Put an ‘a’ in ‘bygone’ and it’s a brand of pest control spray we’re all familiar with, ridding homes of pests like roaches. But ridding something of its natural charm, intrinsic beauty and sheer existence isn’t the way it’s all done here on the Blue Mountains, just an easy one and half hour drive west of Sydney.
Opting for a self-drive, we had at our disposal a powerful Toyota Kluger from Hertz. The MPV will be our means of getting out of the city and into the mountainous region and back. Equipped with the Hertz Neverlost System, the drive was so easy we barely had to look at a street directory. The satellite navigation system came with a voice-prompt which told us which direction to take, which exit to take, right to the precise destination that we key into the system right at the start of the journey. I didn’t even need a human navigator to locate the Kings Tableland, which was our first stop on the famous mountain range (the second most visited tourist attraction in NSW after Sydney). Kings Tableland offered magnificent views of the commanding ridges, steep cliff faces and dense green forests and valleys below. Mist flooded the plains while clouds danced overhead. It was like being in second heaven. 
Gim Kuan was taken in by the stunning view and the views at the Blue Mountains hasn’t disappointed a single bit. As to brilliant blue the hills seem to reflect, Physics Professor Harry Messel from the University of Sydney attributes this to an optical phenomenon called the ‘Rayleigh scattering’. This effect causes the rays of light which impinge on small particles (like water droplets) to be scattered in various directions. When an observer looks at a distant object in the intervening atmosphere illuminated by sunlight, the eyes will perceive a shade of blue. This pretty much debunks the theory that it’s the chemical reaction released by the gum trees that gives the mountains the bluish hue.
Our next lookout of the grandeur peaks were from Echo Point, which gave us unobstructed views of the iconic Three Sisters and Jamison Valley below. It was truly a sight to behold and our cameras never worked so hard till this point of our journey. My camera battery chose to give up after our first lookout point; I can only guess even the camera couldn’t handle the expansive breath-taking beauty that was being captured on its lens. Our stomachs were rumbling and we were all looking forward to our first meal on the mountain, but not before we caught The Edge Movie at the Edge Cinema. The 38-minute documentary presented to us the most inaccessible parts of the mountainous wilderness, all this projected on a 6-storey high giant screen. The illusion sometimes got me feeling like I was plummeting down the waterfalls or flying over the canyons. To ever find words to describe the majestic mountains would still do it injustice.
We had a light lunch of scones, sandwiches and other sweet pastries at a quaint tea pot store, restaurant and museum called Bygone Beautys. We were surprised when they wheeled out a serving trolley with the food platters and tea pots with a familiar national anthem blaring from camouflaged speakers in the lower trolley tray. Even the waitress was most polished, suited up in a tuxedo top and gloved as she laid out the food on the table. The winsome tea pots are really the talking point. Lining the walls on shelves beyond our reach are some of the more than 3,000 pots from acquired from other Australian states as well as of other countries of origin. One of the proprietors, Maurice Cooper, came by and even told us he’s bought three tea pots from Singapore to add to his collection. When asked how he decided where to display which tea pot and whether it was according to how financially dear they were to him, he smiled and said one pot in the sub-hundreds could be sitting beside one that ran into the thousands. He had good reason for this – should a shelf give way and all the pots come crashing down, it wouldn’t be too painful. He’s one smart guy with a wonderful tea pot collection, each spout with a different story to spill.
When you come to the Blue Mountains, you’ll never fall sick of investigating different lookout points. Our next views came from Scenic World in Katoomba. This is one of the most popular privately-owned tourist attractions in Australia, featuring three rides. We first boarded the Scenic Skyway that whizzed us over the Jamison Valley some 200 metres below. To realize the heights we were travelling over the valley, the cabin has a glass panel on which you can stand and look straight below you, plunging your sights deep into the forest floor and making your knees go weak. We were then led by our personal guide Eddie to the Scenic Railway. This ride earns the title of ‘World’s Steepest Incline Railway’. Tze Min sat in the first row as we descended down the rail, with the steepest point at a 52 degree angle! We held on tight despite already sitting in seats that were already reclined to counter the sharp gradient. The old rails over the same passageway were formerly used to transport coal from the now disused coal mines. Upon disembarking, Eddie gave us an informative tour on the boardwalk of the rainforest the ecosystem under the thick canopy cover. It was a real show-and-tell and it made Geography come alive! The Cableway was our ride back up to the starting point. This cable car is Australia’s steepest and revealed more of the amazing World Heritage-listed spectacle.
Our next two night up on the mountains will be at the Old Leura Dairy. By its name, you can tell it’s got its roots in the dairy business. This lovely unassuming bed and breakfast accommodation has 6 different types of lodging all in the same plot and can cater to both mid-sized travelling groups and the couple. Tze Min and her mum are my neighbours at Buttercup Barn (a two-storey lodge with just the bedroom on top and pretty fireplace and living room). My mum and I are in the Workers’ Cottage with three bedrooms, a long kitchen and a working fireplace with fire wood! It was too late to snap some shots of our lovely accommodation from the outside, so I promise to do so tomorrow so you can tell how this old milking shed has been transforming into a charming B&B.
Dinner was as the nearby Silks Brasserie. We each ordered different main courses and didn’t need much prompting to do some swaps during dinner (typical Asian practice). We all sampled a bit of the Tasmanian salmon fillet, the pork fillet, the snapper and the braised chicken. Nothing was out of order for our taste buds to work overtime. The dessert menu looked enticing with warm chocolate cake and lots more offering, but alas, our tummies were stretched to the limit. Perhaps on our next visit here…
We head to the Jenolan Caves tomorrow. I hope my pictures turn out in those dark musty caverns. Wishing you were here with me to soak in the beauty of the place.
p/s: more photos will be uploaded at a later time. pls check back tomorrow!
you know how connections are in the mountains.
Opting for a self-drive, we had at our disposal a powerful Toyota Kluger from Hertz. The MPV will be our means of getting out of the city and into the mountainous region and back. Equipped with the Hertz Neverlost System, the drive was so easy we barely had to look at a street directory. The satellite navigation system came with a voice-prompt which told us which direction to take, which exit to take, right to the precise destination that we key into the system right at the start of the journey. I didn’t even need a human navigator to locate the Kings Tableland, which was our first stop on the famous mountain range (the second most visited tourist attraction in NSW after Sydney). Kings Tableland offered magnificent views of the commanding ridges, steep cliff faces and dense green forests and valleys below. Mist flooded the plains while clouds danced overhead. It was like being in second heaven. 
Gim Kuan was taken in by the stunning view and the views at the Blue Mountains hasn’t disappointed a single bit. As to brilliant blue the hills seem to reflect, Physics Professor Harry Messel from the University of Sydney attributes this to an optical phenomenon called the ‘Rayleigh scattering’. This effect causes the rays of light which impinge on small particles (like water droplets) to be scattered in various directions. When an observer looks at a distant object in the intervening atmosphere illuminated by sunlight, the eyes will perceive a shade of blue. This pretty much debunks the theory that it’s the chemical reaction released by the gum trees that gives the mountains the bluish hue.Our next lookout of the grandeur peaks were from Echo Point, which gave us unobstructed views of the iconic Three Sisters and Jamison Valley below. It was truly a sight to behold and our cameras never worked so hard till this point of our journey. My camera battery chose to give up after our first lookout point; I can only guess even the camera couldn’t handle the expansive breath-taking beauty that was being captured on its lens. Our stomachs were rumbling and we were all looking forward to our first meal on the mountain, but not before we caught The Edge Movie at the Edge Cinema. The 38-minute documentary presented to us the most inaccessible parts of the mountainous wilderness, all this projected on a 6-storey high giant screen. The illusion sometimes got me feeling like I was plummeting down the waterfalls or flying over the canyons. To ever find words to describe the majestic mountains would still do it injustice.
We had a light lunch of scones, sandwiches and other sweet pastries at a quaint tea pot store, restaurant and museum called Bygone Beautys. We were surprised when they wheeled out a serving trolley with the food platters and tea pots with a familiar national anthem blaring from camouflaged speakers in the lower trolley tray. Even the waitress was most polished, suited up in a tuxedo top and gloved as she laid out the food on the table. The winsome tea pots are really the talking point. Lining the walls on shelves beyond our reach are some of the more than 3,000 pots from acquired from other Australian states as well as of other countries of origin. One of the proprietors, Maurice Cooper, came by and even told us he’s bought three tea pots from Singapore to add to his collection. When asked how he decided where to display which tea pot and whether it was according to how financially dear they were to him, he smiled and said one pot in the sub-hundreds could be sitting beside one that ran into the thousands. He had good reason for this – should a shelf give way and all the pots come crashing down, it wouldn’t be too painful. He’s one smart guy with a wonderful tea pot collection, each spout with a different story to spill.
When you come to the Blue Mountains, you’ll never fall sick of investigating different lookout points. Our next views came from Scenic World in Katoomba. This is one of the most popular privately-owned tourist attractions in Australia, featuring three rides. We first boarded the Scenic Skyway that whizzed us over the Jamison Valley some 200 metres below. To realize the heights we were travelling over the valley, the cabin has a glass panel on which you can stand and look straight below you, plunging your sights deep into the forest floor and making your knees go weak. We were then led by our personal guide Eddie to the Scenic Railway. This ride earns the title of ‘World’s Steepest Incline Railway’. Tze Min sat in the first row as we descended down the rail, with the steepest point at a 52 degree angle! We held on tight despite already sitting in seats that were already reclined to counter the sharp gradient. The old rails over the same passageway were formerly used to transport coal from the now disused coal mines. Upon disembarking, Eddie gave us an informative tour on the boardwalk of the rainforest the ecosystem under the thick canopy cover. It was a real show-and-tell and it made Geography come alive! The Cableway was our ride back up to the starting point. This cable car is Australia’s steepest and revealed more of the amazing World Heritage-listed spectacle.Our next two night up on the mountains will be at the Old Leura Dairy. By its name, you can tell it’s got its roots in the dairy business. This lovely unassuming bed and breakfast accommodation has 6 different types of lodging all in the same plot and can cater to both mid-sized travelling groups and the couple. Tze Min and her mum are my neighbours at Buttercup Barn (a two-storey lodge with just the bedroom on top and pretty fireplace and living room). My mum and I are in the Workers’ Cottage with three bedrooms, a long kitchen and a working fireplace with fire wood! It was too late to snap some shots of our lovely accommodation from the outside, so I promise to do so tomorrow so you can tell how this old milking shed has been transforming into a charming B&B.
Dinner was as the nearby Silks Brasserie. We each ordered different main courses and didn’t need much prompting to do some swaps during dinner (typical Asian practice). We all sampled a bit of the Tasmanian salmon fillet, the pork fillet, the snapper and the braised chicken. Nothing was out of order for our taste buds to work overtime. The dessert menu looked enticing with warm chocolate cake and lots more offering, but alas, our tummies were stretched to the limit. Perhaps on our next visit here…We head to the Jenolan Caves tomorrow. I hope my pictures turn out in those dark musty caverns. Wishing you were here with me to soak in the beauty of the place.
p/s: more photos will be uploaded at a later time. pls check back tomorrow!
you know how connections are in the mountains.
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