Sydney- day3

I got up at what felt like dawn and went on another tour. Today's featured trip was the Blue Mountains. We started out by driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Then we went to the Feathersville Wildlife Park where I got to hand feed kangaroos. I also pet a wombat and yes a koala. They are so cute, it was fun to be able to do that, I wanted to hold one but that is against the law. Oh well, hopefully sometime I will get to before I leave.

Petting the wallabies and kangaroos

The wombat in the perfect pose

Feeding the Koala

Then the bus continued on to the Blue Mountains. We ended up reaching there around 11:00 or so. The blue mountains really are blue, because of the haze they appear blue even in the day. Its really pretty. They are famous for the formation called the three sisters. We heard different Aboriginal myths about their formations and it was really interesting. Then we went to a lookout and saw them. They are gorgeous. It made me kind of homesick to be near mountains again. On my way walking around I saw an Aboriginal man playing his didgeridoo so I had my picture with him. It was really a beautiful day. It was really hazy and rainy on the way up to the mountains, but it cleared out and was beautiful. If it had been foggy and I couldn't see the mountains and valleys I really would have been disappointed.
The three sisters rock formation

The blue mountains but in this picture they look kind of green


Me and the Aboriginal

Then we drove over to another side of the mountain and I got to go on the world steepest Scenic Railway. It was kind of creepy because it was literally straight down. I kept hoping I would live to see the end of the railway. I also got to go on the skywalk (tram) which had a glass floor so you could see directly underneath you. Then I walked down in the valley on the valley floor and saw the tall tree ferns and part of it felt like a rainforest. It was so muggy and there were varying plants and sizes. It was kind of dark in there to. Then I rode the cable way back up to the top.

on the valley floor

After that we drove home and stopped in the town of Bilpin. This is an agricultural area. This is where all the fruit is grown. Then we drove past the Richmond Air Force Base and then went on to see where the 2000 Olympic Games were. They turned their torch into a fountain. It was so neat seeing the grounds where another Olympics took place. I really wanted to see this site, so I'm glad my tour stopped there. Then I caught a ferry back to the city. It was fun because I got to see the city from the water and I even got to go under the Harbour Bridge and I got some great shots of the Opera House. Yes its as cool as it looks in pictures. The architecture is absolutely amazing! Then after that I walked around the city and I saw Central Quay and the stores. Then I took a detour and went by David Jones (a department store) and saw the Christmas display in the windows. They were themed and they were marionettes. It was really cute. Then I walked by and saw a Christmas tree and for some random reason there were a lot of bats flying around. Yuck, so I walked home, had some dinner, and went back to the hostel.

the 2000 Sydney Olympic stadium

The torch is now a waterfall