En route to the Blue Mountains

Heading inland north west from Kiama on our way to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. Overnight rain & heavy cloud made for a very humid morning. Passing through Shellharbour, seemingly not as idyllic as it sounds, with a massive quarry.    Then driving parallel to Lake Illawara with the Illawara escarpment & Mt Kembla & Mt Kiera as a backdrop, the scene was awesome.

On through Wollongong, a built up city with a huge steelworks, working harbour & a lot of light industry, it is Australia's 9th largest city. Our route onwards took us through some familiar sounding places!





Reaching the start of the Blue Mountain area we hit the rain & mist. From the forecast we look like having these conditions for the 3 days we are here. The views may be somewhat limited if this is the case. Here's a link to what we might get to see in this World Heritage Area.

  http://www.bluemts.com.au/tourist/towns/#1

We drove through Leura which looked lovely & on to Katoomba, our motel is a short walk from Echo Point, a huge viewing area for the 3 Sisters with a  panorama over the mountains & valleys. Also the starting point for the walks to Katoomba Falls & the 3 Sisters rock formation. There are some serious bush walks in this area, but with the weather conditions & no walking boots we may have to stick to the easier routes. As the mist swirled around we managed this photo, but not enough of the 3 Sisters was visible. The Aboriginal legend tells of 3 sisters who were turned to stone ( the reason varies with different versions of the story) but the witch doctor responsible,  lost his life before he could turn them back. They stand over 3000 feet above sea level. & change colour as the light  alters.