Hey all,
Wow! I have to say this last weeekend trip was one of the best yet. Jonathon and I went to the Blue Mountains and went hiking. We'd driven through them before--when we last lived in Dubbo--but we hadn't had a chance to really enjoy the area before.
We found a decent hotel--nothing special, just a place to lay our heads--in Katoomba. It's the main gateway town for the area and where the biggest tourist attraction is. The Three Sisters is set of rock formations that has a really cool legend attached. Here is a picture, along with the legend...
Three sisters, Meenhi, Wimlah and
Gunnedoo had a father who was a witch doctor. His name was Tyawan.
Long ago there was a Bunyip who
lived in a deep hole who was feared by all.
Passing the hole was considered
very dangerous, therefore whenever Tyawan had to pass the hole in search for
food, he would leave his daughters safely on the cliff behind a rocky wall.
One fateful day, Tyawan waved
goodbye to his daughters and descended down the cliff steps into the valley.
Meanwhile at the top of the
cliff, Meenhi was frightened by a large centipede which suddenly appeared
before her. Meenhi took a stone and threw it at the centipede. The stone
continued on its journey and rolled over the cliff, crashing into the valley
below which angered the Bunyip.
The rocky wall behind Meenhi,
Wimlah and Gunnedoo then began to split open and the three sisters were left
stranded on a thin ledge at the top of the cliff. All the birds, animals and
fairies stopped still as the Bunyip emerged to see the terrified girls.
As the Bunyip began to approach
the girls, to protect them from harm, their father Tyawan used his magic bone
to turn them into stone.
Angered by this, the Bunyip then
began to chase Tyawan. Becoming trapped, in order to flee from the Bunyip,
Tyawan changed into a magnificent Lyre Bird, yet in the process dropped his
magic bone. Tyawan and his three daughters were now safe from the Bunyip.
Once the Bunyip had disappeared,
Tyawan returned in search of his magic bone, yet this was never to be found.
The Lyre Bird has been searching
for this magic bone ever since. Remaining in rock formation, The Three Sisters
stand silently overlooking the valley hoping that one day he'll find the bone
and turn them back to former selves.
-->
When visiting The Three Sisters,
if you listen carefully you may be able to hear the Lyre Bird, Tyawan, as he
continues his quest for his lost magic bone.
I love reading about the Dreamtime and legends of Australia. Like this one, there are so many awesome story ideas I can pull from them.
We hiked both days. The first day, we did the Prince Henry Cliff Walk--a four hour walk that traverses the cliffside from The Three Sisters to Gordon Falls. There were so many amazing viewpoints, I can't even count them all. And each perspective was a little different--enough that each picture I took was just beautiful. Here's a selection...
The next day we went down the Giant Staircase, almost 900 steps from a viewpoint at the top of The Three Sisters to the forest floor. There were some more amazing viewpoints as you head down. And then the walk--called Federal Pass--is a three hour walk through the rainforest to the way back up the mountain. It was a funicular, the steepest one in the world and that was a pretty hairy ride, I have to tell you. It has a 52* grade, which was pretty awesome and it was fast, so when it made that last little whoosh up the hill, you were almost standing on your head!
We ended our day with some amazing chocolates at Josophan's Fine Chocolates and then spent the rest of the afternoon driving through the northern Blue Mountains and enjoying the scenery. All in all, it was a great weekend with beautiful views, and a relaxing road trip that refreshed as well as informed.
Makes me wonder where we'll wind up next time? Who knows????
See you on Tuesday!
Hugs,
http://www.cjengland.com/wanderingstar/badtothebone.htm
