The Blue Mountains

Two hours west of Sydney is Katoomba, a town in the heart of the Blue Mountains and the place we decided to spend a night. The mountains are so named because at certain times of the day and in the correct conditions they take on a blue tinge that is caused by oils released into the air by the many eucalyptis trees of the area.

It's a hugely popular day trip destination with every Tom, Dick and Harry joining a tour from Sydney. Echo Point, with it's main viewing platform, was so full of them that all the flies had become irritated and buggered off. Luckily the lady in our hostel told us about a walk that would keep us away from the crowds. It took around 4 hours and with great views, beautiful dense forest and colourful birds (the likes of I've only ever seen behind bars before) we were more than happy.