Blue Mountains - part 2, day2

The snow didn't come to anything and the sky cleared up perfectly. It's like one of those crisp, autumn mornings back in Scotland. The air has a chill but you can see for miles.

We head back down to Echo Point to check out the view with a few less clouds. Then take the short hike down to the 3 Sisters.

Mandy waits for me while I hike down the Giants Stairway a little to see if I can get a view of all 3 Sisters from there. It's not happening and I eventually climb back up the 45degree staircase, slightly out of puff.

After our last visit here we headed off to the Jenolan Caves and this time is no different. But we've got 50 percent off vouchers and also, Mandy can walk this time, you may remember she'd done her back in last time and we could only go into one of the smaller caves.

We arrive at the caves and try to suss out which one the large group of schoolkids is going to in order to go in the opposite direction. We choose the 'Orient', it's reputation is as one of the best in the world, so I'm keen to see if this hyperbole is well-founded.

The hype is right. The 'Orient' cave is quite stunning.

Unfortunately a combination of the vast scale of these chambers, my puny little camera and the jostling punters won't give off a decent impression of the scale of things. This chamber was 36m high.

There was almost too much to look at, and there were just too many 'grey nomads' pushing for a good photo spot. And the ubiquitous 'whingin' pommies' repeating everything the guide said about five times to each other.

We both agreed that this would be motivation to get rich and organise private tours round here.

These were mere irritations though, it should be right up there on anyone's itinerary.

From the caves we drove back to Sydney, stopping briefly at the beginning of the Evans Lookout track. This track looks like a lot of fun, descents down to the canyon floor, clifftop trails, and few tourists, definitely worth coming back for a day's hiking.

Blue Mountains (part 2)

Mandy had Monday, Tuesday off and the rain has kept us in for pretty much the past two weeks. It's a major down side to living on the Northern Beaches that when the weather is bad there's not an awful lot to do. So we decided to head back up to Katoomba for a night.

We hoped the weather would be better than last time but it wasn't looking too hopeful, sitting in a small traffic jam just outside of Katoomba, we found ourselves in the surreal position of having the air con on in the car and snow falling outside. But it is winter after all!

We had checked into the art deco anachronism that is the Carrington Hotel. It had that off season feel, and though it retains a lot of authentic colonial features, it does look a bit tired, but still it was pleasant enough. After having a meal and a couple of beers we went back to the hotel about 10.30pm and the off-season feel of the place began to feel a bit more sinister. There was just nobody about, except for the statues of Laurel and Hardy(?). We thought we'd have a little peak at the dining rooms, and, surprisingly enough, it was dead, and just a little creepy.

So here we have it, a deserted hotel in the mountains, off season, a struggling writer (well not quite) and a slightly scared girlfriend. Why does this scenario seem familiar? I blame the alcohol. Red rum anybody!

Eagles against Rabbits

Took in my first 'footie' match yesterday. For those back home maybe some clarification of the term 'footie' is needed. Firstly (in terms of audiences) there is Aussie Rules Football, traditionally not a New South Wales game. Secondly there's Rugby League, preference of NSW. Then there's Rugby Union and the 'round ball' game.

Knowing not very much about AFL, and having been to a couple of League games back home the natural choice was our local team the Manly Sea Eagles. Of course, it helps that they're actually a decent team as well.

Brookvale Oval is in need of upgrading but it does have a good atmosphere especially on the grassy hills, kind of reminiscent of the old terraces back home. Add to this the fact that the sun was splitting the trees, and you can drink at matches, it makes a pretty decent afternoon.

They were up against Russel Crowe's, South Sydney Rabbitohs yesterday. The big man obviously hasn't been instilling any Gladiatorial spirit into his boys as they went down 20 - 2, in a match with very few incidents. Of course who would expect any different result when you pit Eagles against Rabbits. Helped in no small measure by Jamie Lyon, who Mr. Harland you may remember as I believe he put some points past Hull when he played for St. Helen's a few years back.

Had to buy a hat though before my head fried, not just because I'm a Johnny Come Lately, Fan Boy type.