I love these palm trees - they form part of the undergrowth in the bushland. They are like a cross between a fern and a palm.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Road Trip #2 - Cable Cars
These are the cable cars - the one on the left goes between two ridges (note waterfall to the left) and the one on the right goes down to the valley. The bushwalk at the bottom was amazing - a rainforest jungle.
Road Trip #2 - Birds
Scenic World at Katoomba is where the cable cars and funicular railway are. Walking to get our tickets these cockatoos were drinking out of the gutter.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Road Trip #2 - Blue Mountains
This past weekend we spend based in Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains. You can see the blue mist which is caused by the eucalyptus oil in the air. Apparently this is an adaptation that provides a "sunscreen" for the trees preventing them from adverse affects from the intense sun. The formation on the left called the "Three Sisters" is the subject of an Aboriginal tale which saw their father turning them to stone through a spell so they couldn't be abducted by a rival tribe. The story goes that the father dies in the ensuing warfare and so the spell could not be released.
On the right is Orphan Rock, so called because it is alone. The alternate name is Witchdoctor, symbolizing the father who cast the spell.
Funny story, as we took the cable car up the side (more pictures on that later) I saw railings at the top of the Orphan Rock and could have sworn I saw people over there. So when we got out of the cable car I asked the operator/guide how I could get over there and climb up. He looked at me funny and said, where? And I said, where the people are, over there and pointed. And he said, there are no people there, and haven't been for at least 37 years since it was deemed unsafe. So we laughed and agreed I was definitely too late, by only 37 years!
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