The Blue Mountains

This morning we took a bus out to the Blue Mountains, and explored a few breathtaking locations. The Blue Mountains are located in Western Sydney, New South Wales, and are also well known as the Australian version of the Grand Canyon. After visiting, I can see why, because they really do look similar, just not quite as deep and are covered with trees.

Govetts Leap

After about a two hour drive, we arrived at our first stop, Govetts Leap. Here we saw the vast mountain canyon, and were able to experience one of the most untouched but well known natural attractions in Australia.

The Three Sisters

We then drove to the Three Sisters lookout, located at Echo Point Katoomba. This unusual rock formation represents three sisters who where turned into stone in an aboriginal legend.

Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo lived in the Jamison Valley and were part of the Katoomba tribe. They fell in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, however tribal law restricted them from marrying. As a result, the brothers were said to have kidnapped the sisters, caused a huge tribal battle, and in response a witchdoctor from Katoomba turned the sisters into stone to protect them. However, the witchdoctor was killed in the battle, and therefore unable to turn the sisters back after the fight ended. To this day, the sisters remain in their rock formation. Each sister stands 922, 918, and 906 meters tall, a very unique sight to see.

Wentworth Falls

We stopped for lunch in a nearby town, then headed to Wentworth Falls. This attraction is most recognized for it’s three-tiered waterfall that runs from Jamison Creek, drops over the cliff edge, and falls 297 meters down into a pool, then flows down to the Valley of the Waters. With bush walks throughout the area and various lookout points, this stop was definitely worthwhile! Since we have not gotten much rain lately, unfortunately the waterfall and swimming area was a little too dry to use, however it was still a lovely sight to see!

Pride Mardi Gras

After returning to downtown Sydney, we made a last minute stop at a dollar store for extra glitter and body paint, then headed back to the hostel to get ready for a fantastic evening of pride! After dressing up in rainbows, glitter, and body paint, we followed our tour guides to find a spot to watch the Pride Mardi Gras Parade, which is very well known in Australia. This is one of the busiest days of celebration throughout the year in Sydney, and also one of the biggest pride celebrations in the world! With all viewers and road blocks, it was pretty difficult to find a decent spot to see, so unfortunately we did not see much of the actual parade. It was a lot of fun though to walk around and see everyone dressed up and supporting the celebration. The atmosphere was great, with so many colors, lights, music, and people having a great time. After spending the night exploring nightlife around Sydney, we made our way back to the hostel with a few new and exciting memories.

View of Pride Parade

Somewhere Over the Rainbow segment of parade