Blue Monday

Gum tree

Three Sisters

Ruth and view from Three Sisters

Away from the crowds at Three Sisters - This is what we mean by an "easy walk"

Bottle brush bush

Plateau at Wentworth falls

This Monday was the first day of our last few days remaining in Australia but we were determined not let them pass without some adventure. So Ruth, Stephen and I set off for the Blue Mountains that morning. They are about one and half hours drive from Sydney but Ruth wanted to try and avoid the many tolls on the way and I expertly navigated her away from the main toll roads. So expertly, that it took us nearly two and half hours instead of one and half! By the time we arrived at our destination which was at the far end of the tourist route, it was nearly lunchtime but we decided to look at the Three Sisters rock formation and the surrounding valley first. The area is wonderful and the view spectacular. Again, it reminded me of similar views in Wales or the welsh border but on a massive scale. Everywhere you gaze are miles and miles of bush and you look with awe and wonder, knowing that beyond the mountains there are miles and miles more, then even more miles of scrub and desert in the outback. My small island upbringing had not given me insight into such vastness. The Blue Mountains are not blue because of the gum trees, as we had been led to believe but because of what is called the Raleigh effect. It is where the light waves in the blue end of the spectrum get scattered and spread out by bouncing off molecules in the atmosphere- the same reason that the sky itself is blue.

The area was besieged with tourist buses of mainly Japanese people, one of whom asked Ruth, in the usual polite manner, to take a photo of them in front of the view. We smiled as an Old London Routemaster bus drove up, emblazoned with some words like: “Australian Scenic Tours”. It slowed down long enough for people to take a picture through the windows, then, it drove away! We managed to find a short walk away from the crowds in which to enjoy the scenery more tranquilly, apart from the distant sound of a didgeridoo played by a rather alarming looking aboriginal man who had obviously sought out the wild and hairy look as a means of making good money. Many a tourist was photo’d alongside him in exchange for some cash. I hated the token bits of aboriginal “culture” we witnessed in various places. It seemed to demean the worth of the people themselves- rather like looking at a bearded lady in a Victorian peepshow.

We sought out lunch in the local café but obviously the area is so popular with tourists that they don’t have to try and attract them with food and the cafe only had a few limp sandwiches on offer. So we drove on to Katoomba for lunch, before we embarked on one of Ruth’s “easy walks” at Wentworth falls. The town was well supplied with café’s (and Hippies- it was an Australian, Hebden Bridge) but I chose one that seemed to have the right ambiance. It was called ‘The Blue Hour’. Unfortunately, it had a chef that thought he was an artist as well as a cook. We ordered three salads and after an hour, we were still gazing longingly while the chef twirled and arranged and lovingly presented our food. There was only one other person wanting food in the café, so he wasn’t overworked but obviously took his work very seriously indeed. I ordered a pear and blue cheese salad. This came with, pancetta, figs, pine nuts and a wonderful mix of green leaves and a honey, mustard dressing. It was a bit like a very star spangled evening dress- rich and a bit gaudy, but hey, we’d waited so long I’d have enjoyed anything. It was just as well that we were so fortified by our salads because the walk that Ruth took us on was very strenuous indeed.
It seemed to have been the fate of our walks that the authorities had closed the easy walk for refurbishment everywhere we went. So we had to take the combination of the easy and medium walk to Wentworth falls. I thought the easy walk was difficult enough but was unprepared for the very strenuous ups and downs of the next phase. Stephen, mindful of my lack of fitness kept suggesting we turn back but I wanted to keep on and see the falls. In the end, after walking for over two hours we had to admit defeat and to turn back. It was getting late and we didn’t want to be climbing back up in the dark. Ruth had already seen the falls and we did catch sight of some of the water tumbling over the plateau but not the falls themselves. The view was spectacular and the sound of birds from the verdant valley lifted up to where we stood overlooking it all from above the canopy. We watched some sulphur crested cockatoos wheel and call across the valley and were glad that we had been able to enjoy the place as much as we could manage. The walk up was a different matter. At one point, I thought that Ruth and Stephen should leave me there to die in peace but Ruth coaxed me up them there hills with her usual insistent charm and determination that makes her such a good personal fitness trainer. Another year of her work and I might become a new woman!

After a shorter drive back to Sydney via the toll roads, we enjoyed a Vietnamese stir fry that Bob had prepared for us before he’d gone off climbing on an artificial rock face with a friend. (They are keen on physical activity, these Ozzies.) The amount of chilli in the dish certainly put a zing in our spirits and perked us up after the day’s exertions.
However, I was pleased to discover the following morning that although my tum suffered from a surfeit of chilli, my limbs felt OK after the exertions of the walk. I must be getting fitter!