Nature’s Beauty Strikes Again

Some of you may remember that when I wrote about going to the Botanic Gardens in Melbourne I got a little emotional. Well for those of you who think I am made of steel the awe inspiring views and breath taking waterfalls that I took in on Sunday proved you wrong.

Sunday was bush walk day! I had crashed at Shane’s house because we wanted to get an earlyish start to the day. My plan was to cook berry pancakes for breakfast to kick off our day of adventure but thanks to Shane and Darran’s shitacular cookware they sucked the hind tit. Ah well, no worries we ate them anyway and got out the door around 9:30, which was about ½ an hour behind schedule. We drove up to the Blue Mountains and our first stop was the Three Sisters. Here is a tid bit of information for you. Did you know that the Blue Mountains get their name because on a clear day there appears to be a blue haze over the mountains? This haze is caused by the excess of eucalyptus oil in the air from the trees that grow on the mountains. There is your something new that you learned today! Anyhow, the Three Sisters is a rock formation that can be seen from one of the lookouts on the mountain. The rocks are really gorgeous and it was something that I wanted to see since I got here. Of course the place was crowded with tourists but I was able to get some awesome pictures of the three sisters and the Jamieson Valley. The views from this look out are just breath taking and beautiful. It is amazing to see the panoramic views over the valley and all the mountains in the distance. I was so grateful to see that!

After some pictures of the sisters and surrounds we took off to do a bush walk in the Valley of the Waters. What a great day we had for a bush walk too! It was sunny and cool, but not cold. It was the perfect day. However I made Shane take a short detour to the Blue Mountains chocolate making facility. I had wanted to go there since I got here too. We walked in and there was so much chocolate all around. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head! Behind a large glass bay window was where the magic happened. This place doesn’t mass produce chocolates so it wasn’t a huge factory. We looked/drooled around the place for a while trying to decide what to buy. There was so much to choose from it was next to impossible to make actual decisions about what to get. I wish I could have it all! Not to mention they had free chocolate tastings! So after a acute bout of indecisiveness I bought some chocolate and we continued on our journey to the Valley of the Waters.

The Valley of the Waters has its name because it is peppered with waterfalls. There are many different walking tracks and bush walks to go on it just depends on how many waterfalls you want to see and what you want the difficulty level to be. I think you all know me; I go big or go home. I wanted to see the most waterfalls as possible. We had a look at the map and decided to do the Wentworth Pass walk. Shane later informed me that there is only one other trail up there that is harder then what we did. The rating of this circuit was ‘hard’ and the approximate time to complete was 5 hours. To that I say “Poppycock!” It was a moderate trail (with a lot of stairs) in my opinion, and Shane and I did it in 3.5 hours including stopping for a picnic lunch! We really are awesome bush walkers!

To start this walk you start on the tip top of a mountain, and before we could even start the Wentworth Pass we had to walk all the way down the mountain into the valley. It was nice to see the views from the top. It too looked over the Jamieson Valley, and there were just spectacular views over the ridges. Now I am going to tell you about the walk, but I would like it to be noted that no amount of words, pictures, videos, or any other media would be able to accurately describe the experience I had on Sunday. Again, I know I have said this about a few things since I have been here and this one holds true yet again. I am so lucky to have experienced these things while I am here, and I love to share them with you, but I know there is no way you could ever understand until you have done and seen it yourself.

Going down the mountain was multiple sets of stairs. I thought that these stairs were pretty steep until we got to the other side. As we started our decent into the valley I tried to take it all in. The rock formations, the views over the valley, everything! It wasn’t long before I heard water rushing, and I knew that soon we would be seeing our first waterfall. This waterfall was so nice, and we actually had to cross it on stones sticking up from the water. I thought it was so beautiful, and had no idea of what was about to come. We carried on all the way down the valley on the trail of stone stairs and downhill, knowing full well that at some point we would have to come back up from the valley. We came to waterfall after waterfall and the next one seemed more impressive then the last. The rushing water and fine mist that sprinkled your body as we wound our way down and around all these beautiful sights. My camera was clicking nonstop, and I was glad that Shane didn’t mind taking pictures of me along the way. I can’t remember all the names of the waterfalls I saw but I like to call them all amazing falls! The walk was great too. A real hike! We stopped for lunch by a small little waterfall just off the trail. It was nice and quiet and a beautiful spot to eat lunch. We also heard a rescue chopper come flying over head and then we listened and watched as we walked for the next 1.5-2hours as they tried to rescue whoever it was they were looking for. Shane said that this area often gets stupid tourists trapped somewhere they wouldn’t be and have to get choppered out. Very similar to say, Cape Split at home. It was cool to see the chopper that low, and close too. Shortly after lunch we came around a corner to one of the most beautiful sights I have ever had the pleasure of seeing in my whole life. It was this magnificent and enormously tall waterfall streaming from the top of the mountain down to where we were and into a huge pool at the bottom. The falls were so tall that I was unable to get into a single picture even turning my camera sideways and standing back as far as I could. I was awe struck! It was amazing and just beautiful in every way. It was at these falls that I did get a little emotional because, like in Melbourne, I was overwhelmed with the fact that I was fortunate enough to be able to come to a place like this and see such a thing. I tried to take as many photos as I could, and even took a video but like I said before, no amount of media could ever capture that sight.

It was slightly intimidating to look up and see the cliff faces surrounding you and know that in a few short moments you will have to start making your way up there. After taking it all in and taking heaps of pictures we started our ascend back up the mountain to where we started. It was awesome going back up because we actually crossed that huge waterfall in two places. We crossed half way up the fall and at the top. There was however more stairs then I think were on the bridge, and there were 1400 on the bridge. It may have been less (I really think it was more) but these stairs were steep! At a few places there were steep metal stairs on the side of a cliff. They were so steep and so much on the side of a cliff that there was a cage over the stairs in case you fell backwards you wouldn’t fall to your imminent death. It was great though! Adventure city! I loved every minute of it, even if I did seriously slow down about ¾ of the way up the mountain. In fact the way out was so intense that on the sign marker it says “For experienced walker’s only, steep stairs blah blah blah” Then beside it someone wrote “Chuck Norris Only!” The waterfalls, the views over the valley, the rock faces, the everything made it one of the most wonderful experiences I have had here in Oz. I know my list is getting long, but this one is near the top for sure. As I stood atop the final waterfall with outstretched arms Shane took a picture and then my camera said “Battery Empty” I knew it had been an amazing day!

I dragged my weary self onto a train and came all the way back up here to effing Gosford. Lucky for me, as I write this I only have 5 working days left and 1 weekend before I commence my journey to the homeland.