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I'd rather be Blue
Entry 151 of 195 | show all | print this entry |
(Jim)
We loved Queenstown, New Zealand so much so that we tried hard to extend our stay by three days. Now we're glad we didn't, because the Blue Mountains turned out to be another favorite spot.
The Blue Mountains are about two hours west of Sydney. The "Blue" part refers to the blue haze that hangs over the valleys, caused by tiny droplets of eucalyptus oil. The topography here is dramatic. The towns are up on a plateau, connected by the Cliff Road that winds along an almost-sheer 1,000 feet drop to the Jamison Valley floor, which is covered with a dense rain forest.
We stayed in Katoomba, at a stunning property called Lilianfels. This is an Orient Express resort, and normally costs about a bazillion dollars. I'd seen the name many times in my research, and entirely ignored it as an option based on the steep price tag. At the last minute, when we realized we could not extend in Queenstown, our prior options in the Blue Mountains had booked up, but Lilianfels was running a special.
So we got to stay five-in-a-room in a lovely brick hotel dating back to the early days of the 20th century. The hallways, bar and lounges are filled with British Imperial memorabilia. The billiard room contains the largest pool table I've ever seen. It appears to have been made from the flight deck of a de-commissioned British Navy aircraft carrier. The staff were wonderful. The kids named Dave the bellman as the nicest man in the Southern Hemisphere. (You may recall that Marco from Dubrovnik clinched the nicest man in the Northern Hemisphere award last fall.)
We loved staying at Lilianfels, but even at the reduced price our budget did not extend to any meals at the hotel's elegant restaurant, where a kid's breakfast was A$30. Instead, we did our instant oatmeal thing with water from the teapot, just like in London. Lunch was sandwiches in nearby Leura. Dinner was Thai food on the main drag in Katoomba one night, cold cuts on Turkish bread in the room the next.
We had a great time hiking along the cliffside trail to the nearby Scenic World complex, the brainchild of local businessman Harry Hammon, who was considered mad when he decided to turn an obsolete former coal mine railway into a tourist attraction. Now Scenic World is a hugely-popular tourist stop, and Hammon is the richest man in the Blue Mountains.
From Scenic World we took the Sceniscender, billed as the steepest inclined railway in the world, down into the valley. The forty-passenger railcar is raised and lowered between valley floor and clifftop by massive steel cables. When you board the railway, the car lies at about a 30 degree angle. As we boarded I told Amy, "There is no way this is the steepest railway in the world." Then we took off, went over a hump, and plummetted down the mountainside at a 60 degree angle. At the point where we plunged into a natural tunnel through the rock, skepticism disappeared. The railway is as steep as any railway ever needs to be.
As we whizzed down the slope toward the bottom, we noticed a white-painted metal framework running alongside, looking like nothing so much as a roller-coaster. It seemed obvious that it must be something else, but what? Neither Amy nor I could figure it out. After our plunge into the abyss, we got out for an hour stroll on a boardwalk winding through the rain forest. We saw the remains of the long-abandoned coal mine and various rain forest trees and plants. Then we took the Skyway (a cable car, the steepest in Australia) back up to the top. As we neared the top, we saw that metal framework again. This time I figured it out. This must be the runway for the counterweights for the railway. When we went through the exit doors, there was a woman behind a nearby counter. "Excuse me," I said. "Could you settle something for us? Is that metal framework out there for the railway's counterweights?"
The woman looked at me for a moment. "Roller coaster," she said. "Been there for thirty years. It never ran. Didn't meet specifications." And that is all she knew.
Maybe the folks who thought Hammon was crazy were right. Who would ride a roller coaster down a 57 degree slope more than 1,000 feet high?
The next day we did another, longer hike. We walked east to the Echo Point lookout, which looks toward the Three Sisters and across the Jamison Valley, then took the Giants Staircase down to the valley floor. The Staircase is not recommended for those who suffer from vertigo or fear of heights. It is solid and well-made of steel, with solid railings between you and the drop, but it is quite a drop. Katharine scampered ahead immediately with Jack close behind. I trailed them, with Amy creeping down behind with Alec. After a few minutes Amy and I switched. I descended slowly, with Alec behind me, holding my backpack with one hand and the railing with the other. Slowly we climbed down, flight after flight of stairs. Then, with one small flight left, Alec let me go, ran down the stairs and jumped the last three. We then walked a few miles to Scenic World and took the train up.
Besides the great hiking, The Blue Mountains have the other ingredients for a nice vacation destination near a big, wealthy city. Good shops, great restaurants. We had a great breakfast at Fresh in Katoomba, which included the best bacon I've ever had in my life.
All in all a great weekend, a perfect family vacation spot.
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