Blue Mountains — RachiePie

Alex and I decided to wake early Sunday morning in order to catch one of the first trains to the Blue Mountains. The train ride takes a little over two hours and we arrived around 9:30am. The slate-blue haze that gives the Blue Mountains its name comes from a fine mist of oil emitted by the huge eucalyptus trees covering the park. This World Heritage region is known for its beautiful scenery and rich Aboriginal history.

We started our morning at the Three Sisters Viewpoint. The unusual rock formation represents three sisters who according to Aboriginal legend were turned to stone:

The Legend
The Aboriginal dream-time legend has it that three sisters, 'Meehni', 'Wimlah' and Gunnedoo' lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe.

These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe, yet tribal law forbade them to marry.

The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters causing a major tribal battle.

As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witchdoctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former beauty, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.

Our hike took us on several different tracks including the Giant Stairway, Federal Pass, Prince Henry Cliff Walk and the Furber Steps. It took about four hours to complete and we got to see forest, waterfalls, and lookout points. By the time we made it back to to the Three Sisters Lookout, it was super busy!! I'm glad we got the park early to beat some of the crowd!

Ending the afternoon with beers from The Lookout Restaurant

Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to head back downtown later in the evening to enjoy the sunset over the Opera House and Harbour Bridge. As we were walking to the Opera House, I happened to glance over and see Harry's Cafe de Wheels. I went there the first time I was in Sydney and posted this same picture the other day. Thought it would be fun to re-create this photo 14 years later!