We woke to a drizzly, grey morning. Jer made breakfast - as usual, we both had tea and yogurt, plus Jess had orange-poppyseed muffins and Jer had spicy mushroom ramen cup (which was surprisingly good). We were a bit slower to get moving than we'd hoped, but eventually we checked out an umbrella from the Swissotel concierge and headed out. We'd debated changing our plans for the day due to the weather, but as we'd already visited the indoor attractions we wanted to see (oops!), we decided to stay the course.
We walked down to the Central Railway Station and got tickets for the next train to Katoomba. Having 15 minutes to spare, we broke down and stopped at Hungry Jack's for an extra value brekky (egg, bacon and cheese sandwich, hash brown and tea) before getting on the train. We followed the guidebook's instructions and got seats on the left side, on the upper deck of a double-decker car, and watched the Sydney suburbs fly past. At Emu Plains, we spotted the Blue Mountains, not to mention sheep and cows grazing on a rugby field!
Although we got a number of nice Blue Mountains vistas from the train, it became rainier and mistier the higher we got. By the time we reached Katoomba, it was clear we wouldn't be seeing any of the area's famed valley vistas. Still, as we'd come all this way, we decided to see what we could. We picked up our Explorer Bus tickets (using our See Sydney Cards) at the Gray Line office by the train station, but decided to get lunch before setting off. We chose Mountain Ridges Restaurant and Cafe, as it was near the bus stop and seemed popular. Jer had the kangaroo rump steak with pepper gravy, chips, salad and tea, and Jess had an open-faced sandwich of sauteed mushrooms, goat cheese and pesto on Turkish toast with hot cocoa. Both were very good.
Our tummies full, we hopped on the bus and took it to the Katoomba Cascades stop. From there, we started the long, wet climb down into the Jamison Valley. The trail was well-maintained but muddy, with lots of stairs (including the infamous Furber steps), so it was slow going. We took our bus driver's advice and didn't let the weather ruin things - in fact, we giggled much of the way down the mountain. The dense greenery and giant ferns made it feel a bit like Jurassic Park, so we kept a keen eye out for velociraptors - Jess thought we heard some, but Jer claims those were birds. In spite of the mist, we got lots of great, closeup views of waterfalls at Witches Leap, Queen Victoria Lookout, the Katoomba Falls Lookout and Vera's Grotto (we were less impressed with the views at the bottom of Katoomba Falls).
While most of the panoramic vistas were shrouded in fog, at Queen Victoria Lookout the mists sudden cleared, giving us an unexpectedly good look at the sheer limestone cliffs, long cascades and vast forest canopy - and a flock of sulphur-crested cockatoos sailed past, capping off the great view. Five minutes later, the mist closed in and all was white again. Along the way, we stopped under a number of natural rock outcroppings to rest and read the informative signs about the area. Eventually, we reached the bottom of the valley, so far below the forest canopy that we barely felt the rain. We caught the Blue Mountains Scenic Railway (aka the Mountain Devil), the world's steepest funicular, up to the top - Jess found the ride a bit nerve-wracking and was glad we hadn't opted to take it down instead. Once there, we warmed ourselves in the shop before getting back on the Explorer Bus.
We considered getting off at Echo Point to try to see the Three Sisters, but our driver said the only way to see them would be to descend the steep stairwell to walk out onto them, which kind of misses the point - they're just three rock pillars, but they overlook a gorgeous valley that was hidden in the fog. Instead, we got off at the Leura cascades, a series of small waterfalls. We didn't take the time to descend to the bigger falls at the bottom of the hill, but instead took the Explorer Bus into Leura village.
In Leura, we headed to Bygone Beauties, a curio- and tea shop with 3600 teapots (of which 3000 are on display at a time). There, we got free Devonshire teas with our See Sydney Cards - light, fluffy scones, whipped cream and jam, plus a big pot of hot tea - while sitting next to their gas fire. It was highly restorative. After our tea, we walked up Leura Mall, past cafes and shops, to the Leura station, where we caught the train for the two-hour ride back to Sydney. Sadly, it was too dark for any good views, so we looked at our pictures and Jess wrote in this journal. Our day wasn't quite how we'd imagined a day in the Blue Mountains would be, but we'd had fun and seen some beautiful sights, so we classed it as a success.
Once we reached Sydney's Central Railway Station, we headed back to the Sydney Tower to go to OzTrek, a cinematic display of Australia's history and natural wonders. Through the magic of cinema and dioramas, we saw the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru (aka Ayers Rock), the Outback (complete with aboriginal dancers) and a fireworks show over Sydney. The whole thing was pretty cheesy, but also really funny. (We wouldn't have paid extra for it, but as it was included in the See Sydney Card, we were glad to have done it.)
Following OzTrek, we walked back over the Pyrmont Bridge to the Harbourside Shopping Centre, which (surprisingly) is home to one of Sydney's best Indian restaurants, Zaafran. We started with a fabulous palak chaat (spinach, potatoes, chickpeas and rice puffs with yogurt, tamarind sauce and spices), followed by tender braised lamb shanks in a chili-ginger-cumin sauce with mushroom naan. Jer finished with mango sorbet (made with fresh mango puree), and Jess had phirnee (rice pudding with pineapple, almonds and pistachios). Everything was quite tasty.
After dinner, we headed back to the Swissotel Sydney. After spreading our belongings out to dry, we headed straight to bed, as we had any early morning ahead of us.