Bluey Not Fooey
5:30pm, a bit tired, a bit hungry, a bit cranky. No worries, it's beeroclock. The hostel here in Canberra is serving free drinks and fried snacks and suddenly the wear of the day is forgotten.
Leaving the Hunter Valley toward the Bluies on Monday yielded a spectacular drive. The scenery got more and more, errr, scenic as I twisted down along side the Hawkesbury River. The Hawkesbury runs wide and slow all the way from the ocean north of Sydney up into the Blueys. The melange of riverside maritime towns, the building mountains and autumn mood gave made me giddy. There's not enough traffic to need a big ugly bridge, so upon reaching Wiseman's Ferry, I crossed the Hawkesbury on a cable-pulled ferry. How charmingly quaint. From Wiseman's, I drove up into the hills, making another ferry crossing before taking the Bells of Line Road across the northern section of the Blue Mountains. I wished my bank account was fatter, there were several choice ridgeline properties around Kurajong that overlooked the river and wooded hills.
The sun was setting and the clouds were shedding heavy drops as I finally pulled into Mt. Victoria at the Imperial Hotel. Getting out of the car, I was quite suprised to discover that the temperature had dropped considerably during my drive. It was cold! Invigoratingly so. About time.
I stopped at the Imperial because the LP guide suggested that they had some very cozy backpacker's dorms for a good price. Upon checking in though, the nice lady at the front desk took pity on me and insisted that the backpacker rooms were much too primitive to allow anyone to sleep in them. She then proceeded to give me a double bed room in the main hotel for the same price as the backpacker's dorm. She even went out of her way to provide a breakfast tray of toast and cereal for me when I told her that I wasn't interested in the $15 hot breakfast option.... "the poor boy needs to eat something."
Room set, I decided to drive down to Katoomba, the main town of the Blue Mountains. After doing some checking for local climbers (none found, in the end...) I was suprised by a well timed call from Karl! We chatted for about a half hour, catching up and discussing things to do in the Blueys. We both agreed that the region is simply awesome. The autumn colored trees everywhere, the quaint villiage feel of Blackheath and Leura, the proximity to Sydney, the amazing rock climbing-- I'd suggest you just pick up and move there.
The Imperial Hotel didn't really hold up to its promise, however. The room was nice, but right over the TV in the bar below, which was blaring until all hours. Also, the room had no heat, not even an electric blanket, so I was cold. Lastly, my room looked out onto the main highway, just after a traffic light, so I was lulled to sleep by semi-truck diesel engines accellerating their way through the night. I thanked the staff profusely and checked out in the morning.
The next day started leisurely, just enjoying town and the air. I caught up on some phone calls, then headed to the Ivanhoe Hotel pub for lunch and a Tooheys Old Black. Karl was right, it was quite tasty. That afternoon, I started my exploration of the Blue Mountains with a drive to Govetts Leap, a lookout onto the Grose valley. Excellent.
After getting directions from HQ to Hanging Rock, I walked the 40 minute trail out there and spent the rest of daylight with my feet dangling across the void, letting my mind wander into the hazy distance. The pictures I'll post eventually can tell the rest of the story.
After the hike, I went over to the YHA in Katoomba: quiet, modern and warm. After checking in for the next two nights, I met two English girls from Essex who were on a college gap year holiday. The three of us went down to Katoomba central for a nice meal and a bottle of wine. We called it a night after I got twice spanked at the pool table (that's at, not on).
The next morning, I was intent on doing a bit of a longer hike, so I selected the Evans Lookout -> Grand Canyon -> Neates Glen loop. Ruth Palsson was nice enough to lend me her Blue Mountains bible guidebook with my promise to post it back when I was done. The book was a great help in finding just the right walk. Thanks, Ruth!
While signing the "send a search party if I don't come back" register at the front desk, I met British Polly, who was also looking for a hike. I suggested she join me, which she did happily, considering I had wheels and an idea about where to go.
We set off. It took us less than 3 hours to do the whole circuit. A lovely walk with a variety of scenery and terrain-- and pretty much constant, engaging conversation to boot. Thanks to the guidebook, we took the 20 minute side spur up "The Slot" an easy but particularly pretty interlude before hiking back up the the rim-top. Lunch at Govetts Leap before we drove down the road to check out Wentworth Falls. The falls are aparently some of the highest and most spectacular in Australia. They certainly were impressive, although the flow rate was pretty measly. In the wet season, after a rain, they must be especially (insert a superlative for pretty... I'm running out!).
After the walk to the falls and back, it was beer-o-clock, so we headed back to Katoomba and to the pub. Some beers, some pizza and wine for dinner and we called it a night. The next day, Polly and I met for breakfast, continued our excellent convo and then it was goodbye and off to Canberra.
That's where I am right now, having arrived last night. I'm staying at the YHA, also modern, quiet and warm. I had a busy day around town today. So busy that I'm tired and I'll write all about it tomorrow.
Leaving the Hunter Valley toward the Bluies on Monday yielded a spectacular drive. The scenery got more and more, errr, scenic as I twisted down along side the Hawkesbury River. The Hawkesbury runs wide and slow all the way from the ocean north of Sydney up into the Blueys. The melange of riverside maritime towns, the building mountains and autumn mood gave made me giddy. There's not enough traffic to need a big ugly bridge, so upon reaching Wiseman's Ferry, I crossed the Hawkesbury on a cable-pulled ferry. How charmingly quaint. From Wiseman's, I drove up into the hills, making another ferry crossing before taking the Bells of Line Road across the northern section of the Blue Mountains. I wished my bank account was fatter, there were several choice ridgeline properties around Kurajong that overlooked the river and wooded hills.
The sun was setting and the clouds were shedding heavy drops as I finally pulled into Mt. Victoria at the Imperial Hotel. Getting out of the car, I was quite suprised to discover that the temperature had dropped considerably during my drive. It was cold! Invigoratingly so. About time.
I stopped at the Imperial because the LP guide suggested that they had some very cozy backpacker's dorms for a good price. Upon checking in though, the nice lady at the front desk took pity on me and insisted that the backpacker rooms were much too primitive to allow anyone to sleep in them. She then proceeded to give me a double bed room in the main hotel for the same price as the backpacker's dorm. She even went out of her way to provide a breakfast tray of toast and cereal for me when I told her that I wasn't interested in the $15 hot breakfast option.... "the poor boy needs to eat something."
Room set, I decided to drive down to Katoomba, the main town of the Blue Mountains. After doing some checking for local climbers (none found, in the end...) I was suprised by a well timed call from Karl! We chatted for about a half hour, catching up and discussing things to do in the Blueys. We both agreed that the region is simply awesome. The autumn colored trees everywhere, the quaint villiage feel of Blackheath and Leura, the proximity to Sydney, the amazing rock climbing-- I'd suggest you just pick up and move there.
The Imperial Hotel didn't really hold up to its promise, however. The room was nice, but right over the TV in the bar below, which was blaring until all hours. Also, the room had no heat, not even an electric blanket, so I was cold. Lastly, my room looked out onto the main highway, just after a traffic light, so I was lulled to sleep by semi-truck diesel engines accellerating their way through the night. I thanked the staff profusely and checked out in the morning.
The next day started leisurely, just enjoying town and the air. I caught up on some phone calls, then headed to the Ivanhoe Hotel pub for lunch and a Tooheys Old Black. Karl was right, it was quite tasty. That afternoon, I started my exploration of the Blue Mountains with a drive to Govetts Leap, a lookout onto the Grose valley. Excellent.
After getting directions from HQ to Hanging Rock, I walked the 40 minute trail out there and spent the rest of daylight with my feet dangling across the void, letting my mind wander into the hazy distance. The pictures I'll post eventually can tell the rest of the story.
After the hike, I went over to the YHA in Katoomba: quiet, modern and warm. After checking in for the next two nights, I met two English girls from Essex who were on a college gap year holiday. The three of us went down to Katoomba central for a nice meal and a bottle of wine. We called it a night after I got twice spanked at the pool table (that's at, not on).
The next morning, I was intent on doing a bit of a longer hike, so I selected the Evans Lookout -> Grand Canyon -> Neates Glen loop. Ruth Palsson was nice enough to lend me her Blue Mountains bible guidebook with my promise to post it back when I was done. The book was a great help in finding just the right walk. Thanks, Ruth!
While signing the "send a search party if I don't come back" register at the front desk, I met British Polly, who was also looking for a hike. I suggested she join me, which she did happily, considering I had wheels and an idea about where to go.
We set off. It took us less than 3 hours to do the whole circuit. A lovely walk with a variety of scenery and terrain-- and pretty much constant, engaging conversation to boot. Thanks to the guidebook, we took the 20 minute side spur up "The Slot" an easy but particularly pretty interlude before hiking back up the the rim-top. Lunch at Govetts Leap before we drove down the road to check out Wentworth Falls. The falls are aparently some of the highest and most spectacular in Australia. They certainly were impressive, although the flow rate was pretty measly. In the wet season, after a rain, they must be especially (insert a superlative for pretty... I'm running out!).
After the walk to the falls and back, it was beer-o-clock, so we headed back to Katoomba and to the pub. Some beers, some pizza and wine for dinner and we called it a night. The next day, Polly and I met for breakfast, continued our excellent convo and then it was goodbye and off to Canberra.
That's where I am right now, having arrived last night. I'm staying at the YHA, also modern, quiet and warm. I had a busy day around town today. So busy that I'm tired and I'll write all about it tomorrow.
posted by Scottley at 12:56 AM
1 Comments:
It's always "beer o' clock" somewhere in the world.
-and-
If you're not wasted, the day is.
Look for more of my collective wisdom in my upcoming memoir "Look At My Butt, an Assay."
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