Australia Abroad: Blue Mountains

Day 6 of our trip started bright and early this morning at 5:30. We had about a two hour train ride up to Katoomba, a small town up in the mountains. It is THE place to go if you want to get just the slightest glimpse on how vast Australia is. When we got to Katoomba we grabbed a quick bite to eat to fill up since we were told we would be doing some hiking in order to get the best views. Little did we know it was be a 6-8 mile expedition. We got up to Echo Point which was one of the main lookout points looking out over the "Three Sisters" which were three large rock formations side-by-side. This entry and my pictures will never do justice to the sheer beauty and of magnificent views that we were able to experience. We began our decent from Echo Point straight down the grand staircase underneath the Three Sisters. This staircase consisted of 900 steps going down at an uncomfortably steep decline. Every steps was made with caution. The views walking down the stairs were somewhat overlooked since everyone was staring at their feet to make sure they didn't plummet down the mountain and take everyone else with them. We finally reached the bottom of the staircase sweating bullets and with already aching legs, but this was only the beginning. From the base we made a large loop around the valley on a nature trail. After reading Bill Bryson's "In a Sunburned Country" I was honestly expecting some type of creature to jump out of the bushes and eat me alive, since everything in Australia can kill you. The nature loop actually gave us the chance to enjoy the Blue Mountains and all of their majesty and also to catch our breath and prepare for the journey back up. We got back around to the base of the cliffs where the stairs began. Most of the group decided to walk to the mountain train and ride it up to the top (ended up being a smart choice on their part, not mine). Anoop, Patrick, Chris and I decided to trek back up the stairs to get a nice cardio workout in and to feel the burn. It wasn't like we hadn't already hiked 6 miles. The walk back up the stairs might have sucked...big time, but the views were worth every bit of the pain. On the way up we stopped off at a few waterfalls and jumped over the railings on the trail (living life on the edge) and were able to refill our water bottles with the freshest water and capture some amazing pictures. The first water fall, well, I'm not even sure you could call it that. But it was still a site to see. Then we made it up to the Katoomba Cascades. Now this was a fall and it was amazing, as were the views. We all got our pictures made standing on the edge looking down hundreds of feet (extremely sketchy) and looking out over the mountain range. You could sit and wonder if this might be what Heaven looks like. To get away from the world and to be up at the falls was an amazing experience, one that I will never forget. I wish I could forget all of the stairs but the pain comes with the beauty. The four of us finally met back up with the group in town and boarded the train for our 2 hour ride back and every fell asleep. Getting back early and having nothing to do is exactly what everyone needed after the day we had just had.