First hike

28/07/2009 15:05:53 - 24 mm - 1/2000 - f/5.6 - ISO 1000

It's 6pm and I'm training back towards Sydney. I don't want to fall asleep just yet so I'll use the 2hour ride back to write today's post. I've got up early today to hike the Blue Mountains. I wanted to do that 2 days ago on Sunday but that happened to be a rainy day. So today was my little city escape. I arrived at Katoomba around 10:30 in the morning, walked all the way down the main street and bought a map at the tourist centre. Didn't bother to take a tour bus like my 2 Korean friends suggested. Thanks for the tip, Kevin and Andrew! I shouldn't have bought it cause the whole tour had signs that told you where to go and how much time it would take to get there. I didn't expect it but it was kinda obvious it would be a very touristic place. I decided to make a bigger tour then must people do, because the 'big' one was only 3hours of walking. So I added a few hours and went on the hike. It was nice, good walking weather, coldish, but with the sun in your face. I went from the 3 Sisters (the 3 pointy things left in the picture) towards Leura Falls, went back but via the Federal Pass witch led me all the way to the Scenic Railway, wich I didn't took. It was 10 dollar and it wouldn't let me take pictures because of the safety netting. The thing seemed to be kinda fast to and would perfectly find a place in an amusement park. Because I wasn't hiked out just yet I decided to take the Furber Steps and continued back to the starting point. The trail back was nice because I found it had the greatest views. The sun was already dropping and made the Blue Mountains a little less blueish and a bit more golden. First I thought my white balance of my camera was acting funny, but no worries, the Blue Mountains have indeed a natural blue haze. The eucalyptus in the forest is the reason for that blueish effect. I hiked around all day with all my gear I couldn't leave behind at the hostel, my lappy, camera + objectives, extra clothing, Lonely Planet, water, anyway enough stuff to make the daypack heavy. It made a good test hike for my foot, and it all went fine. It's not hurting or stretching so I'm kinda happy. I finally bought a lock in Katoomba to protect my belongings back in the hostel. So next time I go on a day trip I can leave some precious stuff behind. I won't be doing a lot tonight, think I'll fall asleep as soon I get back in the hostel, or maybe even sooner. It's not my condition, it's jetlag!