Australia Travel Blog: The Blue Mountains

Sydney Travel Blog: Part 9 – Blue Mountains’ Stunning Natural Beauty

2-Day Combo: Sydney City Tour + Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise and Blue Mountains Day Trip

Australia Travel Blog: Sydney City Tour

Day 2 of my tour started right on time when the big, double-decker bus arrived just before 7:25 pick-up time. Today I will be vising the Blue Mountains, which is the main attraction, and then the Featherdale Wildlife Park.

The Blue Mountains are situated within a World Heritage Area and offers spectacular stunning natural beauty. A 140-kilometer walking trail, native bushland, ancient rock formations, long stretches of eucalyptus trees, underground caves, cliffs, canyons, waterfalls, and much more can be found in the Blue Mountains.

The Blue Mountains area has any facility you can think of to welcome tourists. For example, it offers glass-topped railway carriages to ride into the depths of the lush, hidden valley below. This is the steepest incline railway in the world.

There is a cableway offering panoramic views and the skyway that glides between cliff tops. You will watch breathtaking views 270 metres above ancient ravines and the rainforest canopy.

There is another valley floor boardwalk which is goes under a canopy of tall tree ferns.

The Blue Mountains area also has a picnic area, resort, street art walk, restaurants and so much more.

However, due to limited time, I would not able to see anything else beyond what’s already included in the tour.

Before reaching the Blue Mountains, we will stop at a quaint mountain village called Leura. It would take about 2 hours to reach the Blue Mountains. Tiny mountain hamlet Leura was very close to the Blue Mountains.

Sydney Travel Blog 8: Evening Walk in Sydney

Australia Travel Blog: Sydney City Tour

2-Day Combo: Sydney City Tour + Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise and Blue Mountains Day Trip

Just before the end of the Sydney Harbour Cruise, I was given 2 options: to disembark from the ferry at Circular Quay or at Darling Harbour. I asked one of the personnel at the ferry which stop would be closer for me to reach my hotel in Kings Cross and I was told to get off at Darling harbour.

After exiting the waterfront area, I was on the street and I checked the distance to my hotel on my phone. It was approximately a 35-minute walk or $20 taxi ride. Taking the subway was an option too, but I didn’t feel like riding the subway.

So, I decided to walk. It would be a long walk, but not too long. Later on, I realised that it was a very good decision because it gave me an opportunity to see downtown Sydney and take lots of pictures.

It was Saturday, so there were no office crowds downtown, but lots of tourists and locals were out to simply hang out. It pretty much looked like downtown Toronto on a weekend. That long walk was really beautiful and I enjoyed every minute of it. 

My haircut was long overdue, but I was unable to find a place where I could get a haircut and colour for a reasonable price. I attempted to in Auckland, but I could not find anywhere below $80. When I was close to my hotel, I checked a few barber shops and the cheapest one I was able to find in downtown Sydney was in front of my hotel for $50.

I spent an hour at the barbershop. Once done, I finished my dinner at a nearby fast-food restaurant. The next day, I would be picked up in front of the hotel in the early morning for part 2 of my trip – the Blue Mountains Day Trip.

Australia Travel Blog: Sydney City Tour Harbour Cruise

Sydney Travel Blog: Part 7 – Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise

Australia Travel Blog: Sydney City Tour | Bondi Beach

2-Day Combo: Sydney City Tour + Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise and Blue Mountains Day Trip

We lost 2 tour mates on our way to Sydney Harbour Cruise; the couple failed to show up to catch the bus at the designated time. The tour operator called them and looked for them for a couple of minutes and then started the bus, leaving them behind.

Our next stop and last tour for day 1 is the Sydney Harbour Cruise. The cruise will be two hours with lunch provided.

The Cruise boat left from the marina in downtown Sydney. I found the boat in very good condition and it had 3 levels. The middle level was where all the tables were arranged for the lunch and that’s where I settled in. I got acquainted with some other travelers, so we all sat together.

The specious catamaran had lots of sitting space on the deck, but due to sun and humidity I stayed inside. I went up on deck a few times to get pictures and videos.

The boat passed some of Sydney Harbour’s top landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, Fort Denison, Shark Island, and Sydney Harbour’s coastal residential areas.

About 15-20 minutes after leaving the downtown harbour area, I noticed lots of nice and upscale condos and houses nested along the coastline of Sydney. These homeowners have access to the ocean within a few steps from their home and a nice ocean view. There are a lot of foreign buyers, especially Chinese investors, snapping up real estate in Sydney, driving up the prices. I remembered not seeing residential housing in Auckland Harbour area.

Lunch was buffet style. There were plenty of items to choose from, including seafood. I chose rice, beef, mashed potatoes, broccoli, green beans, and salad. I ended my lunch with fruit salad and tiramisu.

Australia Travel Blog: Sydney City Tour | Bondi Beach

Sydney Travel Blog: Part 6 – Bondi Beach

2-Day Combo: Sydney City Tour + Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise and Blue Mountains Day Trip

Sydney Travel Blog: Part 5 | Mrs Macquarie’s Chair

Only 8 km from the city centre, Bondi Beach is the most iconic beach in Australia and famous across the globe. Most likely, you have seen Bondi Beach somewhere in movies or pictures. Bondi is an aboriginal word that means “surf” in English.

Bondi Beach is famous for its pristine golden sands, glistering ocean, and its surf & seaside community that offers a laid back coastal lifestyle within a short distance from a big city’s hustle and bustle.

Bondi’s beautiful picturesque coastline offers easy-walk clifftops with tons of cafes and restaurants. Bondi Beach water looks very clean and the scenic stretch of ocean views are immaculate.

I was given 30 minutes to stroll the beach. This was a very short time to enjoy a beach, so I spent every second of it wisely.

The first thing I did was grab a coffee and a cake from a coffee shop in Bondi Pavilion, because I didn’t have any chance to eat anything till now. I finished the cake and 1/3 of the coffee sitting at the cafe and I took the rest to finish on my stroll along the beach and the waterfront establishment.

The weather was very nice in December. Hot, but not too hot. I was wearing only a t-shirt. I was laughing, thinking in Canada I would be wearing layers of clothes and jacket for below -20 degree Celsius cold.

I noticed open-air restaurants in the area facing the ocean that were almost full that early. People were enjoying the beach and the weather. Some restaurants had very loud music.

I noticed lots of condos and homes along the coastline with unobtrusive views of the beach and the ocean. Those who are living there simply have to cross the street to come to the beach.

I was running out of time, so I rushed back to the tour bus. The next stop was to return to Sydney for the lunch cruise.

Australia Travel Blog: Sydney City Tour | Mrs Macquarie’s Chair

Sydney Travel Blog: Part 5 | Mrs Macquarie’s Chair

2-Day Combo: Sydney City Tour + Sydney Harbour Lunch Cruise and Blue Mountains Day Trip

Sydney Travel Blog: Part 4 | Sydney Downtown

After completing The Rock tour, my tour bus started to pass through some of Sydney’s highlights. Points of interest were St. Mary’s Cathedral, Royal Botanic Gardens, Hyde Park, Sydney Opera House, Darling Harbour, Kings Cross and so on.

I took some pictures and videos from the bus, but the bus was in motion, which made it challenging to take shots.

The next stopover would be Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, also known as Lady Macquarie’s Chair. This is a hand-carved bench made out of rock by convicts in 1810. This place is like a park (near the Botanical Gardens) overlooking Sydney Harbour and this is a point where you have a clear view of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge together.

Tourists are always flocking here to get a picture perfect, iconic view of Australia and Sydney. I took some great shots and videos here, although I had to sometimes maneuver to get to the edges of the cliff and sometimes climb a little uphill. But in the end, I was able to capture what I was looking for.

The reason this place is called Mrs Macquarie’s Chair is because Mrs Macquarie was the wife of New South Wales Governor Major-General Lachlan Macquarie and she used to come here and sit on the rock to watch ships coming from Great Britain.

Although it was a hot day, it felt cooler and nice by the ocean and I felt like staying there all day relaxing.  Soon enough, my time was up and I had to return to the tour bus. We will be heading towards the famous Bondi Beach.