Seventh day in a land down under

Echo Point, with the Three Sisters in the foreground

The first day of 2024 greeted us with a low cloud cover obscuring some of central Sydney's higher buildings:

After six days in Australia's largest city, it was time to see a bit of what the immediate region had to offer. Renting a Toyota Corolla hybrid from Hertz, we (or I, to be more accurate) drove off in the rain toward the Blue Mountains. Driving on the left would not present a problem - I'd already rented right-hand drive vehicles in Japan, the Seychelles, South Africa, Thailand, and the United Kingdom in the past:

The biggest challenge would turn out to be New Year's Day itself. Come lunchtime, our dining options were extremely limited. It came down to a choice between a Subway outlet or an "American restaurant" called the Cheese Steak Factory. I assumed the pair of cockatoos out front belonged to the shop's owner, until I remembered that here was Australia:

While waiting for our food I took the time to admire this hoodie, the product of one of Australia's most iconic designers. "Oh gee, there goes Sydney, oh gee, Roozilla!":

"American restaurant" or not, I went with the Australian Cheesesteak:

Our first sightseeing stop of the new year was in the town of Leura, home of the Sublime Point lookout. The weather ensured the views wouldn't be as dramatic as the guidebook suggested, but it was still an impressive sight:

The scenery wasn't European or North American, nor was it Asian. If anything, the vegetation reminded me of Africa, Ethiopia to be more specific. In the end, it would have to be described as, duh, "Australian":

"This land. This...Australia!":

From Leury it was a short drive to Katoomba, the biggest settlement in the Blue Mountains. We checked in at the 3 Explorers Motel, our accommodation for the evening. It may have looked like a nondescript American roadside inn, but the room was surprisingly large, the bathroom came with a spa, and it was within walking distance of Echo Point and the Three Sisters (see below):

Our room occupied the ground floor on the left, with our car parked in front of the door. The story behind the name:

As stated above, it was only a short walk to the Echo Point lookout. The view at first wasn't much better than that at Sublime Point, but the clouds would soon lift enough to justify the viewpoint as the area's most essential sight:

There were a lot more visitors here than at Sublime Point. A lot more:

The girls take in the Three Sisters landmark:

My daughter and I would take the short (500 meters/1640 feet) trail to the first sister:

The bridge leading to it was closed, presumably for safety reasons:

We returned on foot to the motel, then drove into the center of town in search of dinner. With a lot of establishments closed for the holiday, in the end the choice came down to Thai or Tibetan. We went with the latter:

I ordered the mixed momo plate, steamed dumplings filled with beef, chicken, potatoes and vegetables, and served with chili and garlic sauces. All of these were washed down with a cup of Tibetan milk tea:

Amber had earlier that day read online about the Katoomba Falls Reserve Night-lit Walk, and expressed an interest in doing it. With Shu-E opting to stay in and rest, the girl and I made the short drive to the reserve, arriving close to sunset:

The walk wasn't a long one (only 1.3 kilometers/4265 feet in length), but it was suitably atmospheric in the gathering gloom:

The namesake of the reserve:

Posing with Orphan Rock:

The cable running in front of the rock would turn out to be for a gondola, as we would discover the following morning:

Presumably we were hearing some kind of Australian cicada, but whatever it was, quiet it wasn't:

Once the darkness had set in, the floodlights turned on, amping up the atmosphere considerably:

I'm not sure what she was photographing:

Back in the motel, and celebrating a successful start to the new year with a Tasmanian brew:

"Incident on South Dowling", by Paul Kelly: