March 4- Blue Mountains

Jet lag kicked in and I woke up super early around 6 am! I asked around on the couchsurfing app who wanted to go to the blue mountains with me (3.5 hour public transport each way from Sydney) and Jeremie from Tel Aviv, Israel was awake and willing! We met up and took two buses and a train to get there. We had a ton to talk about between Israel, traveling, Judaism and overall life experiences! It was a gorgeous high 70’s day when we rolled into the mountainous mining town of Katoomba. It kind of reminded me of a Tennessee or Wyoming mountain town with cute little antique shops and cafes. We went to scenic world, which has three main attractions: incline railway, cable car and gondola over the valley between the mountains.

Total for all three was $34 USD, which was overpriced in my opinion but the reviews online raved about it so we did it! You can also do the attractions separately, but they are still expensive alone. There were pretty walkways included in the ticket which go through the rainforest and we were walking underneath gorgeous intertwining tree vines- something Tarzan would swing through!! Jeremie and I found a cute little hut next to a waterfall to eat lunch then headed off. We saw little lizards and a peacock on our walk, but no kangaroos in the rainforest- don’t worry we checked! Overall the mountains were so beautiful and in fact, are part of multiple mountain ranges in the national park, which is also a world heritage site, might I add!

We didn’t have time to do any long trails but my couchsurfing host, Charles, recommended the Wentworth Falls (2-4 hour hike) within the park. The rides back were exhausting, but the great news is that in Sydney on Sundays the public transport (ferries, buses, trains, etc) cap your expenses at like $2.60 AUD, so my total 7 hour trip to the blue mountains was dirt cheap, and almost free. (around $2 USD!) Does this ever happen in the states? Once I got back I got cleaned up and hung out with Charles and his roommates, then my Australian friend Corey who studied at University of Illinois for a semester, came over to pick me up.

We drank my first Australian beer called Hahn Super Dry. It was nice and smooth. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of old friends while I’m traveling here! Corey and I went to a gorgeous restaurant/bar in Double Bay called Sheaf. This place was the definition of good vibes, and I included a picture of the bar because it was that cool! Was a fun filled day filled with great company, scenery, and weather.

(Sheaf Restaurant in Double Bay)