Reduced Expectations

It was always our intention to take a lengthy train journey across Australia, from Sydney to Perth, and then fly back to our home base in Narrabeen. However, events have conspired against us, not the least of which is the Australian dollar rising in value to equal the American dollar. Since everything is twice as expensive down under, we are necessarily adjusting our travel expectations to correspond with our dwindling resources. This trip to Katoomba is an example of those reduced expectations, but today exceeded those notions quite dramatically.


We got up and had an excellent breakfast at our hotel, and then made our way to the bus stop where we bought day passes on the local trolley line. We then took that conveyance to Echo Point, a lovely spot overlooking the Jamison valley and the impressive sandstone cliffs of this giant escarpment on which the town of Katoomba is situated. It was a beautiful cool morning, with the clouds covering the valley below and moving in misty vapors up the rocky faces of the mountains beyond. Anything I could write here would not do the breathtaking beauty of the scene justice, so if you are reading an early version of this posting I suggest that you tune in as soon as we are able to upload a few photographs.

We looked out at the rock formation called the Three Sisters, somewhat of an iconic vista for this part of Australia, and saw the clouds swirling above the jungle below. Inspired by our hearty breakfast, as well as my enthusiastic reaction to the strange forest noises I could hear coming from the mist below, we decided to descend the Giant Stairway, a series of stone and steel steps cut into the rock face below the Three Sisters and leading to the valley floor below, a vertical distance of about a thousand feet, I would guess. Jayne was game to give it a try, especially when we realized that once we reached the valley below all we would have to do is hike over to the terminus of the various “Scenic World” attractions to hitch a ride back up.

The walk down the stairs was never really frightening, but it was grueling after a time since the pleasant breezes that greeted our first arrival at the top of the ridge were non-existent the moment we plunged into the clouded valley. By the time I reached the bottom of the stairs I was sweating so heavily that I believe my clothes were totally drenched. Jayne, of course, looked fresh as a daisy, so after pausing to rest a bit we proceeded along the valley’s edge towards the Katoomba Falls. The forest was absolutely gorgeous, with so many strange plants dripping in the humidity. We saw no wildlife (we were warned to watch for snakes) but some of the most impressive trees and plants whose roots seemed to drill directly into solid rock. After a march of about two miles, we came to the Katoomba Falls and creek bed, and it was quite a site. Not really impressive in the volume of water, but the heights from which it fell were spectacular. About three hundred yards further along the trail past the falls we came to the terminus of the vertical railroad, a tourist ride that was made by adapting an old coal chute. It bills itself as the steepest railway in the word, and I can believe it, for once it started uphill Jayne and I both thought that we would pitch forward into the seats in front of us. It only lasted a minute or so, but we found ourselves back at the top of the ridge without having to ascend the equivalent of the stairs we so laboriously took down into the valley when we started.

The trolley came by after we escaped from the tourist shop with nothing more than two stickers and a package of Ned Kelly mints, and we rode to the Leura shopping center where we had lunch. By then we were feeling our aching leg muscles and decided to catch the next trolley to the motel. I now sit outside in a lovely secluded spot typing these lines while Jayne tries to take a nap. This was quite an adventure, not on a scale that we had originally intended, but definitely as interesting as our expedition to Royal National Park in 2008. Sometimes when you reduce your expectations, you get pleasantly surprised. That certainly happened today for us.