Blue Mountains National Park

The view from Echo Point.

The Three Sisters. 

Another interesting and strange plant.

The cable car.

Lace monitor lizards.

A black dingo.

Getting to know a kangaroo.

A frilled lizard.

Wednesday, December 28^th

I got up early and drove to the Blue Mountains National Park. I arrived ahead of the crowds thankfully as the area gets very congested. I drove through the small tourist town and past all the tourist attractions that line the road before arriving at the rim of Echo Point. This is on the eastern edge of a huge canyon that resembles Grand Canyon. The view was spectacular looking out and over the valley below. I walked along the rim and took a short hike to see the rock formation called the Three Sisters.

There is a family run business here that has a railway to the valley floor and a cable car back to the rim, or you can do it the other way. Unfortunately I hadn't booked ahead and as I was there at 9am and the earliest ticket I could get was 3pm I reluctantly gave it a pass (saved about $90 though).

It was a very hot and humid day and I didn't feel like hiking down into the valley as it involved the 'Giant Staircase', so I took another short hike to a couple more viewpoints and then left.

As I was driving along the highway I came across the Australian Reptile Park, which housed other native animals as well. There were saltwater crocodiles, lace monitor (which look like a small Komodo Dragon), snakes and lizards as well as a couple of Galapagos giant tortoises. There were also dingoes, kolas, kangaroos and lots of birds including emu chicks. I also watched a demo about spiders. The ranger was talking about the world's deadliest spider, the funnel web which inhabits gardens all along the coast. He showed us how to catch one. All you do is put a jar down in front of it and it will walk into it to get out of the sun. Apparently they dry up very quickly in the heat. Then he said to put some dirt in to keep it moist and bring it to the Reptile Park as they 'milk' the venom to make anti-venom.

When I left I continued driving north along the coast. I passed through a small town called 'Toronto' before finally finding a place to stay in Tea Gardens. Again the whole area is a very tourist camping and fishing coast and was fully booked. I lucked out finding a nice room in a motel that also housed the community centre, a pokies room (slot machines), and a restaurant and bar. I had something to eat and a drink before heading off.