Blue Mountains

Blue Mountains in winter is seriously no joke but if you have been following my Facebook lately, you would have realised that with the presence of sun, it will remain pleasant. And that was how the weather was like for Saturday - chilly but pleasant.


I suppose, it also depends on the company you are with. We went with the group of crazy Nutrition Club people so you could imagine how abuzz with chatter, laughter and 'quick, take a photo!' it was.


The first stop after a quick nap in the coach was Wentworth Falls. I have to admit that despite having been to the Blue Mountains several times, this is my first time at Wentworth Falls. I have a feeling I would return, as I would want to go for the trek to the falls. Who would not want to, when the falls look like this?

To get to where I took this photo from, we had to climb down this flight of steps, which reminded me of my glacier climb in NZ:

Haha, ice-cream, anyone? It is a different experience to having ice-cream in summer because in winter, your ice-cream stays frozen for longer. And wah, not to mention the cold you would feel!

After half an hour of 'bushwalking', we proceeded to Leura, my favourite stop! Why? Because of this place:

They house the world's largest private collection of teapots. The entire house is filled to the brim with pots, bric-a-brac, antiques, pottery, jewellery, collectibles and cards:

Look at this pot! How cute!

I absolutely adore this place not only for the enormous teapot collection that it holds, but also for what they serve:

Scones with strawberry jam and Devonshire tea! Yum! I give you the Chrys guarantee that you will fall in love with the jam. For the price that you pay, I would think it is worth the taste and ambiance.


It was during this visit that I found out that they not only run the museum and tea house. Bygone Beautys also has accommodation should you, your family and friends want a place to put up for a night or two. Judging from the pictures and the museum itself, I would imagine that their cottages would be anything short of charming. How can they not be charming when even the washrooms look like this:

Having fueled up, we had strolled the mall. I have this thing for pretty stationery and was impressed with what I saw in one shop. I was introduced to yet another brand - Elizabeth Rosa Fine Stationery, that is actually based in Double Bay here in the city. When they say fine stationery, they mean fine. They are the sole Australian authorised distributors of Vera Wang's Wedding papers. I fell in love with the leather journals and diaries but they were a tad pricey for me. Otherwise, I would have gotten myself a refillable diary.


Before long, we were at Echo Point Lookout, a must stop for all visitors to Blue Mountains. This is where you would get the best view of what everyone around the world comes to look at - The Three Sisters rock formation...

... and the blueness of the ranges...

Can you see that layer of blue? That is supposedly created by the emission of eucalyptus gas of the trees. You know those aromatherapy stuff that you could get that creates a calming effect? Yea, the same thing. Haha, I guess that explains why koalas are a little slow in movement and are always sleepy - they are mabuk with the thing!


And, like the last time I was up here, there was a cute cat!

Our final stop was Scenic World, where we had the options of trying the Skyway, Railway and Cableway. We opted the Valley Return, which allowed us to take the Scenic Railway, go on the Walkway and the Cableway.

Certified as the steepest railway in the world, it was quite an exhilarating ride! It was almost like standing and we were moving rather fast!

The view from the platform at the bottom of the railway looked like this:

I thought we were very lucky to have the blue sky as a backdrop. The Walkway, again, reminded me of my NZ trip, especially with the tall ferns that line the boardwalk:

As the sunshine could not pierce through the canopy, it was freezing cold walking to the Cableway. But, I enjoyed the cooling fresh air and anticipated the ride back up the cliff...

The sky was changing from blue to a grayish shade, which made me feel relieved as it was already nearing the end of our trip. Thankfully, we still managed to capture the contrasting colours of nature:

And to give you a perspective of how high up we were (and how far below the railway took us), have a look at this:

Talk about my fear of heights! Haha... another good trip in the books!