The Blue Mountains

We were daring and rented a car. A sweet little hot rod. A baby blue little motor machine: the Huyndai Getz. We upgraded and got an automatic.

As we drove out of Sydney west to the Blue Mountains (which really, are not like the mountains that we have here. It's really much more like a forested Grand Canyon. Plateaus of marbled, layed rock, and eyefuls of views, it was gorgeous.) navigating sounded like this:
"Turn right, but stay on the left."
"Um, make the turn around the median, but stay on the left."
"On the left...."

There are about a dozen little mountain towns that trickle through the Blue Mountains, and our bed and breakfast was at the end of the trickle. A quaint little town, it's most known for it's rhododendron gardens (which are gorgeous! And huge, and all volunteer managed. It was perhaps the biggest surprise of the trip and completely worth it. It was a true hidden gem).

On the first day we were there, we went for a short hike at Govett's Leap... but when we arrived, the fog was so thick, when we looked out from the vista, it was like looking at a white sheet. Really. There was no definition of landscape out there. We toddled down the trail and crossed a river (on stepping stones. It was very story book) and climbed up to another vista, and as we reached the plateau, the cloud was literally moving through the valley before our eyes. It was a magical unveiling of the valley and of our first views of the canyon. Waterfalls scattered the walls of the canyon and lush green rippled through the valley. It was gorgeous.

Day two, we decided to hike to the bottom of the canyon on a trail aptly named Grand Canyon. (Plus, I think it's cool that we've been to two Grand Canyons in two different countries and two different hemispheres.) The trail wound its way down on to the floor of the canyon and then along a river. We hiked on a rock ledge and heard a racket of birds everywhere. Greg was desperate to see some wildlife, and I spotted a big lizard... except it was dead. And not just dead as if it had died of natural causes. It was perfectly positioned on the handrail, and the rear of its body had been, well, perhaps enjoyed for lunch by another critter. In any case, I think I about jumped out of the canyon it startled me so much. But, regardless, we check "seeing" nature (wildlife) on the hike. Rest assured, we did see something alive  as well: giant freshwater crayfish that were bright orange.

Breakfasts at our place were "happy-belly" delicious: full English breakfasts complete with fantastic potatoes, poached eggs, unlimited fantastic toast, real bacon, and gorgeous sausages. This is the kind of breakfast that makes a girl happy.

Next stop? The beach!