Day 40: Blue Mountains, Australia

We couldn't have asked for a better way to set out this morning as we received a motorcycle escort from Peter on our way to the Blue Mountains.




He drove us part of the way and then we continued along the Great Western Highway into the Blue Mountain region.

We stopped at an area called Wentworth Falls to do a hike and see some of the famous Blue Mountain scenery. The views were absolutely spectacular: here is our first view of the Blue Mountains from the Jamison Lookout Point in Wentworth Falls Reserve.




We did a relatively short hike down along one side of the falls, which had beautiful pathways and numerous spots for good views of the falls or the surrounding area. Here you can see exactly where the photo was taken from and how much progress we've made by this helpful warning sign.





The walk wasn't too long but it was definitely good exercise, as it involved sometimes steep descents/ascents and a lot of stairs. Here we are at various points along the route.







The view of the falls from the bottom was probably our favorite part. This photo doesn't quite capture how dramatic looking it was to look up the rock face from below.




Here is one last view of the Blue Mountains before we left the Reserve.




We drove into the town of Katoomba, which is where our hotel is located, for lunch at a cafe called The Elephant Bean. Then we checked into the 19th-century Lillianfels hotel, which actually appears in one of my favorite books, 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. It's a beautiful hotel and it has an amazing setting right on Echo Point overlooking the canyon. Here's our lovely room:



For those concerned about our budget, I managed to find a very good advance internet deal. :-) Also, we are almost to our 2-year anniversary (May 26) so I thought we should start celebrating (never one to keep an occasion to only the actual day). Tomorrow night we're dining in style at Darley's, Lilianfels award-winning restaurant. Frank will have to report on that tomorrow.

Tomorrow's plan also involves some serious hikes so I imagine we will probably really have earned that dinner.

I want to say one more thank you at this point to Peter and Pam for their unparalleled hospitality during our stay with them! And another thank you to Amy and Carl for such a fabulous dinner last night!

ILM