Jamison Valley/Katoomba)

 I've only been in Australia, specifically Sydney, for two weeks. Save for the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Opera House, the image of Australia - the "bush," the "outback," - have been to me just pictures on the Australian Dollars, images on the fronts of Post Cards, until, my first excursion out of the city and into the true Australia. 

On Wednesday morning, February 2nd, my two french friends, Clément Faisy and Simon Gilles, and I,  rented a small, white 4-door Hyundai from Budget car rental in Kings Cross and started our journey out of the city and onto the Great Western Highway.

  

Our destination was Katoomba in the heart of the world heritage listed Blue Mountains; just 113 kilometers (70 miles) away from Sydney, it's the most visited Park in New South Wales.

 After a wrong turn we ended up in Wentworth Falls. 

The lookout from Wentworth Falls was our first view of the Jamison Valley.

Continuing on to Katoomba - a mountain town with eclectic shops, bookstores and restaurants - we dropped off our bags at the Blue Mountain Backpacker and headed for Echo Point, the best place to view the Jamison Valley and the rock formation called the three sisters. 

The name "three sisters" comes from an Aboriginal Dreamtime legend. The story goes that an elder turned three sisters into stone to protect them from the attack of a neighboring tribe; but in the fighting the elder died, leaving the sisters eternally sealed in rock. 

We decided to take the hiking trail down into the Valley, but first we snaked our way around the three sisters. 

 

Top view of three sisters from the trail

The trail continued into and around the first of the three sister rocks and then down to the Jamison Valley Via the aptly named "Giant Staircase." 

Inside a "sister"

The stairs were steeply cut out of the side of the mountain, providing beautiful views of the Jamison Valley, but at the cost of extreme exhaustion.

View from the Giant Staircase. The shadows of the clouds are cast over the valley.

Once we reached the Valley - a bit tired from the climb - we entered the cover of the Gum tree forest. Traveling along Dardanelles Pass we saw various Eucalyptus trees and even a rare and endangered Turpentine tree; unfortunately, no koalas were nibbling on their leaves but our search for native wildlife was successful.

Turpentine Tree

Soon we discovered that various reptiles, insects and birds shared the trails with us. The forest was alive with the sounds of birds and locusts; ants, spiders and other insects were crawling on everything; reptiles were sunning themselves on countless rocks. It was great to walk amongst the wildlife of Australia.

Termite mound

Though the wildlife was amazing to encounter, this marker, a lack of water, and a relentless sun, soon put a damper on our excitement:

We past by Katoomba Falls, which, in the rainy season gushes down the valley, now was just a mere trickle. 

Up the trail further we came across the witches Leap Falls. This more adequately suited our need to be drenched in water. 

Finally, we reached the trail back to the top of the Valley. It was here that we saw more great views of the Three Sisters from the other side. All said and done, we walked over 5 kilometers (lil over 3 miles) as well as up and down the Jamison Valley!

It was a great start to our three day jaunt into the wild Australia.