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The Blue Mountains are a great escape from the Sydney metropolis, if you want a nice nature experience. There are lovely vistas, rock formations, wildlife viewing opportunities, and quaint Australian communities to visit. It’s a great way to experience the “Real Australia” if you’re only in Sydney for a few days.
There are literally dozens of tours to the Blue Mountains offered each day (outside of the winter months). I used the “Get Your Guide” App which connects you with local tour companies, but a quick Google of “Blue Mountain Tours” should provide you ample options as well. I visited in summer, which is an ideal time, because in June and July you might have to deal with winter snows and other accessibility issues. You could also rent a car and go off on your own, but I’ve reached the stage in my life where I’d just as soon let someone else deal with driving and navigating, even if it means I’m trapped on a microbus with a dozen strangers.
This town is at the entrance of Blue Mountain National Park. We stopped here for a snack and bathroom break. It’s not an extraordinary place, but seems like a typically average, though slightly touristed, Australian village. That in itself is cool, to get a small glimpse of normal Australian life.
Our guide took us on a 2 km hike to Wentworth Falls. Very nice scenery and breathtaking views. There are dozens of alternatives in Blue Mountain National Park with similarly pleasant hikes, including plenty of waterfalls of every variety. If you enjoy nature hikes, you might want to make the Blue Mountains a destination for a longer visit, as there are so many outdoor and adventure options inside the Park.
Katoomba is the largest town in the Blue Mountain district (pop. 8000) and would be the perfect overnight base for exploring the National Park if you’re venturing out independently. We stopped at the main attraction, The Three Sisters, which is a dramatic rock formation on the outskirts of town.
Our guide drove us through a valley, with small farms, pastureland, and woodlands just before sunset because that’s when the wild kangaroos come out. We were fortunate enough to see several groups of wild kangaroos feeding and prancing around. Sadly, they were over 100 meters away, so couldn’t get any good photos, but it was still pretty cool to see Australia’s most-famous animal roaming around in the wild.
The tour’s final destination was a high viewpoint overlooking a wide swath of the Blue Mountains for a view of the sunset. Even though there were hundreds of people at the overlook crowding for the best perch, it was still a beautiful sight and a memorable experience.
We were back to Sydney in time for a late dinner. I was extremely pleased I had chosen a Blue Mountain Tour to broaden my perspective of Australia beyond the joys of urban Sydney.
