Day 3- The Blue Mountains

Today was a very long day. It started at 7:15 am, when we were picked up by our tour bus. Destination- the Blue Mountains, northwest of Sydney.

First stop- the Featherdale Wildlife Park in the Sydney suburbs. Here we ate breakfast and got to pet koalas and kangaroos. Carol held a snake on her shoulders, and we got to see lots of other animals and pretty birds.

Next, we went on a 4WD road and explored the Eucalyptus forest. Here we learned about forest fires and other interesting stuff. The Eucalyptus trees are very resistant to fire. One of the forests had burned badly just a few years before, but the trees had recovered nicely. We saw a pair of wallabys hop by.

After lunch at a hotel, we visited a scenic lookout (see below). Next, we went down into the rainforest and got to walk along the forest floor. We got down into the rainforest via a super steep gondola, and rode back up on the steepest incline railway in the world. It has a 51 degree incline, and it scared Carol half to death. I thought it was fun!

Last stop- a meadow where we got to sip sparkling wine and hang out with Kangaroos in the wild.

Instead of driving us back to the hotel, the bus dropped us off at the ferry, which took a scenic trip down the river, under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and back to the Circular Quay (still "Key").

-Rich