Our short stay in Sydney ended with two days of solid rainfall - the tail end of a cyclone which caused immense flooding and damage along the East coast. Having collected our "Hippie Camper", we were soon whizzing along the motorway through torrential rain and wind, towards The Blue Mountains National Park.
A couple of hours drive inland made all the difference and we enjoyed two days of fine hot weather. Pulling back the curtain in the morning while tucked up in bed in the back of the Mitsubishi, the cool mist soon sizzled away into a flawless blue sky. From the small kitchen at the back of the van, we prepared a hearty breakfast each day (six Weetabix for Simon!) with yellow crested cockatoos looking down at us from the gum trees.
When the washing up was done, using the tiny pump action tap and sink, we'd jump into the cab and head to one of the many hiking trails which criss-cross the park.
With the aid of a few small wooden signs, our boots soon carried us out into the wilderness. Starting in a wild bush forest, which was so hot and dry, the air sapped the moisture from our mouths in minutes, we followed rocky staircases down into the "Grand Canyon" where thick rain forest began to flourish. The path dropped further, into the shadows of steamy groves and secluded waterfalls, where rainbow blades of sunlight shone down from high above, illuminating the giant leaves of luminous green which hung over our heads.
The landscape was almost too perfect to be natural. It felt like we were in a themepark and would any moment bump into the glass dome that surrounded us. Parrots flashed through the trees, the kind you only ever see in cages and on the shoulders of pirates, their wings splashed with bright blues and reds. We hopped over boulders, clambered over fallen trees and passed behind waterfalls which crashed down from overhanging rock ledges.
The thick canopy of trees made for a cool, eerie setting, and high walls of striped rock wrapped around us on all sides. Stepping through the jagged, tiger striped shadows of fern leaves, we would send lizards and other invisible creatures scurrying into the undergrowth. Plants and bushes towered over us and the scent of the many tropical flowers perfumed the thick air. The path grew steep. We pushed our tired limbs upwards, our lungs heaving, muscles throbbing, faces red and glistening with sweat. Eventually, the sunlight slowly began to penetrate the canopy which seemed to be opening up the further we trod. Approaching a clearing, the full power of the sun light flashed white over our eyes. As they adjusted, we found ourselves looking out over the enormity of the valley we'd just crossed. Filling the full 180 degree space before us, lush plains of rainforest swept up from the basin of the valley reaching towering craggy rock faces of amber and gold which scored the blue sky bluntly before falling away again at the edge of a forested plateau. The river wound lazily through the entire landscape, wrapping itself around each layer of green stacked off into the distance. And above all of this, like a romantic lens filter placed over the whole scene, a faint blue mist hovered in the air, the sweet haze of the slowly evaporating eucalyptus tree oil which gives the area its name.
It was one of the most beautiful place we have ever visited.
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