Year 2 –24 January 2024 -Exploring Sydney & Blue Mountains

We woke reasonably early and had breakfast as we were heading into town to hire a car. Once breakfasted we took the ferry to Circular Quay and then caught the train to the airport which did not take too long.

We were lucky and caught the shuttle bus to the car hire office. Once we had done the formalities we set off to the Blue Mountains about 1.5 hours from Sydney. En route we went to a truck parts place to get some circlips for the anchor chain. Before long we were on the M4 going west toward the Blue Mountains. To get there we had to go through a long tunnel under Sydney. The tunnel system is amazing and takes all the traffic under the city rather than through it.

We drove on the M4 and over time started to enter the Blue Mountains and there were signs indicating this. We drove on and came off at Leura which was an old little town and had lots of old shops with balconies and it was a bit like Victorian times. We drove on to Katoomba which is the main town in the hiking part of the Blue Mountains. We drove through the high street which was also quite dated and quaint and the on to Scenic World Car park where we walked to the Katoomba Falls which were a nice set of falls and then we walked along the Prince Henry Walk to a lookout over the Blue Mountains. The valley had what looked like large and high sheer sandstone cliffs which looked out over a large, forested valley. It was beautiful and very scenic.

We then walked along the valley which circulated the sheer cliffs and drop off valleys. This led to Echo Point which overlooks 3 large conical rock formations called the Three Sisters. The views were quite stunning and I thought it must have looked like the Grand Canyon bit with tree valleys. It was a vast and stunning area and there were lots of hikes and walks. There were dense Eucalyptus forests which release a fine mist of oil resulting in a blueish haze that gives the mountains their name.

As we parked the car some where I left the guys to get some food and then I went and got the car and joined them. After lunch we drove on to Wentworth where there were also some lovely waterfalls . We parked and walked down and saw the falls and similar views to what we saw in Katoomba. Once we had a good walk around we drove back to Sydney and Rose Bay.

We then came onboard and had a sundowner for the first time in a while. Trevor then cooked salmon, potatoes, broccoli and peas. It was nice to eat on board for a change. In charging the batteries – the 12v battery I got in Tahiti is now failing and I am hoping the spare will work.

The picture of the day is a great view of the Three Sisters and the valley in the Blue Mountains.

Need/Opportunity Year Two

I am in need of more crew from April to September so if of interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

In year two I will be going from New Zealand to Sydney and hen up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and then through Bali, Singapore and on to Thailand to end year two about the end of November 2025.

The blog will continue as we continue the journey. If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog then do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com