Blue Mountains NSW, Australia - Part 1

If you watch the news at all, wherever you may be in the world, you will know that Australia is in the middle of  devastating bushfire season.  Australia suffers bushfires at least somewhere every year, but this year is different because of the number of locations  and sheer size of the areas affected.  It will take years (if ever) for the affected areas to fully recover.  Many people and animals have lost their lives, many more have been severely injured or lost everything they owned. There are also knock-on effects beyond the affected regions, including economic impact and the effects of smoke pollution. 

New South Wales is one of the states badly hit by bushfires, from the north to the south.  In the first week of November 2019, I spent a lovely week travelling through various regions of New South Wales, at least some of which will now have been burnt out.

I think it is a fitting time to celebrate the beauty of these regions by posting some of my photos from my travels before the fires hit, and urge everyone who can to go and visit these unique and exquisite areas.  You will not only be doing yourself a favour, but you will be helping the people, the wildlife and the entire region to recover from the devastation wreaked by the bushfires.  Also note that the forests do start to regenerate quickly to heal themselves, so there will be natural scenery for you to view beyond the stark blackened ruins left behind by the fires. 

I am going to start with one of the better known regions that I visited, the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.  The Blue Mountains got their name because the oils from the eucalyptus trees which are abundant in the region refract light to produce a distinctive blue colour, which produces a blue haze over the mountains.  

It is very easy to get to the Blue Mountains, even without a car, as there is a terrific rail line that travels there from Central Station in Sydney (though I understand that the further out regions of the line past Katoomba will be down for some months due to bushfire damage).  I travelled to Katoomba, a popular tourist town, by train, and spent my first day in the Blue Mountains travelling via the Blue Mountains Explorer Bus.  This bus is a "hop on, hop off" service that is familiar in many cities and towns these days, and is an easy way to see the key sights in and around Katoomba and Leura without a car.

The first stop where I got off was at Katoomba Cascades.  I walked from there to the next stop, Katoomba Falls, via an easy 1km bushwalk.  (Disclosure - I was wearing a dress the whole first day, and I easily completed each of the bushwalks that I will mention without being hampered in the slightest.)  

Following are some shots from that first bushwalk:     

The next stop was a "photo opportunity only" stop at Narrow Neck Lookout (which I believe has been fire affected):

From there, I next stopped at the Honeymoon Lookout stop, where you can do a short 1km bush walk on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk to Echo Point, where all the tourists stop for the best view of the Three Sisters.  On the way, you can take a detour at the Giant Stairway, where you take 147 steps down a rather steep but easily navigable metal stairway with stunning valley views (note this is just the first part of the Giant Stairway - the full stairway to the bottom of the Three Sisters is 998 steps!):    

Your reward at the end of the stairway is to walk across a bridge and be able to touch one of the Three Sisters: 

One word of warning is that people tend to clog up the stairwell and bridge to take a load of group photos.  If you are scared of heights, it can feel like an eternity that you are stuck on the narrow staircase waiting for your turn to touch the Three Sisters.  Also, some people don't feel inclined to leave the area once they get there, even though they have been politely given their turn alone to get clear shots.  I will say no more about that.   Also note that what comes down must come up, and the walk up the stairs is more of a slog than going down.

Eventually, the path takes you to Echo Point, where you get a superb view of the Three Sisters (there are actually really seven sisters, but only three are prominent!), and the valley beyond:

Unlike the other stops, Echo Point is a tourist mecca, with shops and bus stops and tourists everywhere.  You are definitely not in the bush at Echo Point, but it is worth going there for the fabulous views of the Three Sisters (which of course make it so popular).

The next stop that I got off at was Leura Cascades (an area that I know was affected by bushfires as the surrounding area was closed for  few days).   The beautiful tranquil waterfalls in this area are the stand out:

These photos show only a fraction of the beautiful natural landscape in the Blue Mountains that is yours to enjoy if you choose to visit.  Apart from Echo Point and the Three Sisters, the area is peaceful and quiet and you won't meet too many people on your travels, so it is the perfect place to come and commune with nature and enjoy the natural beauty that is so abundant here.