Island Time

Our retirement on Island Time as liveaboards.

Island Time crew goes to Australia
Part 2

Day 5 - Excursion to the Blue Mountains

We booked a tour from the hotel for a trip to the Blue Mountains. We set off at 7 am for the all day excursion. The first stop on the trip was at the Ferndale Wildlife Park where we see our first roos and of course koalas along with other Aussie animals and birds.

The park had both Wallabies and Kangaroos. I do not know the difference between a wallaby and small kangaroo by looking at them..

Many pictures of birds but now cannot remember the names – should have taken picture of the signs on the cages.

$C:\Documents and Settings\Genie\My Documents\My Pictures\Blue Mountains\Bird.jpg$

$C:\Documents and Settings\Genie\My Documents\My Pictures\Blue Mountains\Bird 2.jpg$

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$C:\Documents and Settings\Genie\My Documents\My Pictures\Blue Mountains\Parrot.jpg$

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Penguins of course

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Wombat

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Dingo

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Flying Foxes

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Koala – It’s real although looks and feels like a stuffed animal

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Tasmanian Devil

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Wallaby with baby in pouch

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White Kangaroo (sort of looks like Harvey the white rabbit)

After we left the wildlife park the tour stopped at a local park where had a boomerang throwing demonstration. Supposedly the Aborigines used the boomerang to not only to kill food but also when hunting birds. Many boomerangs were thrown over the top of the flock of birds that were on the ground to keep them from flying off so the hunters could kill them for food.

The first demonstration throw of the boomerang did circle around but did not quite make it back to the original location. The second throw took out a tourist. Oops – back to the bus.

Back on the bus our next stop was Wentworth Falls in the Blue mountains.

$C:\Documents and Settings\Genie\My Documents\My Pictures\Blue Mountains\Picture 257.jpg$
Wentworth Falls – Not much rain lately so water level was low

The following pictures are of views from the Wentworth Falls overlook. We were lucky to have such a clear day. This is the first view we have of the Blue Mountains which are part of the Great Dividing Range. The blue color is due to the sun light shining through ultra fine oil in the air from the Eucalypts trees Also, apparently these are not true mountains but a sandstone plateau that eroded away. It took the original settlers 25 years to find a way through the mountains as the usual procedures for finding routes was to follow streams and valleys but this always ended with sheer cliffs. Finally one expedition party found an Aboriginal trail that led them thru the mountains and soon thereafter a road was constructed.

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After the stop at Wentworth Falls we had a lunch break then continued our trip with a stop in Leura a quaint village in the mountains. It is well known for The Candy Store which is stuffed front to back and floor to rafters with every kind of candy imaginable. It's heaven for anyone with a sweet tooth.

From Leura we headed for the Jamison Valley and Scenic World overlooked by Echo Point. Scenic World is located at an old coal mining site where there is a railway that takes you down into the valley below. The railway is at a 55 degree angle. The cage over the top is so that you won’t hit your head on the rock as you pass through the rock tunnel. Immediately after you get on, the railway it plunges downward in the dark in a rock tunnel. It’s a quick ride to floor of the valley. The railway was originally designed to bring coal from the bottom to the top. There is a nature walk along the valley floor then a very sedate ride on an aerial tram back to the top.

$C:\Documents and Settings\Genie\My Documents\My Pictures\Blue Mountains\Picture 259.jpg$
The Candy Store

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Jamison Valley – View from Echo Point

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The Three Sisters – Jamison Valley

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The Railway

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