Australia





28 Feb: Albury to Cowra

Not much caught our attention in the guide books between Albury and the Blue Mountains, so we decided to head to the mountains as quickly as possible. Today was the first leg; we covered 350 km at an average speed of 79 km/h. We stopped off at lunchtime at the botanic gardens in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales' largest inland city. There's a free zoo with red and grey kangaroos, swamp wallabies, donkeys, emus, goats, lots of birds (parrots, cockatoos, budgies, corellas and lorikeets) and a friendly little lamb to stroke. The girls also enjoyed playing in Kidsville, a well equipped playground in the gardens. It wasn't easy dragging them away to continue our journey...!

We'd spotted a free camp spot in a reserve on the riverside a 30 minute drive SE of Cowra, but as we didn't arrive in Cowra until 17h30, we decided to take the easy option and booked into the town's campsite on the river. After a refreshing dip in the river and an aperitif on the riverbank, we headed back to our campervan to do the girls' homework and barbeque some marinated pork chops for dinner. It must be said that the toilets, be them public or campsite, are delightfully clean in Australia. France has a lot to learn...

1 Mar: Cowra to The Blue Mountains

We didn't see anyone wearing daffodils today, despite it being St David's Day! Then again, it would be impossible to find daffodils at the end of the summer in this dry, hot climate!

We left the campground, direction Blackheath in the Blue Mountains. At 11 am we stopped off at Bathurst at the Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum, where there's an impressive and very colourful collection of crystals and minerals, including opal fossilised shells and bones; quite extraordinary. There's even a skeleton of a tyrannosaurus rex towering above the fossil collection. It was good fun for all the family! After a barbeque lunch in a park on the outskirts of the town, we continued our drive to Blackheath.

After collecting loads of information on nearby walking tracks and park camps at the National Park Visitors Centre in Blackheath, we set off for our first walk in the Blue Mountains from Govett's Leap Lookout, along the cliff top to Evans Lookout. This walk passes though rainforest, up and down steps, over waterfalls and has beautiful soaring views across the valley. We met a Giant Dragonfly, lots of butterflies and a huge sort of pheasant along the way. It took us 2 hours to complete the walk which was advertised to take 3; the girls are champion walkers!

We then drove to Perrys Lookdown, down a secluded dirt track, to camp the night. The sky is covered with grey, menacing clouds; the first we've seen in a long time. Fingers crossed they'll clear up before tomorrow.

Preparing a BBQ lunch in a park in Bathurst The view across the valley on the Govett's Leap to Evans Lookout walk A family shot at Evans Lookout

2 Mar: The Blue Mountains

We drove to Echo Point in Katoomba and dropped in at the visitors centre for some information on the local walks. It was the first time we'd had to pay for the privilege to park and at $4 an hour it isn't cheap... We decided to do a circuit from the Three Sisters, down the Giant Stairway, along Federal Pass, up Furber Steps and back along the cliff top on the Prince Henry Cliff Walk. There are over 900 steps down the Giant Stairway around the 3 pinnacle rock formations, named the Three Sisters; it's an impressive steep descent into the valley. Gaelle found it difficult hanging on to the handrails in places with her left arm, but both girls walked like troopers down the steep steps! Then a walk through the rainforest and ferns before reaching the huge Katoomba Falls. The Furber Steps climb up along side the waterfall, with lovely views of the cascading waters and valley. We ate our picnic lunch at Vera's Grotto, on the way back up. The walk took us two and a half hours, but the steps had tired the girls out, so our plans to do a second walk in the afternoon had to be moderated. We drove to Leura Cascades, where the girls recuperated on the swings, before we set out for a 20 minute walk to see the falls.

We asked about camping possibilities at the tourist office and were discretely advised that the picnic area at Wentworth Falls Lake is a nice unofficial spot to spend the night. It is a lovely spot, but unfortunately it is written at every parking spot that camping and sleeping in vehicles is forbidden, subject to a maximum fine of $500! As we feel uncomfortable camping where it's explicitly forbidden, we decided to head to one of the National Park campsites called Ingar, about 20km away. The last 10km of the journey are via a dirt track, which is in such poor condition that there was no way that we could drive the campervan there. So we ended up parking in a small clearing on the edge of the dirt track, after struggling to turn the campervan around...! Sticking to the rules doesn't always pay off!

Katoomba Falls The Three Sisters Leura Cascades

3 Mar: The Blue Mountains

We got off to an early start and headed to the Conservation Hut at Wentworth Falls. We had been recommended to do the Valley of the Waters and the National Pass walking track. This walk is really beautiful. The Valley of the Waters walk has several lovely lookouts and waterfalls which you walk by and sometimes cross over. The National Pass walking track was built in 1908 and is on a ledge halfway down the sheer cliff face. Some of the path has been carved out of the rock, other parts are suspended walkways. The views are stunning. We ate our picnic beside the majestic Wentworth Falls, where we found many crayfish in the rock pools. Then we climbed the steep and high steps carved out of the rock face that lead back up to the cliff top. Poor Sophie had to resort to all fours in order to clamber up the high steps! Again, the views are amazing. This is probably the best of the walks in the Blue Mountains.

Then, we took to the road, direction the east coast, to Newcastle just north of Sydney. We stopped for a dip in the sea next to Ocean Baths and the girls played on the beach, building sandcastles and chasing seagulls. We then moved the campervan to a car park / picnic area at Nobbies beach, where we prepared a barbeque dinner and settled down for the night.

Falls down Valley of the Waters Along the National Pass The sheer cliffs between the Valley of the Waters and Wentworth Falls (The National Pass follows the cliffs half way down the cliff face)


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