AUSTRALIA: The Blue Mountains

The Blue Mountains consist of steep sandstone ridges covered in native bushland. They are said to be millions of years old.

They are called the Blue Mountains because when the sun is hot the oil in the eucalyptus trees is released from the leaves, creating a hazy oil mist. From a distance the light reflecting on the mist gives off a blue haze, making the mountains look blue.

The Blue Mountains were listed as a World Heritage Area by UNESCO in 2000 to protect and preserve the bio diversity and history of the area. 

There is evidence that the mountains were populated by Aboriginals about 22,000 years ago.  

The "European settlement” of Australia began with Britain's First Fleet landing in Sydney in 1788.

British settlement of the Blue Mountains wasn’t until 1813. This was because the region’s rough terrain of thick bushland and jagged rock wasn't conducive to the British idea of a flat settlement. 

This gave the Blue Mountains a reputation of being impenetrable.

Impenetrable is perfect for prison colonies! 

An insurmountable barrier would deter convicts from trying to escape.

We went on several hikes. 

Knowing the law of gravity states that "what goes down must go up", or something similar to that, means at some point the uphill needs to be tackled.

The most iconic and popular rock formation in the Blue Mountains is called the Three Sisters. They are three enormous rocks on top of a sandstone cliff which drops down into a valley. It is named after an Aboriginal legend that says that the three pillars were once three beautiful sisters. 

The sisters were in love with three brothers from another tribe. The two tribes were enemies, and marriage between them was forbidden. Being young and in love, the brothers decided to catch the sisters, which launched a war between the tribes. 

A local witchdoctor decided to help the sisters and transformed them into stone to protect them from the war. However, during the battle the witchdoctor was killed, leaving no one able to reverse the spell and bring the women back to life. And so, the three sisters remain rocks looking over the valley for eternity.

Hidden within the Blue Mountains are a series of limestone caves, estimated to be around 340 million years old. 

This makes them the oldest discovered caves in the world. 

There are natural archways between the caves and even an underground river system. 

The Jenolan Caves are so extensive, a large portion of the caves system is so deep and narrow they have never been seen by humans. 

So obviously we didn't see them. 

As much as the caves are interesting and have their own charm, my preference lies with being in the sunshine above ground.