Sunday, April 30, 2006
Blue Mountains, Sydney, Australia
If you're thinking about what to do in Sydney, you won't be disappointed - there's tons. But, in case you want to get out town and/or have more than a few days at hand, you could do a day trip to the Blue Mountains 90mins by car from Sydney or 2hrs by train.
There are plenty of trips by tour companies including 4WD tours, like APT or Frontier. But, based on our personal experience I recommend doing it yourself at your own pace. Regular tour companies (Gray Line, APT, etc.) will take you out on a bus to most probably Katoomba or Leura or both, give you some time to explore by yourself, and then bring you back. They may include lunch depending on the tour and price. 4WD tour operators (Frontier, APT, etc.) will take you out in one of their 4WD vehicles - small buses with a very high suspension to the layman, drive you around a remote section of the eucalyptus forests in the mountains, with some quick opportunities to explore by yourself. Nothing fascinating, and definitely not much independence to do your own thing. Ok - slightly exciting for people who don't want too much of the outdoors.
So, what can you do? You could drive or take the train to Katoomba, home of the 3 sister formation. There take the hopon-hopoff tour of the area, take a hike (bushwalk in Australian) wherever your heart desires, and then take the train/car back to the city. This gives you total independence to do things at your own pace. A suggested itinerary - check out the views at Echo point including the very well known 3 Sisters rock formation. You can then decide to take the steepest train ride to the bottom of the valley & cablecar back up, along with another cable car ride across a deep gorge. There are other places to visit or bushwalk, like the Mt. Tomah Botanic Garden and Bridal Views Falls.
There are a ton of sites with more info, including this one.
There are plenty of trips by tour companies including 4WD tours, like APT or Frontier. But, based on our personal experience I recommend doing it yourself at your own pace. Regular tour companies (Gray Line, APT, etc.) will take you out on a bus to most probably Katoomba or Leura or both, give you some time to explore by yourself, and then bring you back. They may include lunch depending on the tour and price. 4WD tour operators (Frontier, APT, etc.) will take you out in one of their 4WD vehicles - small buses with a very high suspension to the layman, drive you around a remote section of the eucalyptus forests in the mountains, with some quick opportunities to explore by yourself. Nothing fascinating, and definitely not much independence to do your own thing. Ok - slightly exciting for people who don't want too much of the outdoors.
So, what can you do? You could drive or take the train to Katoomba, home of the 3 sister formation. There take the hopon-hopoff tour of the area, take a hike (bushwalk in Australian) wherever your heart desires, and then take the train/car back to the city. This gives you total independence to do things at your own pace. A suggested itinerary - check out the views at Echo point including the very well known 3 Sisters rock formation. You can then decide to take the steepest train ride to the bottom of the valley & cablecar back up, along with another cable car ride across a deep gorge. There are other places to visit or bushwalk, like the Mt. Tomah Botanic Garden and Bridal Views Falls.
There are a ton of sites with more info, including this one.
