Katoomba and the Rain Forest

On February 28th we traveled to Katoomba. We stopped at Wentworth Falls on the way. There are two sections falling from the top to a ledge half way down and then again to the very bottom of the valley. It there was no break, these falls would be the highest waterfall in the Blue Mountains. This fall was very stunning.

We stopped at Leura, a small town with a picturesque main street with many shops. David bought us meat pies for lunch. They were freshly baked and very tasty.

We headed to Katoomba to view the Three Sisters which are rock formations that are over 3000 feet above sea level. The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe.

These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle.

As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.

We then went to the scenic railway to travel down 415 m ( the steepest incline railway in the world) into a temperate rain forest. We then walked along the pathway. This area was a coal mine and had a lot of information and displays about the mine. We were able to spot lyrebirds which look a lot like pheasants. This was quite a find as they are not easy to spot. The definitely blend into the environment. The flora and fauna were amazing. A lot of gum trees, turpentine trees, tree ferns, termite mound and much more.

We were also able to ride the cableway which travels 545 m and is the steepest cable ride in the Southern Hemisphere into the Jameson Valley.

We headed home to enjoy a barbie with David and Carolyn's son, Richard, and his fiancee Nina, as well as David and Carolyn's friends, Terry and Pat. It was great to sit around the dinner table and talk. A nice evening!

Our jet lag is gone and we have done a lot of walking, a lot of steps, and seen so much beautiful scenery.