The Blue Mountains

Hi everyone, 

As I’ve promised I am writing about my visit to the Blue Mountains today. Together with Phoebe, Alyssa and Alyssa’s father Justin we went there Tuesday the 29^th of January. 

We first drove for one and a half hour. Our first stop at the Blue Mountains National Park was the Jellybean Pool. Unfortunately, there aren’t any jellybeans in this pool and it isn’t named after Jughead’s little sister either. The name derives from the pool’s shape. It was a really nice and calm swimming spot. There were a few families and friends in the water but it wasn’t too crowded. At first sight, the water seems a bit dirty. However, it gets its discolouration from the native gums that lines both sides of the river and the water is in fact very clean because it is located in a national park so there isn’t any litter from households in the water. There is one pretty big rock in the water (around 5 m high) which we jumped off. After our swim, we ate some fresh fruits and we continued our journey.

After driving for thirty minutes, we arrived at our next stop which was a cute café. The interior was really cool; everything was made out of colour-painted wood and the big windows showed the gorgeous view of the nature around the Blue Mountains. I ordered a lasagne which tasted very good. 

When we finished our meal, it was time to finally visit the Blue Mountains. We drove for about fifteen more minutes before we arrived. For those of you who don’t know what the Blue Mountains are, here is a short explanation. The Blue Mountains are a mountainous region and a mountain range located in New South Wales. The Blue Mountains are named so because they look blue. This is caused by eucalypts forest which is the main natural vegetation in the area. In the hot sun the eucalyptus plant discharges a fine mist of eucalyptus oil from its leaves. The mist refracts light, which makes the haze look blue at a distance. By far the most famous attraction in the region is the Three Sisters. An unusual rock formation formed by land erosion. The sandstone in the Blue Mountains eroded over time by wind, rain and rivers causing the cliffs surrounding the Jamison Valley to be slowly broken up. The legend about the Three Sisters is that the sisters Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo (I know right… their parents probably wanted to be original or something) lived in the Jamison Valley and were members of the Katoomba tribe. They fell in love with three men from a neighbouring tribe but marriage was forbidden by the tribal law. The three men were not happy with this law and decided to use force to capture the sisters. A huge tribal battle occurred and the three sisters were turned into stone by an elder to protect them. However, the elder died during the battle and there was no one else that could turn them back into humans. 

2x 3 sisters in 1 picture: 3 exchange sisters and 3 sisters made out of rock

At the Blue Mountains we first observed the Three Sisters. Afterwards, we walked into the bush-bush of the Blue Mountains and we had a look at the nature. Walks in forests always gives me peace to mind. I just let all my thoughts flow and I try to live in the present as much as possible. It smelled really nice in the forest too (the eucalyptus plant). It was really hot though, so once we were back in the car with the air-conditioning blowing I didn’t mind driving home from this beautiful place. Fun fact, Alyssa drove us home instead of her father, because in Australia they have a different laws and rules when it comes to driving and getting your driving license!

As all the days I have written about before, I really enjoyed this day! It was cool to see such a famous national park in real life and explore more of Australia than just Sydney itself! I hope you enjoyed reading about this day. Make sure you subscribe to my blog if you want to read more stories like this one. I will speak to you soon! 

With love, 

Frederique