Solo Journey to Sydney - Day 2

Solo Journey to Sydney!

Every girl’s dream is to experience solo travel, so, to mark my #dirty30’s, I took courage and traveled – alone, to Sydney, Australia.

*Late post. Travel was completed two years ago, during the last week of November 2015.

26 November 2015

Day Two. The Blue Mountains Adventure.

Woke up early and boarded a double-decker train from Central Station to Katoomba for me to see the World Heritage-listed Blue Mountains. The train ride was a relaxing two hours trip with scenic mountain views before reaching Katoomba Station.

At Katoomba Station, I purchased the Blue Mountains Explorer Pass with unlimited rides at Scenic World and access to the Hop on Hop off Bus. The bus stops at the different attractions in Blue Mountains and nearby Leura Village. By getting this pass, I maximised my tour and was able to see a lot of attractions such as the Echo Point, Three Sisters and Leura Cascades.

I hopped off first at Scenic World and excitedly boarded the steepest incline railway in the world – the Scenic Railway. There was so much exhilaration in the sudden drop that’s why I took the train three times. Glad that I’m on an unlimited pass. Upon taking off from the train, historical mine relics from the good old coal mining days was seen in the area.

The daredevil in me made me ride three times in the steepest passenger train in the world which boasts of a 52-64 degrees cliffhanger ride.

Souvenir photo aboard the Scenic Railway.

Beginning at the bottom of the Scenic Railway is a wooden boardwalk that leads through beautiful Jurassic rainforest dotted with huge trees in vibrant shades of green. I completed the walkway until to the Cableway station which brought me back to the center of Scenic World where I had my lunch at Eats 270.

The Scenic Walkway stroll passing through an ancient temperate forest.

After lunch, I glided above dizzying views of treetops and river gullies aboard a glass bottomed cable car called Skyway. After alighting in the cable car, I followed a trail that led me to a lookout point for astonishing views of Blue Mountains and Jamison Valley. During the walk, I thought I lost my foldable Rayban wayfarers for good. I felt so bad so I backtracked my trail and found it lying at the edge of the cliff. It was ultra-windy that day and I believe the strong winds swept my wayfarers away to that dangerous position. A chinky-eyed lady (could be Chinese) seemed to recognize my distress and I told her my problem. I was shocked when she suddenly jumped over the fence and fearlessly recovered my wayfarers despite the strong winds and dangerous slope. I couldn’t thank her enough for her kindness towards me. My faith in humanity was restored a gazillion times that afternoon.

Scenic Skyway glass floors looking down at about 270m from the ground.

Leura Cascades. One must hike through mossy trails to get a glimpse of this waterfalls.

After that fearless act, I explored other attractions in Blue Mountains. The Three Sisters rock formation was such a stunner and our Hop On Hop Off bus operator narrated a tragic story about it. Once upon a time, there were three sisters who fell in love with three brothers from a different tribe. Their love was forbidden, therefore, the elders turned the sisters (Meehni, Wimlah and Gunedoo) into stone. But as a geologist, I knew for sure that these beautiful sandstone formation were carved by hundred years of erosion.

Lucky day for me! There was no fog to cover the Three Sisters. Visibility is perfect from Echo Pt. look-out.

Went back to Sydney and checked-out the poshly interiored Queen Victoria building. There’s a Pandora inside and I got a Sydney Opera house charm as remembrance of my Sydney travel. I also added a peridot (my birthstone) Murano glass charm to add to my Pandora bracelet.

Inside the Queen Victoria Building.

Added two new charms to my Pandora bracelet.

Dropped by again at Woolies to buy Sirena Tuna – my most favourite canned tuna in Australia!!!