Jenolan Caves & Govetts Leap

We traveled a total of 243 km today. As we traveled our tour guide, Carolyn gave us a lot of history of the area as well as pointing out many sites. We made a stop at the Rotary Market in Springwood which is a fundraiser held once a month and is a flea market. Found a sun hat and a few beads for my bracelet.

We traveled on to the caves. Along the way we saw such beautiful scenery. Also, of interest was the management of the soft wood pine harvesting. It was amazing to see the acres of field that had been harvested and will be replanted. The stands were organized as we would a farm field. I will try to attach a picture.

We made it to the caves. They were amazing. Unfortunately, all my pictures ended up be deleted from my camera Don't ask me how that happened! The caves have been formed by limestone, formed very slowly through accumulation of layer upon layer of sediments that have been compressed and compacted. These caves consist mostly of the mineral calcite (calcium carbonate).

We went through Chifley Cave which had 421 steps and took us an hour to tour. Our guide, John was very informative. There were many chambers with active crystal formation. The next cave we explored was the Orient Cave which had 358 steps and was an 1 1/2 hour tour. It was a beautiful cave with many illuminated features. Scott was a our tour guide.

Finally, we did a self-guided tour of the Devils Coach and the Nettle Cave with 476 steps and a bit more strenuous. It is called a Twilight Cave because it had 2 large opening to the sky.

Next we went to Govetts Leap. A beautiful view of the Grose Valley. It was breath taking. We also saw Bridal Falls. So glad we were able to stop for this wonderful scenery.

We headed home for supper and relaxing. We definitely had a full day and plenty of exercise as well. Now a time of relaxing and catch up on the Olympics.

Since we lost our photos, here is a selection of photos to give you an idea of the beauty that we were able to experience: http://images.google.co.nz/images?client=safari&rls=en&q=jenolan+caves+photos&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=CQKaS8avDI_iNf6PrXs&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBcQsAQwAA

A lot of adventure

We boarded our flight for LAX and started taxiing but then stopped One of the engines wasn't starting so we had to go back to gate. The plane ended up being grounded and our flight cancelled. We immediately got in line and also called AA directly. They rebooked us on a flight to San Francisco that was boarded at the next gate and then flying directly to Sydney. We had no idea when we would arrive in Sydney but we got on the flight.

We landed in SF at 9:45 pm and our next flight was to board at 10:05. We needed to get to the international terminal, get new boarding passes, go through security again. We arrived at our gate at 10:05 just as they announced boarding for our seats! God is good! We did find out that we would be arriving in Sydney Friday at 8:05 am. We were able to get a quick call off to our friends, David and Carolyn of our earlier arrival time.

The flight was long but actually shorter than our original flight plan. Our luggage is MIA. May still be in Boston for all we know. Hopefully, we will find out tomorrow.

We went Coogee Beach had coffee and drove a bit further North. We walked the coastal way from Tamarama to Bondi Beach. The scenery was beautiful. We stopped at the park at Dover Heights to see the view of the city. We then went to Watson's Bay for fish and chips on the harborside. Home for afternoon tea and biscuits. We drove to Blue Mountain National Park to Euroka Clearing and saw wild Eastern Gray Kangaroos. A male and female. We think there was a joey in her pouch. The mountains are beautiful. Many eucalyptus trees. Then back home for a traditional lamb roast, veggies, gravy, and mint sauce. We had pavlova(supposedly name for Anna Pavolva, professional ballerina) dessert with fresh fruit including passion fruit topped with thickened cream.

February 24th, 2010

Boston International Airport

Well, we arrived extra early and it was a good thing. When we gave the attendant processed our passports and then told us we needed visas to Australia. Steve was surprised since he did not need them the last time he flew there. As it turned out, they were able to process our visas for us! So the adventure has already begun and we haven’t left US soil yet. : ) My new laptop is not connecting to the wifi here so I am hoping this not a sign of things to come. So I will word process and copy and paste when I can.

We are excited and feel very blessed to be able to travel together to celebrate 30 years of marriage. Being married to Steve has been and will always be an adventure!!

Preparations

We are busy preparing for our trip downunder. Looking forward to seeing friends in Australia and exploring New Zealand's South Island. We really don't mind saying farewell to winter for awhile as we head to late summer/early fall. Our trip begins on February 24th flying out of Boston to LAX and then a long flight to Melbourne and then arriving in Sydney on February 26th.