Blue Mountains

Although the Blue Mountains is not part of the road trip, this place deserves a post in this blog.

The Blue Mountains National Park is located approximately 100km west of Sydney's Central Station. Approximately because this park is huge, and its main attractions (totally debatable) are close to Katoomba city, which is 100km west from the central station.

Going by train, you have to take the Blue Mountains Line from Central station, this train has limited stops so beware of that. To go to the main attractions, you should get off at Katoomba station.

 This city is located at a valley close to the main falls and trails of this national park. You could also get of at the previous stations, Leura, and start a trail near such station.

As you can see from this GIF, the paths fall sharply through the mountain, so be prepared. Once you go down, there is no elevator down there.

Once you get off at Katoomba station, the 686 bus will leave you at "Echo point", the most popular spot where you can see the Three Sisters, besides having a tourist information desk, souvenir shop and toilet facilities.

From the Echo Point, a wide overview of the park can be appreciated:

From this spot, two main paths begin: Prince Henry Cliff Walk, westbound (easier) and the Giant Stairway, eastbound. The latter is more difficult due to the fact that this stairway is indeed giant. I didn't count the steps, but believe me, if you are not into stairs, go the other way or avoid this path.

The benefit of this path is that you get close to one of the Three Sisters and feel the abyss beneath you, as metallic stairs go down the bushy slopes. As you get down the stairway, other paths begin, mainly going to the east, but if you follow the main path down the giant stairway to the Katoomba falls, you'll be able to enjoy a humid atmosphere and have lunch by the soothing waterfall sounds, why not?

This path can take more than 3 hours and once you leave echo point, there are no places to buy food or water down in the mountains, so you must bring something to eat and a considerable amount of water as these paths can be tiring, not to mention in summer.

This is just one path of this enormous national park, worth every second if you are into hiking, mountains and waterfalls. Some paths are more difficult, such as the path to Mount Solitary, which is a 12km hike, but there are plenty of options in this park, including the scenic world park, which seems to offer a nice trip for families with little children.