A City Surrounded by Beauty

In stark contrast to our perception of Canberra, we knew we'd arrived in a city the moment we stepped off the Greyhound bus at Sydney Central Station. A local cardboard supporter was being physically persuaded to enter a police van, while his equally vivacious acquaintances made their objections known. As welcoming a sight as this was, we decided to not hang about and left in search of a bed for the night. The usual criteria would need to be fulfilled of being close enough to walk to with bags on, but far away enough to not hear these disturbants ... and cheap. We hobbled along under giant brick railway bridges, across and then beside a 6 lane road, and accepted our fate at the arse end of Elizabeth Street.

The next morning we walked to the south-west-side of Sydney to hunt for some warmer clothes at the Glebe Market. The surrounding area was a gallery of graffiti talent that I found far more interesting than the shopping potential of a market, but we made it there regardless.

Luke met up with us in the centre and provided a quick tour of the city and its parks. The last time we'd seen each other was in Perth, before that it was in Thailand and next it would be in New Zealand. It's funny how things go.

With most of the notable landmarks securely stored on our memory cards we decided to take a train 2 hours west of Sydney to the Blue Mountains. This national park is 200,000 hectares of heritage listed landscape & it's name derives from the blue mist produced by the eucalyptus oil of the dominant trees. The area is a rich wonderland of crystal clear waters falling over yellow rock cliffs surrounded by a treasury of greens.

The base for our stay was The Flying Fox Backpackers in Katoomba - aborigine for 'shining tumbling water'. The night we arrived there, a BBQ was put on by the hostel - coincidental, not on our account. The lounge was a large gathering of deep sofas that surrounded an open fire. The bed had more covers than the song 'My Way', and the room was generously decorated to the level of a bedroom at home. We felt instantly comfortable in this home and didn't procrastinate on whether we would stay the previously debated extra night or not. The fact that the back garden was an eternal selection of walking trails through some of the most beautiful scenery we'd seen on the east coast was just a bonus.


Well rested, but emotionally hand-cuffed to the bed, it was with reluctance we actually left this place to explore. We ignored the main area of Katoomba and opted instead to explore the lesser popular vicinity of Wentworth Falls instead. For the next 4-5 hours we followed our feet along various paths up, down, and around the escarpments. Our conversation and surrounding views distracted us from thoughts of tiredness (most of the time), and we arrived back in Katoomba in the late afternoon. The potency of the shadow filling the valley was steadily gaining in size, and moved up the cliffs to consume the famous "Three Sisters" rock formation. As these were the pin-ups of the region, the surrounding area was pile of railing lined viewing balconies with swarms of tourists covering them. We grabbed the mandatory photos and swiftly returned to our room at 'The Flying Fox'.

Our time in New South Wales was limited so once we were back in the city, we wasted no time before resuming our exploration. The ferry to Manly was one of those things when the journey was more important than the destination, as it was the harbour views we were paying for.

Once our feet returned back to Circle Quay, we jumped on a train east to one of the most famous beaches in the world. Bondi Beach was the start of a headland walk to Coogee Beach that was similar in setting and views to The Great Ocean Road in Victoria - only without the apostles!

The next day we took advantage of the fortunate timing that had placed my brother's wife's sister and husband (or 'Gav & Sarah' in abbreviated form), in Sydney at the same time as us, & met for a surreal lunch on the opposite side of the world from home. They had climbed the harbour bridge in the morning and we were set to in the afternoon.

Fondly known locally as 'the coathanger', the bridge was opened in 1932 & is considered to be one of the '7 Engineering Wonders of the World.' Paul Hogan became a local celebrity when he was working as a painter on it. He managed to save a half-hearted suicide attemptee by hanging on with one hand and reaching out to him. He later returned the favour by bringing increased international attention to the bridge with his 'throw another shrimp on the barbie' sketch while hanging off the archway. Nowadays, the safety is so extreme that you are permanently connected to the bridge by a thick steel wire when climbing, and not even ear-ring or tissues are allowed on the climb in precaution of something falling and causing a traffic accident below. The downside of this was that we were not able to take cameras along to capture the spectacular views of the city.

My initial impressions of distaste for this city were transformed over 5 days into those of love. It was hard not to fall for a city that had so many famous and beautiful landmarks within, and even more areas of natural beauty surrounding it. A dozen surfing beaches are within a short train ride from the city centre to the east and unspoilt wilderness lies to the west. My only regrets for our time here were that our visit was not during the summer months and that we were unable to obtain tickets to a opera or musical performance at The Opera House. They would become further additions to the list of what to do and see on a return visit.