Blue Mountains

After months of enjoying nice weather, my luck has run out. Arrived in Katoomba in the Blue Mountains and it was in thick fog. must have driven past the campsite a couple of times before I actually found it as the fog was so thick you couldn't actually see the sign by the road.

Apparently there has been a drought in this part of Australia for about 10 years, speak to anyone who lives here and the conversation soon ends up being about the lack of rain in the area. So when it started to rain that evening I thought it was a good thing but a few hours later when it was still raining very hard, with thunder and lightening I was starting to change my mind. When i went back to my tent and found 2 ducks enjoying themselves by it things were not looking good. Although everything in the tent was still actually dry, it was like lying on a waterbed as the ground was so wet so I decided to sleep in the car instead. Probably a good decision as it carried on raining hard most of the night, turns out it was actually the wettest day in Sydney and Melbourne for over 2 years. But by morning it had stopped and the fog had cleared so I could actually see where I was. The campsite was actually just across the road from one of the main bushwalking parts of this area, so I had a very nice days walking around there, with some great views over the valley.

But unfortunately the dry weather didn't lastand the next few days the weather was very Scottish, heavy showers, low cloud and its got really cold compared to what I've been used to. I've got used to temperatures in the 30s so seeing a maximum temperature of 8 degrees being forecast has been a bit of a shock. I still went out doing some nice walks though, although the weather is like being at home, bushwalking is very different. Some good forest walks and all the rain has made the waterfalls very impressive. To escape from the rain for a day I've also been on a trip down the Jenolan Caves, a big group of limestone caves in the mountains. THe different rock formations and crystals were very impressive as the variety in them was amazing.

As the rain continued and having seen forecasts showing that I was in the coldest, wettest place in Australia I decided to leave a day early and went to Botany Bay. Was quite suprised how most of the area is now very heavily industralised with only a small section of the coast kept as a national park. Was nice to be back at the coast again, and it was nice and sunny so I was finally able to dry out my soaked tent and gear. As there were still some heavy showers I decided to stay in a motel for a night so that I could pack up all my stuff before having to take the car back.

Drove in to Sydney the next day, stopping off at a wildlife park on the way. I've managed to see a lot of Australian wildlife in the wild, but haven't seen any koalas, so I decided some captive ones would have to do. Spending the weekend in Sydney before heading back to Melbourne for my flight to New Zealand