Blue Mountains

This weekend was so much fun! Friday night was Oktoberfest here at school. They served German beer in HUGE mugs and played a ton of German music. My friends from Germany were loving every minute of it- singing along, dancing, shouting- it was fun seeing them in their element.

I tried to drink one of the beers, but there was no way. First, I hate beer, second the mug was entirely too large, and finally after an hour and a half that stuff was down right hot and nasty. The Germans may have laughed at me, but oh well, I made a valid attempt (sort of).

Yesterday 5 other US study abroads and I headed to the Blue Mountains. We did an excursion package in order to see all of the sights. We took a jet cat from Manly Wharf over to Sydney’s Circular Quay where we jumped on a bus and headed an hour north up to Featherdale Wildlife Park. This time I tried to spend a little more time just enjoying the animals instead of taking so many pictures. I guess because these kangaroos grow up inside the park they remind me a lot of dogs. First, they hop up to you expecting food. If you don’t have any to give them then they’re on their way to the next person, no time to even pat one’s head. But I found a cute little cuddly guy lying under a bench. I went to pet him and he rolled over like a dog and allowed me to rub his belly. He was so incredibly soft. The kangaroo felt just like a soft plush stuffed animal toy. I loved it!

After that we swung by the koalas and they really are precious. I got a better picture with one, and after I finished touching him I smelled my hand the way my guide told me to. He said that the koalas are able to process out the toxins of the eucalyptus. Fun fact for the day- after you pet one it does smell a little bit like eucalyptus on their fur.

I attempted to feed an emu, at first he was cool and it was a fun experience.


Two seconds later the ice cream cone I was feeding him was gone and he was trying to enjoy my fingers.



There was also a Featherdale Farmland area at the park. My friends died laughing because the goats all walked up to me and loved me. They said the goats must have known we belonged together—HaHa, thanks guys!

Finally, one of the cutest animals at the park were the Blue Penguins. These guys are tiny, maybe about a foot tall. They’re a native Australian animal and absolutely adorable.



After the wildlife park we watched a boomerang demonstration. I think I’d be a decent boomerang thrower. I do have a bit of throwing knowledge from back in the day, so if I can master the shot put and discus then why not a boomerang?

Of course, the main event of the day was heading to the Blue Mountains.

This mountain chain is stunningly beautiful. It really is blue. The haze that gives these mountains their name is caused by rays of light striking droplets of oil dispersed by gum trees. We started by taking the Skyway, an open aired suspended cable car, across one side of the mountains to the other. I got a little nervous because we were so high up. Right then and there I decided the sky diving trip I was thinking of taking would have to wait until I didn’t get sweaty palms and the urge to pee on myself in a cable car. If I couldn’t handle this ride then there was NO way I’d be able to jump out of a plane.

Here’s a picture of me in front of the “Three Sisters.” There is a long story about three sisters who were about to be eaten by a centipede so their father used his magic stick to turn them into stone….it’s pretty long and I’ll tell it to you when I get home. Basically the centipede chases the father and he turns into a bird to get away, dropping his magic stick and that is why the birds here still scratch around in the dirt looking for the stick to turn the three sisters back into people again.
Once we got to the other side of the mountains rode the Cableway down to the bottom of the Jamison Valley. I did better on this car, but it was a steep incline. When we got to the bottom we did a bushman walk through the jungle. I looked for kookaburras in the gum trees, but the trees were probably the tallest trees I have ever seen in my life. There was no way to tell what was living up in them. After the walk we took the Railway back up to the top of the mountains. (L-R Andria, Ali, Mike, Me, Jenny, Sam)


The view of the mountains was spectacular and it reminded me of the trip I took with mom and Jimmy to see Rock City years ago. At the time I thought it was the worst vacation ever, but now I want to go back to Chattanooga and do more sight seeing. I started realizing that Tennessee is such a beautiful state and I take it for granted that it’s the place I call home. Yesterday made me start to miss it, just a little. So for those of you who are still there- enjoy the fall colors of the mountains because you’re lucky to have it around you.