AlexBlog

Blue Moutains

Category : Australia

Well after a brief escursion to kent street to book the sydeny bridge climb at the YHA and the train to the blue mountains and not forgetting a warmer fleece to replace the one lost at frazer island harvey bay I set off for central to catch the train to katoomba (ok guys will check the names later).

The trains are fantastic not like ours they are on time for a start and leave on schedule...this is new to me.

They are a horrible pea green isnide though but as double deckered its a new experinece for me so I go and sit up the top. Typically for me though I fall asleep through most of the journey so I can't describe it.

Well I get there and its a small town, the youth hostel is great even though on the outskirts adn up a steep hill but it has an swome fire in the centre and is very friendly.

Well I stop for a coffee and something quick to eat as Its about 2ish and I am just off the train. I walk to the youth hostel and she gives me the route to walk to echo point and the 3 sisters. The 365 stepd are closed (phew) but I walk there.

Its a beautiful little treck not far about 3-5k and I am going at quite a pace, stopping at every point to take a photo at one of the look outs.

Exscuse me a minute while I just kill some americans for english bashing...am over hearing these twits while typing this and getting a bit annoyed! Oops they are canadian or are they americans pretending to be canadian.

Well back on track, the walk is beautiful and I go down as far as allowed to see the three sisters. Its prietty and and I can understand why its called the blue mountains as they have this blue tinge in the valley and the surrounding cliffs.

After that I try walking to find somewhere to eat. Its freezing and I mean freezing and have walked up and down the hill being very indicisive and not really deciding what I want to eat.

In the end I setteld for a veryu nice hot warming beef dish and glass of red wine. Its a cut of meat I don't recognise but its got marrobone and is beef and served on sweet potato mash and spinach...yep spinach craving is still there.
After that I get a cab to the cinema to go and see shrek...too late for shrek so I have to see spider man 2 at the biggest screen ever. I nearly became blind and deaf at this screening.

Spider man 2 although better than some of the other comic reproductions is absolutely shit. Special effects great but they spoil it with teh bloody love story its just overkill...stick to the villians and the heros and not all the sentimental crap...not that I am cold but on a comic story it doesn't have to be that deep...good guy fights bad guy with great effects...that's all it needs to be.

After that I get a cab back which breaks down on the way...well it could only happen to me. The eventually i get back to freezing cold hostel.

Next morning I go to the climbing centre where i have been told to get to for 8.30 for my abseiling adventure. Well it turns out i don't have to be there till 9.30. So i go for my eggs florietten at a caf i have spotted...again with the spinach I know.

Well then i get back to the group for 9.30 and they giuve us our equipment. A saddle type harness and hats and gloves.

We are going to do 3 abseils...5metres, 15 metres and 30 metres. The first one is ok. I am not good at abseiling as a past experience of 11 has horrible memories. Weel I do 5 ok then 15 you can tell i am nervous as my legs dont seem to be doing what my brain is telling them to do. My body is at the perfect 90 degrees but the leggs wont move down so i am in danger of flipping over because my body is lower than than my legs which wont move further doiwn no matter hopw much my brain is saying go down go down.

Well we do all of those twice. 2 girls are just there to watch their friends. There is also a guy called phil with his 2 kids around the ages of 10, launa and staurt. They are both cut but staurt is into everything and wants to be first. He is pearing over the toip of the cliffs running down mountain paths and basically giving his dad a mini heart attack at every turn. Mums at home with more sense i think.

We get top the 30 metre and I said to phil I will take laura down and he can keep an eye on staurt. He is gratefull for this as at least he can slow staurt daown. I am thinking this reminds me of when I made mum take me up st pauls catheadral and she's scared of heights but did it anyway...so I am seeing this all through my mothers eyes.

Well the little girl and i are next after her father and brother. We get to the edge and hook our selves up. I can see her legs are shaking adn she is nervous... oh shit I am nervous as well...more than.

I start going down and in my head am thinking oh god, oh god...I am looking above and having to be the responsible one say to laura you are ok just keep going, keep going!

It gets to a part where there is an overhang. My legs are still reaching but lauras are not and she is panicking. Well to show her to trust the rope (we basically have to as it's a 30 metre drop and 5 metres of that are overhang the rest you just lower yourself on the rope), I say look my feet are not touching look! I move my feet so they don't touch the overhang but what I don't expect is that the rope will do 180 and I will face the blue mountains. Lets put you in the picture.. its a 30 metre absail to a small ledge in the middle of the mountains....past the ledge is about 130ft till you see canopy ...the rest you are looking into canyon or sheer drop. I am not scared of heights I did the tandem remeber but boy when that rope does 360 I am shitting myself.

Well I let out an "Oh shit" after seeing this and looking down. Laura shouts out "I heard that". I shout back "don't tell your dad" and her reply is "I won't tell if you dont tell on me, I said it about a metre above you".

Well we go down. I am wanting to go down as quick as anything but i can't because laura is afraid and I am feeling responsible so I have to slow down when all i wnat to do is get to the bottom quick. She on the other hand is screaming is break so that they will hold us in mid air. Eventually I say to her go down and i will follow and if your quick you will beat me. Thios works she goes quiker...I have had my eyes shut half the way. She beats me down and I refuse to get off the rope until I know my ass is on the bottom ledge which it is.

Simon and the others congratulate me for doing this...simon who is do the full thing and an adreleniline junky was very nice. He is an x drugs councilor for kids. He was starting to be unsypathetic when 12 year olds would come up to him with a crack habit he had to get out so he travelled.

Well I couldn't do iut again once was enough for me. I felt a complete wimp for not doingmore but I just knew that was it it was my limit. It scared me that much a bunjy jump would be nothing.

After that I went back and did the cable car and sky train. The train is a sheer drop straight down and you really are scared as its verical. The board walk and cable car are not much. The view is good but not as great as what I have seen.

After that I got the train back and met russ in a bar in sydney.

Posted by alexd at July 23, 2004 03:58 AM