Up at 6 and no time for breakfast as we had to walk to meet our tour bus by 6.45. We then had a 2 hour drive to the Blue Mountains. The reason for the name is that from a distance the mountains have a blue appearance, this is due to diffraction of light by eucalyptus oils, pollen etc in the air. As we journeyed towards the mountains, the mist descended and we could see little. We stopped at a series of viewpoints, from which the mist would briefly clear giving us a partial view into the valley below. The eucalyptus trees here had been the victim of a massive fire 3 years ago, but they had quickly recovered and it would appear as if nothing had happened. We were lucky, the fog cleared and we had great view of the Three Sisters (a line of 3 rock faces). We then transferred to different forms of transportation at Scenic World, taking two cable cars to travel down toward the bottom of the valley. Here we had a short board walk through the trees and saw the original coal mine which had been here (using Welsh miners). The journey back up was by means of the world’s steepest funicular. A short drive took us to an ex- servicemen’s club for a very good lunch. We continued our tour visiting another viewpoint (Serene Point) for some stunning views then headed back towards Sydney along the route we took this morning but now with perfect views of the scenery. We stopped to visit a wildlife park where we saw various species of kangaroos, koalas, birds and reptiles. The drive finished at the Sydney Olympic Park (Olympics in 2000) and we transferred to a ferry to take us into the heart of the city. We passed under the harbour bridge and birth alongside Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth – hopefully she will have left by Sunday as that is where our ship will be.
