Katoomba - Sydney
Trip Start
Jan 2003
1
114
200
Trip End
Dec 2003
Sydney,
Australia
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
Shock news! The Blue Mountains are blue! Wee, they certainly have a blue (verging on green) haze anyway. To be fair, they are beautiful, particularly if you like walking. I, however, prefer to leave walking to others so amused myself (as we all did) with the other forms of transportation available. One of these was half a cable car (one car) which makes it halfway across a valley with a 300m drop before returning. We should have guesses it wasn't to be great given the lack of need to queue unlike the queue for the railway which stretched out the door and beyond. Feeling slightly disappointed at both the cable car and the fact we would have to join the lengthy line to get our thrills we reluctantly took our place. Despite being over too quickly (isn't it always) the train trip was immensely good fun - so much so we did it three times. It basically climbs and descends at a 45 degree angle and has more of a rollercoaster feel to it than anything else.
For our last night together (V and Rachael are staying at a tenuous friend's house in Sydney - friend of a sister of a friend kind of affair) we ditched the 4 quid for 4 litres wine that's been our drink of choice since Cairns, took note of what we'd learned in the Hunter Valley and opted for something a little more upmarket. This seemed to propel us into a proper night out, our first all together since Airlie Beach and hopefully we'll be ending our time together on a high. It's just a shame Roland couldn't join us.
Actually, scrap that last comment. Roland is no longer the loved fifth member of our travelling party after failing his MOT equivalent. It's nothing fatal but it could alter our plans on his eventual sale. He has though, performed admirably in his original task of getting us all to Sydney in one piece. And so onto Sydney and our initial impressions. We'll, we've caught our first glimpse of the Opera House and travelled over the Harbour Bridge, deposited V and Rachael in their abode and are now rested in our less desirable accommodation in Manly. The feeling Kirsty and I currently have however is one of deflation. We're returning to Sydney soon with the promise of a family visit and meeting up with emigrated friends and the only reason we're here at the moment is to try and sell the car. We are therefore not going to (nor wanting to) see the sights and the lure of sitting in a multi-storey car park for a few days is not appealing. I'm sure Sydney will be a charming city but now doesn't feel like the right time for us.
