to the east to Sydney.
peddlers on the Hawkesbury River
here comes the Wisemans Ferry
the railway claims to have the world's steepest decline
a look deep down into the three step Wentworth Falls
the Bridal Veil Falls