Getting to Blue Bountains from Sydney
 

What is the best way to get to Bl Mts? Should we rent a car? How long does it take by car. Is the driving difficult? Is the return trip (day trip) in the evening congested? Should we go by train? Is it longer in time to get there? Or, should we hire a driver? I think this option would be expensive.

Hiring a driver would indeed be very expensive, and pointless. You'll get to the township of Katoomba in a couple of hours either way, by train or car - it's only about 120 km from the centre of Sydney. "Difficult" is a subjective term, but the only difficulty I can think of is the possibility of fog in winter. Snow is a fairly rare event.

Returning to Sydney in the evening you'll be going against the flow of most commuter traffic, so it shouldn't be a problem - at least until you get off the M4 and onto Parramatta Road (which is always busy) for the last 10-12 km or so of the run into Sydney. If you're planning a one-day visit and you do decide to drive, I suggest you leave early and come back in daylight - simply because in my expeience driving in an unfamiliar city is always much more a problem at night.

Whether a car is advisable depends on whether you want to hang out in Katoomba or explore more widely. If you use the search facility on this board (see above) you'll find previous threads on how to get around and what to do in Katoomba. Overall, the train will be less stressful and you can have a nice day without leaving Katoomba and the adjoining township of Leura.

Well, I know I am going to get hammered for this post. I thought the Blue Mountains were mostly a waste of time. Ok, their mistake, they bill it as the "Grand Canyon" of Australia. I have hikes 13 miles into the Grand Canyon. It is truely one of the greatest wonders of the world. The Blue Mountains can not compare in any way. Our mistake, we had no reason to rent a car in Sydney, so WE TOOK A TOUR. Disaster for us, we never take tours, and of course it tuned out to be the tour from hell! We LOVE Port Douglas, The Tablelands, Melbourne. But, our favorite is Sydney. We felt like we had wasted a day that could have been much better spent around the city...and we are nature people. I am sure the locals can give better advice ...sigh

It sounds like you got off to a bad start as a result of arriving with preconceptions based on a misleading comparison (I say that as a former BM resident who's visited the GC). And the tour obviously didn't help matters. But it would be a pity if your experience discourages prospective visitors. You probably didn't have the experience of descending the Grand Staircase into the Jameson Valley and walking around to return to the clifftops on the Scenic Railway, for one thing. The area has its own unique appeal and doesn't have to be sold by likening it to something it's not. I would say though that I wouldn't interpret the description "Australia's Grand Canyon" as meaning that it's LIKE the GC.

caton, I was just reminded by reading a post on another thread - my comments about traffic congestion on the way back apply to weekdays. Weekends are much busier and definitely could be slow late in the day.

BTW - Blue Bountains? Have you got a head cold? (Sorry, couldn't help that.)

Dear caton,

debby fish posted the below about her trip to the blue mountains. This particular tour looks like a wonderful idea.

As Neil Oz says, go with expectations of the Blue Mountains (or bountains as I shall now refer to them) not Grand Canyon, Rocky Mtns or the Alps and it will be just fine. They have their own particular beauty of course.

Here's Debby's post about her tour, and I'll go back and see if I can find the tour company name and link, I'[m sure I asked for it.

Author: debby_fish
Date: 12/13/2006, 06:06 pm
Part 2

Day 2 Sydney – Blue Mountains

Before leaving the US, I booked a private tour into the Blue Mountains for a day. The tour was billed as the “Ultimate Escape by 4WD.” The tour included door-to-door pick up and drop off in Sydney and promised escape to the most remote locations. Stay out until dark to see the wildlife at night and the famous southern starry skies. See the Blue Mountains and its spectacular scenery with a local! Magic views, outstanding rock formations, secluded forests and best of all, solitude amid the native wildlife are what you can expect. I chose this tour for a number of reasons, first the pick up and drop off convenience. I knew that by day 2 we would be feeling a little jetlagged and I did not want to pressure my husband into finding the remote locations I would insist on visiting if we were to rent a car. Second, the guide offered to stay out after dark so we could experience viewing animal life at dusk – this also enabled us to drive back to Sydney when the roads were not so congested. Lastly, I had my heart set on seeing the Jenolan Caves. This added significant travel time on to our day. I had pre-arranged with the guide that we wanted to visit the Jenolan Caves as part of this tour.

We were up at the break of dawn again, approximately 5:00 am to another beautiful sunrise. We were mesmerized by the view of the harbor, before the city sprang to life. We gathered a few items for our day trip to the Blue Mountains and ate a light breakfast in the room. As promised, our guide (Craig) arrived promptly at 8:00 am. After brief introductions, we were on our way. Our first stop for morning tea/coffee was at the township of Glenbrook, gateway to the Blue Mountains. We purchased our coffees and baked goods to go, I wasn’t sure why, but I would soon find out. We proceeded a little further, through the park gates of the Blue Mountains National Park. Our first stop was Euroka Clearing, a campsite in the Blue Mountains National Park. To our amazement, wild kangaroos were grazing in a field. Craig continued driving past the tour buses to an open pasture where we could view the kangaroos without the intrusion of the tour bus visitors. We got out of the 4WD, with our coffees in hand, and walked gingerly in the midst of the kangaroos. We sat down and observed them in awe. The kangaroos went about their normal activities while we enjoyed many photo opportunities and our morning coffee. One thing I was surprised to see was that joey’s hop into the pouch head first, then rotate their bodies – I guess that makes sense, but it was odd to see feet and a tail sticking out of the mothers pouch while the joey was upside-down.

My husband opened his big mouth and exclaimed that he would like to try kangaroo meat while in Aussie. I couldn’t believe he would want to eat such a sweet looking creature. Craig then said, “not a problem, I was planning on a barbie for lunch, so we’ll have kangaroo then”. I voiced my displeasure, so he indicated he would purchase minute steak for me.

After about 20 minutes we set on our way to the next destination, Wentworth Falls. We stopped at a lookout that provided a dramatic view of cliff top escarpments and the endless blue vistas of the Jamison Valley. We could definitely see the blue haze and understand how the Blue Mountains received their name. The area was serene and the scenery spectacular.

From there we headed to Katoomba to Echo Point for a view of the Three Sisters. There are 2 well-marked bushwalks, we opted for the Three Sisters walk, approx 15 minutes for a close up vantage point of the famous rock formations.

Craig needed to stop at his office to pick up a few items and shop for lunch so he left us to wander the main street of Katoomba for ½ hour. We enjoyed the scenery and window shopped before stopping for another cup of coffee before setting out on the rest of our journey.

We rendezvoused with Craig and we were off to our lunch destination. We stopped at a lookout picnic area somewhere between Blackheath and Hartley, again an area with a spectacular lookout. We relaxed and enjoyed another beautiful vista while Craig fired up the barbie. I was feeling a little apprehensive about lunch as I knew what was on the menu and I chose not to tell my kids as I knew they would not eat if they knew what it was they were eating. I had also decided to try kangaroo and told Craig not to bother with the minute steak. The aroma of the meat smelled wonderful, and as Craig laid out the salads, bread and finally the meat, from out of nowhere swarmed thousands of flies, favoring the meat as a landing area. Not only did I have to contend with eating kangaroo, but the flies that covered the meat as well. This turned into a fear factor lunch! I took a small piece of meat and had to flick the flies off before putting the meat in my mouth quickly. I haven’t seen my kids eat so fast, and keep their mouths closed the entire time! Kangaroo meat wasn’t bad at all, but it wouldn’t be something I would eat again. All in all, Craig provided a nice lunch, even with the unwanted visitors. We cleaned up quickly as we had a 4:00 pm tour scheduled at the Jenolan Caves.

Arriving at 3:50 pm, we were given our entrance tickets for a guided tour of the Temple of Baal, one of the most highly decorated caves at Jenolan. It was discovered in 1904 and is world famous for its vast array of helictites, which seem to defy gravity. The tour was 1-½ hours and was breathtaking. One of the highlights in the cave was the “Angels Wing” which is a free hanging shawl that is over 9 meters in length. The tour is very educating and informative. This was definitely a highlight of our tour.

In hindsight, I wished we had spent more time at the Jenolan Caves, so that we could have toured a few other caves, there are 9 in total. They were unlike any caves we have ever seen and truly amazing to view.

Next on our agenda was Kanangra-Boyd National park, Kanangra Walls – Lookout Walk. It is an easy 10-minute walk that overlooks the gorge of Kanangra Creek, where you can see the tops of Mt Cloudmaker and the main Blue Mountains ridge beyond. The second lookout, overlooks the rugged ravines at the head of the gorge and Kanangra Falls. Again another magnificent view.

It was now time for our long arduous drive back to Sydney (approx. 180 km from where we were). We had all enjoyed our day immensely, the sun was setting and the animals active. Craig spotted an abandoned farm and in its fields were at least a hundred kangaroos grazing. He asked if we wanted to stop and go for a walk. An immediate resounding yes was said by all. We crept into the pasture, attempting not to scare the kangaroos. The scene was surreal and something that we won’t forget, as the sun was setting on the horizon and the kangaroos in their natural habitat. Unfortunately a few were spooked and hopped into the distance, but never taking their eyes off us, it was amazing to see them hop in what looked like a herd. Interestingly they stopped at the tree line, stood upright, looking like soldiers and watched us until we left. Viewing the animals in this setting was magical and another highlight of this day.

The sky turned dark as we started our long journey back. I could not believe the animal life we were able to see at dusk and in the dark, echidnas, wombats, kangaroos, wallabies and even a fox. Halfway of the way up Jenolan Caves Road we had a diversion as we stopped to assist someone injured in a quad bike accident which added time on to our road trip.

Craig then decided to stop at Oberon, the highest town in the Blue Mountains to tank up with diesel and find a restaurant to eat dinner. Unfortunately when we got there, no restaurants were open, so we proceeded on to Katoomba. We arrived relatively late with not much open, so he suggested we buy pizza and bring it in to his office. By this time we were famished. We ordered a few pizzas and ate the late night feast in his office, Craig served hot tea and coffee. Dominos pizza had never tasted so good. We chatted about the highlights of our day and discussed all the wildlife we were so fortunate to see. With our appetites satisfied and a few thermoses filled with coffee for the road, we were ready to head back to Sydney. The drive did not seem to take long and we arrived at our hotel completely exhausted, thrilled and excited about what we had experienced in our day out to the Blue Mountains. We fell into bed at 1:00 am and were asleep before our heads hit the pillow!

Tip 2: If you have extra days the Sydney area and are interested in something different spend an overnight at Jenolan Caves in the Caves House and view more than one cave. Or set off early and mid morning at the caves view as many as you can in one day. The caves are well worth seeing and I wish we had spent more time viewing the caves and less time at each vista. IMO the Blue Mountains are beautiful and great to visit, but the caves are something you cannot see anywhere else.

Here's debby fish's reply with the web site if this becomes something of interest to you.

Author: debby_fish
Date: 12/13/2006, 11:43 am
Toucan2: Here is website I booked the tour through www.bluemountainsguides.com.au. Press the tab Blue Mountains 4WD Tours for detailed information.

After visiting the Blue Mountains, I would certainly tailor the day tour. I would include visiting Euroka Clearing, lookout on the way to Katoomba, seeing the Three Sisters (icon in the BM) and 15 min hike, Jenolan Caves, including 2 caves, possibly lunch in that area, Kanangra Walls, lookout and hike waterfall walk and random stops along with way to view wildlife.

The tour was expensive, but this takes into account the pick up and drop off at a Sydney Hotel. The other option we almost went for was pick up in Sydney and take the train back from Katoomba. You would want to check when the last train heads back to Sydney because if it is too early, that cuts into your tour time.

Neil~ I am happy to be corrected and trusted you all to do so! Great travels.

Thank you Debby Fish, Toucan 2, and Neil OZ. Your feedback is terrific. I have clicked on Blue Mountain Guides and plan to follow up with Craig. This site is just great! Thanx for your help.

Caton

Wannabakiwi,

I am sorry I ommited my thanks to you for replying to me. I appreciated your thoughts. Pros and cons are what we are about here. Also, I saw you acknowledgement to Neil. Nice going.

Caton

Blue mountains are certainly worth the visit. You need a clear day to fully appreciate the beauty of this spectacle. I agree with Neil, don't liken it to any other place, it is unique and really interesting.

Transport by train from Sydney was pretty straight forward for us a couple of years ago, although we had guidance from Alan. (Where is he by the way???)

The train was inexpensive, took a few hours but was air conditioned and comfortable, I wouldn't bother driving, from Sydney although if you plan to stay up,there, perhaps a hire car from the BM area for a day would be useful?? not sure, others will know.

There are frequently works on the rail line so check schedules.

Muck

Thanks for all of the helpful info. I will be in Sydney mid August and will try to follow Debby's tour advice fopr the Blue Mountains. I know many are suggesting more time with the caves. Would you suggest spending an overnight and then back to Sydney? If so, any suggestions with accomodations? I am celebrating my 50th (yikes) and would appreciate luxury lodging! Thanks (:
PD

The train is a comfortable air-conditioned electric interurban (commuter) type with double-deck carriages and takes near enough to 2 hours, but Mucky is right about possible track maintenance work (more likely on weekends, I would think). It terminates at Central Station. If you're staying in the north end or the middle of the city centre you can catch a train from any of the city's underground stations, a few minutes' ride, and change at Central.

There's a parallel discussion on the thread "best of NSW." I posted Collits' Inn as a suggestion for somewhere to stay (link below). If you are a foodie this would be a good place to stay. It's historic rather than luxury.

Also in that category are the Hydro-Majestic (Meadlow Bath) and The Carrington (Katoomba). I haven't been to either of these for quite some time, perhaps someone has been more recently.

http://www.nationaltrust.com.au/collitsinn.html

I really love the Blue Mountains too, and am sorry wannabakiwi didn't have a good experience.

The comparison with the Grand Canyon I found fascinating, from the big-screen film shown at Katoomba, was this..
at the time before the Grand Canyon was a canyon, and was just a river flowing along the top of the plateau, the Blue Mountains looked much as they do today.
Now that's something to think about!

Wow, Debbie's trip to the Blue Mountains sounds wonderful, but when I clicked on the website I found she wasn't kidding about it being expensive. Does anyone have any ideas for a tour company that has a good tour (I'm sure not as good as the one with Craig!) for less than $100 per person?

Krlia - if you want to do it cheaply then take the train and then the hop on hop off bus. That'll take you to the mainstream areas. And if you go early enough you would have time to hike the Giant's Staircase down into the valley, as mentioned by Neil.

For an all inclusive day tour $100 (aud) is not a bad price. There are certainly cheaper ones on offer.

Why don't you do a google.

"blue mts day tour" or "blue mts eco tour".

There are just loads of 'em.

Thanks chimani..I have googled the blue mountains and there are a couple that I found that were under $100 and looked pretty good.

Does anyone have any info on either Oz Trek - website http://www.oztrek.com.au/

or Oz Trails - website http://oztrails.com.au/blue_mountains_68.html

Thanks as always for information and assistance!