Beautiful Blue Mountains--Day 2

Somehow we seemed to have lost the magic and good luck that accompanied us on our first day in Sydney. Day 2 was chilly and rainy. Our tour to the Blue Mountains, two hours west of the city, was delayed by almost two hours because of problems with the sound system on the bus, which, after changing buses, turned out to be a faulty microphone. It was not until 10:30 a.m. that we left downtown Sydney for a trip that took us through miles and miles of structures and arenas that had been built or expanded for the 2000 Summer Olympics to the Blue Mountains and Jamison Valley, a national park described as the Grand Canyon of Australia, which has been named a World Heritage Site. Captain Arthur Philips, then governor of New South Wales, named the range because when the sunlight hit the oil from the eucalyptus trees, it created a blue haze.

One of the most famous rock formations in the Blue Mountains is the Three Sisters from a Dreamtime story. Three warriors of one tribe fell in love with three gorgeous sisters from another tribe but marriages between the two tribes were banned. The three warriors developed a plan to capture the three sisters, which resulted in a tribal war. Fearing for the safety of the sisters, the witch doctor turned them into stone but was killed in the war before he could turn them back. Statues of what a sculptor envisioned as the beautiful sisters and the witch doctor greet visitors at the entrance to Scenic World Park. After viewing the actual rock formations, one knows that the sculptor had a vivid imagination.

Two factors that contributed to this tour not receiving stellar ratings were the number of visitors, mostly Asian Americans, and the brief amount of time we had to tour the valley after our late departure. Taking the Scenic Railway with its steep drop to Jamison Valley rivaled many roller coaster rides and the walkway in the valley with its history of the early miners deserved much more time. Standing in lines for the railway down and the cableway up took way too much time. On the railway up, Sara was more concerned with two fighting young brothers in her lane on the car so she thought she had missed the Three Sisters. Ginger has a great photograph of that ride that shows Sara looking as if she were pouting. Fortunately, the bus stopped at Katoomba, known a the Valley of Falling or Shining Water, for a different view of the rock formation, and Ginger took a photograph of Sara smiling as the possible fourth sister.

On the way back to Sydney, we stopped at Featherdale Wildlife Park, where visitors can interact with the wildlife. We had visited the park in 2006 but enjoyed it just as much this time. Our arrival just before closing time was very fortunate for us because we had the park to ourselves. Punxsutawney Phil especially enjoyed this part of the trip because he was at home with all his furry friends. We headed first for the koalas, who had been feed at 4 p.m. and were now enjoying nap time but were still incredibly cute in their sleepy state. Then we purchased a ice cream-cone container of feed for the kangaroos that were jumping free in the park. Ken tried to feed a wallaby who approached him who had to teach Ken the correct technique. Don't simply scatter the seed but let the animal eat directly from the cone and then eat the cone. Two species of animals that we really wanted to see were the dingos that look like dogs but are much more vicious, which we did see, and the Tasmanian Devil, who refused to come out of his hiding place in his cage.

On the 45-minute drive back into Sydney, our guide told us why Australia did not fall victim to the subprime recession in 2008 that caused havoc worldwide. The major reasons were that Australia exports its coal to China; the government poured $40 billion into the economy to support businesses, especially small businesses; the banks on the continent are large and not family-owned small banks; and the self-funded pensioners must meet a financial test before receiving money from the government. Australia is rich in mineral resources (coal, iron ore, uranium, diamonds and gold) but not rich in land because most of the country is desert with the majority of the population living in the coastal areas. Australia also is the biggest dairy exporter in the world. But the government seems to have the same problems that our country has with the Democrats and the Republicans through its Labor and Conservative parties.

Driving into Sydney from the west reminded Sara of driving from Robins0n Township to Pittsburgh. We even drove through tunnels that are similar to the Fort Pitt Tunnel but much newer at only three years. A sign flashed because cruise ships were visiting today, we should expect harbour traffic. After we crossed over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, we arrived at our ship and prepared for the sailaway party on a very cold and windy Deck 9. Ken got a hug from Leyla, his favorite dancer, and Sara was photographed with our Cruise Director Brett, for whom she feels maternal love because she is the same age as his mother. Sydney will always be one of our favorite cities!