Well, they call them mountains but the highest point is Mount Coricudgy at 1255 metres and the biggest in the whole of Australia is Mount Kosciuszko at 2228 metres. Val Thorens resort is 2300m and that's before you go uphill for the skiing. However, it is all very beautiful. Big isn't everything. There's a lot of walking trails and bushwalking opportunities around here. Katoomba is pretty close to the edge of a cliff, so there's a whole host of epic views down and across, with sandstone cliff faces showing the ravages of time and waterfalls continuing the work. You can also walk up and down hill quite a bit. Katoomba was originally a mining 'town', producing coal and shale. The railway serving to bring the coal out of the ground found itself in demand by gentlefolk out on their country walks and eventually, as mining disappeared, the railway became a tourist transport device getting people back up the hill without all the exertion. These days, there is the railway "the steepest passenger rail service in the world", with a length of 415 metres covering a vertical drop of 206 metres, a cableway (cablecar to me and you) covering the same route as the railway and, the skyway (a cablecar across a big gap) featuring my favourite construction details such as floor to ceiling glass and an added extra of being able to see through the floor if you stand in a special bit in the middle. The walkway is an elevated 2.4km boardwalk through temperate rainforest on the valley floor. I did all of these bar the skyway....
After lunch, I got that red bus to a point further along the cliff top to Echo Point and a rock formation called The Three Sisters (via a place with the word 'chocolate' in its title which I left empty handed!). I did approach the Sisters and got within a few yards of the first one, with only a small bridge left separating us. It was near enough. The route down to that point was the beginning of something called The Giant Stairway. It had been my plan to descend the stairway and go along the valley floor back to the railway and up to Katoomba again. But, steep rock steps doesn't mean I can't cope but narrow and next to a cliff edge is usually off my agenda and my nerves were not wanting to be tested. So, plan B. The Prince Henry Cliff Walk. That had plenty of scenic views and lookout points. I also managed to find an alternative set of steps - the Furber Steps - back nearer to Katoomba which went down, down Peter and down to the valley. They were rock steps and metal stairs, as well as muddy pathways and wood edged walkways. Entertaining and I was glad not to be doing them in the opposite direction!
By contrast to yesterday, today's weather was lovely. In the morning, it was sunny but with a temperature inversion which meant there was cloud in the valley below us. This cleared in the middle of the day and then returned sporadically later on. Lots of pictures of scenery were captured, of course.
On the return journey, I sat at the bottom of the train and pointed my camera down the track and videoed it all. At its steepest, this track is at 52 degrees incline. The ladies sitting behind me hadn't quite grasped the significance of this until the train started moving and they tried to slide into me! They fell about laughing. It only takes about a minute but it's pretty amazing.
Tomorrow I shall do some more walking if the weather is nice; revisit the Everglades and say goodbye to the quaint and kooky shops and establishments of Katoomba. Back to Sydney in the evening and a new YHA for one night.
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