G'day from Sydney

Holiday Inn Darling Harbour, Apr 04, 2014 - The weather has been cooperating with our visit from the get-go.  We headed straight to Blue Mountains from the airport, met by Michael Nugera (Australian husband of Juliet Mutia, my daughter-in-law Tess' elder sister) who facilitated the rental of our big brand new van that we used throughout our mountain week-end stay.  Michael even drove for us to and from -- about an hour and a half, depending on traffic situation -- Blue Mountains. (Thank you for your gracious hosting, Michael. Much appreciated.)

The rains made the weather cooler, to our preference, as we are escaping the summer heat back home.  Autumn is making the deciduous trees to start losing their leaves, turning them a riotous red, yellow, orange and gold in the process. What gorgeous hues Autumn wears at this time of the year! And we are told that at certain times of a clear day, the mountains around us can turn sapphire blue in the distance. Science has proven that this is caused by the minute oil droplets from the numerous eucalyptus trees (leaves of which are fodder to the cuddly koalas) which interact with the atmosphere, causing the blue optical effect. We were also told that the rainforest is best appreciated "wet" - meaning with the rains - as local birds and animals get out of hiding and you hear bird calls while you smell the fragrance of fresh earth and foliage, ancient yet ever new!

We did the Scenic World Tour the next day of our stay: Scenic Railway ride, on the steepest railway in the world. Almost perpendicular to the ground, so that you must hold on to something, or else you slide down from your seat. The Scenic Cable has the world's first Electro-Sceniglass floor which makes the 330-meter dangle across a 200 meter drop to ravines, with the breath-taking Wentworth Falls along the way - experienced like flying over the whole surreal landscape.

The lilliputians, Meg, Noah, Sabbie and Lizzie, were all agape as we walked through the Scenic Walkway in the rainforest with a drizzle that caused a mysterious fog to envelop the trees, making the journey magical. We were however able to glimpse the Three Sisters mountains and the magnificent falls before the fog hid them.  According to aboriginal lore, three beautiful sisters Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo of the Gundungurra tribe in the Jamison Valley, fell in love with three brothers from the nearby Dharruk tribe.  But theirs was a forbidden union, so the warrior brothers plotted to abduct the sisters through a tribal war.  The Kuradpiri (shaman) turned the sisters into stones to keep them away from harm.  However, the Kuradpiri was killed in battle. To this day, the spell of the Three Sisters remain unbroken.

On our last day, the sun came out brightly, so were able to get some souvenir photos with the Three Sisters in the background. Reluctantly, we cleaned up the multi-level three-bedroom cottage we rented in Katoomba, right next to the entrance of The Scenic World resort. We had gotten used to the spacious kitchen where we enjoyed breakfast while looking through the picture window to the back porch that faces the forest, where cockatoos and squirrels frolic. How the little ones enjoyed that cottage!

The day after we left Blue Mountains, I watched in horror the news break in the "telly" reporting a tornado in that mountain area that caused serious flooding, with lightning striking trees and causing power outages.  I could just imagine us in our cottage without lights! Of course, we were replete with food, but yet...

We have had mostly sunny days in Sydney so we were able to do Manly island (beach0, Bondi beach, Taronga Zoo, The Rocks (shopping and gourmet eating) and DFO Factory Outlets mall in Homebush Bay area. Despite the cold waters, the four lilliputians were swimming like locals in Bondi, while I whiled away my time in a passiterie which closed by 4pm (all stores here close by that time -- esp. since it is autumn, after tourist season). Then, we had dinner at a Japanese resto for the rice demanded by the kiddie meals.

The train system and the ferry boats make commuting doable with strollers and all. Taxis take only 4 passengers, counting small children who must be buckled up. So that makes our group of 9 not ideal for taxi rides.  Nonetheless, they have family taxis that can take as many as 10 passengers. However, you have to call them and they are not reliable.  We had to take the ferry home from Bondi when the family taxi we called failed to come as we expected.

We leave for New Zealand early tomorrow. Time to wrap up for winter cold, as we are heading to a glacier. Then, when I was monitoring the weather (as I automatically do when abroad, esp. New York!) in the telly, the weather forecast is a cyclone in a part of Sydney that makes the weather today, and the rest of the weekend, wet and rainy.  Again, we just escape a gloomy weekend. Thank God for such coincidences.

Travel well, now!