Amazing Australia Trip Day 2: Blue Mountains

Next up, more about the 2nd day of my 8 Days Trip to Australia series!

Day 2 - 27 August 2017, Sunday

Overall itinerary of our second day

0630 - 0700 : Take bus & walk to Novotel Darling Harbour hotel (Pick up point)

0715 - 1830 : 1-Day tour to Blue mountains region (Blue mountains; Leura; The Three Sisters rock formation; Scenic world; Featherdale wildlife park)

1830 - 1900 : Travel to dinner venue 1900 - 2130 : Dinner at Australian Heritage Hotel Pub

2100 onwards : Go back to Airbnb venue to rest

With a night of sleep after walking around like a zombie on Day 1, I am refreshed and ready to... explore! Day 2 is all about touring the Blue Mountains region. Main mode of transport being driven around in a minibus (and sleeping half the time while on it).

Since I do not have a driving license and my traveling buddies prefer not to drive for hours on road, we went for a 1-Day guided tour with AATKings (click here for the package we got). Fancy sounding package we got for AU$195 each: Blue Mountains in Style!

We started the day super early at 6am to make our way down to the pick up point! Reached before the pick up time at 7.15am, so we had a small breakfast while waiting for the minibus: Australia Milo. The only difference it has with the Singapore Milo is it is just more milky. I think I like the Singapore Milo more, much more chocolaty!

I remembered the bus ride being rather long as we travelled closer to the Blue Mountains region. I did not really mind it though since I got to see the super blue sky of Australia and I managed to catch up on my sleep (sorry, Mr. Tour Guide was talking about the itinerary almost the whole drive).

Eventually, we reached our first stop - Leura. It is a small village with antique shops, art galleries, bookstores and cafés. The moment we got out of the minibus, we were literally shivering from the unexpected low temperature of 4 degree celsius and strong wind. We obviously did not think it is going to be that cold, it was not winter afterall. Only solution was to walk briskly to Loaves and Dishes café to get some warmth.

We were given a few breakfast options, a variety of pastries and drinks. I went with banana bread (best choice ever!) and a pot of tea to warm myself up.

After breakfast, we still had some time left to walk around the cosy village. Of course, must take photos haha!

Next, we were brought to view the Three Sisters Formation. According to Aboriginal legend, the rock formation apparently represents three sisters who were turned to stone. You can read more about the legend here, but it is also mentioned that it might not be a true story.

Next stop, we headed to Scenic world to experience the 360 degree landscapes of Blue Mountains via a combination of cableway, walkway and the steepest railway incline in the world!

Started off with the 510 metre long cableway (also the steepest and largest aerial cable car in the Southern Hemisphere), you can see breathtaking views including the the Three Sisters, Orphan Rock, Mt Solitary and Katoomba Falls. Enough of flowery words, here are some photos to steal your breath away!

After we alighted from the cable car, we embarked on the scenic walkway and walked through the rainforest. I like the cold air here!

At the end of the walkway, there is a portion showcasing the mining history, such as the mining entrance. Also, do not miss out on the view of the mountains!

We ended off our exploration with the 52 degree incline (128% incline) Scenic railway which has glass-roofed carriages. Hahaha, I was excited for this but my traveling buddy #2 was wondering why we booked this tour right before we boarded it... Do view my video on my Instagram profile (search for @burdensandjokes - Day 2 video)!

In case you are wondering if this railway goes up or down, it does go both ways. As we were at the bottom of it, we took it upwards. The funny thing was... the whole time I was on it, I felt like I might slip off the seat due to the incline so I ended up focusing on not slipping off that I almost missed out on the scenery. Yes, please keep your eyes opened and look out of the glass roof, okay?

This was not the end of the Blue Mountains tour. we were then taken to another viewing point to enjoy another spectacular view of the beautiful Blue Mountains.

Hungry from all that walking, it was time for lunch at the Conservation Hut Café located at the Valley of the Waters in Wentworth Falls. With 3 of us, we just had to order 3 different items and share them amongst us, including the Goats cheese, onion & tomato tart with rocket-v and sandwich.

The last stop of the tour was the Featherdale wildlife park. It has more than 300 species of Australia’s diverse wildlife in a natural bush setting!

I have easily taken more than just a handful of photographs of the animals. Totally had a hard time selecting a few to show here, so here we go:

Not to miss out on koalas! Some more, it is close-up one okay!

And PENGUINS! So cute right?

Most of the participants in the tour went for the optional Parramatta River Cruise (extra cost of course), but we decided to skip that to save a little. We were dropped off near where the tour guide recommended us for dinner. We still had to walk a little, and just so happened to see the Sydney Opera House from afar. Looks pretty from afar too!

Okay, so dinner was at Australian Heritage Hotel Pub... We were recommended to try their kangaroo & emu pizza because it is exotic. Truth was, I could not differentiate between the 2 meat and they do taste a little odd to me too. (._.)

We ordered 2 glasses of beer fresh off the beer taps, it was good. The 'Coat of Arms' Pizza (AU$22) was interesting because of the half emu & half pepper kangaroo meat. Weird, but I guess it was an experience that I should not miss out on. Also, not to forget on the side dish which I thought was the main highlight of the meal - Mac & cheese croquettes with paprika mayo (AU$10)! I LOVE IT (please try if you go)!