After a day and a half hanging out with Angie in Sydney, it was time to ditch her and the city for
two days in the Blue Mountains. Before leaving the states I booked an Aboriginal Walkabout with an Aborigine named Evan. I almost missed it altogether since Australians are not really in to announcing what station the train is approaching and the signs on the platforms are often hard to see. I glanced at my watch and realized I must have arrived in Falconbridge based on the time and just barely squeezed out through the closing door. I had about 15 minutes to wait before the tour was scheduled to start and was a bit surprised to find out I was only 1 km away from Danville. At 10:00 another train from Katoomba arrived and I was happy to learn that I would not be alone on the tour since San (short for Alexandra) from Belgium arrived looking as lost and bewildered as me. About 15 minutes later San and I were starting to wonder if there had been a mix up but then we saw Evan waving us up the stairs and over to him to begin the tour.
Without a lot of talking we blindly followed Evan away from the train station and into the bush. After about 10 minutes of walking we stopped at a tree where Evan asked us not to judge him for being white since there are no dark skinned aborigines left in the Derrick tribe. He then asked us to keep an open mind and just do what he says. This included rolling up eucalyptus leaves and sticking them in our noses, eating various bushtacca (sounded like bush taco, food from the bush) like berries we found on the ground, mushrooms growing off trees and the leaves of various trees. We then spent the next seven hours hiking (bushwalking) up and down the wet and slippery terrain (I have a nice bruise and abrasion as a souvenir), stopping occasionally to learn about aboriginal traditions, stories and ceremonies. When we stopped for lunch, we learned to paint on rocks and Evan painted our faces. By the time we emerged from the bush and
entered a nearby pub, I felt like I had been on a walkabout for about a week. All I wanted was a hot shower and a good nights sleep. Fortunately San was staying at the same backpackers where I had made a reservation for the night in Katoomba so she escorted me to my home for the night and even shared some of her shampoo with me since I forgot mine in Sydney.
After a good nights sleep, I went exploring on my own for the day. The backpackers gave me a map and suggested a hike and off I went. It rained most of the night leaving the trail wet and muddy. I really did not want to spend the day on a walkabout with wet socks so I had to call on my long ago dance and gymnastic skills to balance on the narrow dry, narrow strips and when they weren't present, leaping over the puddles. I only missed a couple of times. After about an hour of walking, I finally got my first glimpse of the three sisters rock formation (the most famous view in the entire Blue Mountains region). After a dozen or so photos, I continued my walkabout down the "Giant Stairway". The stairway is made up of about 900 steps down to a lower trail below the three sisters. I was trying to keep c
ount so I would know when I was close to the bottom, but after 150 or so steps, the trail became too treacherous to concentrate on counting. I walked another 2.5 km along the lower trail where I needed to decide whether to take another stairway back up or I could pay $10 to take the scenic railway. I thought about climbing the stairs but how could I turn down the opportunity to take the steepest railway in the world? After another hour or so, I completed my loop of the park and decided it was time to get a bite to eat before heading back to Sydney.
two days in the Blue Mountains. Before leaving the states I booked an Aboriginal Walkabout with an Aborigine named Evan. I almost missed it altogether since Australians are not really in to announcing what station the train is approaching and the signs on the platforms are often hard to see. I glanced at my watch and realized I must have arrived in Falconbridge based on the time and just barely squeezed out through the closing door. I had about 15 minutes to wait before the tour was scheduled to start and was a bit surprised to find out I was only 1 km away from Danville. At 10:00 another train from Katoomba arrived and I was happy to learn that I would not be alone on the tour since San (short for Alexandra) from Belgium arrived looking as lost and bewildered as me. About 15 minutes later San and I were starting to wonder if there had been a mix up but then we saw Evan waving us up the stairs and over to him to begin the tour.
Without a lot of talking we blindly followed Evan away from the train station and into the bush. After about 10 minutes of walking we stopped at a tree where Evan asked us not to judge him for being white since there are no dark skinned aborigines left in the Derrick tribe. He then asked us to keep an open mind and just do what he says. This included rolling up eucalyptus leaves and sticking them in our noses, eating various bushtacca (sounded like bush taco, food from the bush) like berries we found on the ground, mushrooms growing off trees and the leaves of various trees. We then spent the next seven hours hiking (bushwalking) up and down the wet and slippery terrain (I have a nice bruise and abrasion as a souvenir), stopping occasionally to learn about aboriginal traditions, stories and ceremonies. When we stopped for lunch, we learned to paint on rocks and Evan painted our faces. By the time we emerged from the bush and
entered a nearby pub, I felt like I had been on a walkabout for about a week. All I wanted was a hot shower and a good nights sleep. Fortunately San was staying at the same backpackers where I had made a reservation for the night in Katoomba so she escorted me to my home for the night and even shared some of her shampoo with me since I forgot mine in Sydney.
After a good nights sleep, I went exploring on my own for the day. The backpackers gave me a map and suggested a hike and off I went. It rained most of the night leaving the trail wet and muddy. I really did not want to spend the day on a walkabout with wet socks so I had to call on my long ago dance and gymnastic skills to balance on the narrow dry, narrow strips and when they weren't present, leaping over the puddles. I only missed a couple of times. After about an hour of walking, I finally got my first glimpse of the three sisters rock formation (the most famous view in the entire Blue Mountains region). After a dozen or so photos, I continued my walkabout down the "Giant Stairway". The stairway is made up of about 900 steps down to a lower trail below the three sisters. I was trying to keep c
ount so I would know when I was close to the bottom, but after 150 or so steps, the trail became too treacherous to concentrate on counting. I walked another 2.5 km along the lower trail where I needed to decide whether to take another stairway back up or I could pay $10 to take the scenic railway. I thought about climbing the stairs but how could I turn down the opportunity to take the steepest railway in the world? After another hour or so, I completed my loop of the park and decided it was time to get a bite to eat before heading back to Sydney.I'm happy to have spent a couple of days in the bush, but I couldn't wait to take a shower and put on clean clothes. I guess I'm just a city girl at heart.
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