Last fall I won a trip for two to Australia’s Blue Mountains at the Adventure Travel World Summit. The next day I found myself out on the blue waters of Sydney Harbor sailing an American’s Cup class boa.
Since I had experienced the sea, now it was time to experience the mountains. A short 2 hour drive outside of Sydney is the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area – 2.4 million acres of mountains, cliffs, caves, and Eucalyptus trees.
We stayed in the town of Katoomba at the oldest hotel in the area, the Carrington, which opened it’s doors way back in 1883. Our week was filled with great hikes, and new adventures in the Blue Mountains parks. And yes, the blue mountains are really blue as evidenced by the images below.
We tried canyoning and abseiling for the first time which leads me to the biggest accomplishment of the week – abseiling down a 80 waterfall. As I peered over the edge, I about cried, but thankfully our guide, Tim, knew just what to say to get me down that waterfall. My week of Instagram adventures went from Sydney to Blue Mountains – from blue skies, to blue waters, to blue mountains, to blue waterfalls – sometimes feeling blue is a good thing!
Guess where I am this week!
This is one serious adventure! Racing today on an American Cup class boat in the #Sydney Harbor. And no I didn’t fall in even while taking photos!
“It looks like the Grand Canyon but with trees” this was my first reaction to seeing the Blue Mountains in #newsouthwales Australia.
Why are the #BlueMountains in Australia blue? They are given that name due to the blue haze that hovers above them. It is an area renowned for spectacular scenery, plant and wildlife and densely populated forests of oil bearing Eucalyptus trees. Thus, it is commonly believed that the blue haze blanketing the mountains is created by the atmosphere whereby dispersed droplets of Eucalypt oil combine with dust particles and water vapor to scatter refracted rays of light which are largely blue in color.
In the parlor, the butler, with a candlestick. Love the old feel of the Carrington – the Blue Mountains oldest hotel.
Learning to abseil today in the Blue Mountains. There are tons of great canyons and cliffs that you can dangle off if here! #newsouthwales
My first time canyoning was chilly but oh so much fun. Its like a waterpark but no manufactured experiences here – this is the real thing! Sliding down rocks, slithering through crevaces, jumping into pools, all in a stunning lush narrow canyon. Blue Mountains Adventure Company runs tours for beginners to advanced. #Australia #newsouthwales
Tourist spotting in the Blue Mountains. All of the people tend to congregate at the lookouts, however I enjoyed hiking the trails on the ridge and below instead. Thats the quickest way to get rid of the looky-loos carrying selfie sticks!
He said “Think like a guy – and just dont think.” And with that over the ledge of Empress Falls we went one by one. 80 ft repel with pounding water – I gave myself a pep talk the whole way down. When I landed in the waterfall and looked up from where I came thats when I could breathe in the pure joy.
I love lunch spots like this. It just reinforces why I left my corporate American cube. Bushwalking the Kanangra Walls trail in the Blue Mountains today.
Sherry Ott is a refugee from corporate IT who is now a long term traveler, blogger, and photographer. She’s a co-founder of Briefcasetobackpack.com, a website offering career break travel inspiration and advice.
Additionally, she runs an around the world travel blog writing about her travel and expat adventures at Ottsworld.com.com.
