Dan Will Travel

WALKING THE CLOTHES HANGER

That is the nickname for the famous Sydney Harbor bridge that we all see in shots of Sydney and at New Year’s Eve each year. This giant bridge dates from 1932 and is an easy walk with great views of the harbor and the city. I do not think you appreciate the scale and massiveness of it until you are on it. It supports 6 traffic lanes, 2 railroad tracks and a large walking path, and really does not move even when trains go by.

The following day, I ventured up into the Blue Mountains to the tiny village of Mt. Victoria located pretty much at the pass before you go into the dryer side that eventually becomes the Outback. The pass is about the same elevation as Snoqualamie, and about as far from the center of the city. If we had a similar commuter train system, it would be like going as far as Ellensburg every hour or so with countless stops in between. My plan was to go up, walk to the viewpoint, get lunch and come back. But, when I said Mt. Victoria was tiny, well it was. What few establishments there were only opened on weekends, so for Tuesday, there was nothing.

Today, I start the Indian Pacific train trip across Australia to Perth. It is the same as what I did last year, but this time, they only had larger 2 person sized cabins available. Too bad. I will miss the planning involved to get into position to open my door to get out of my little roomette. (You really did have to maneuver and think due to the tiny room size.) So today will be like a suite. Well sort of. I will be back on line this weekend with thoughts about the great outback.

The Sydney harbor bridge

Sydney skyline with the “Rocks” close up. This is the historic site of the original settlement. And, yes, a giant cruise ship.

Just an iconic Sydney view

An interesting view of the arches of the bridge

Looking up

Santa is made up totally of beverage crates. Pretty well done!

The front entrance to the Westin. A very nice restoration of the old post office, turned into a hotel.

A late blooming Rhododendron in Mt. Victoria. Probably due to the higher elevation and thus later spring? Today is about the equivalent of our Memorial Day in late May.

The view from Mt. Piddington into the Blue Mtns.

Yes, that is a bird flying over the view

Posted: November 29, 2016 by admin

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2016: I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO DIRECTLY TO SYDNEY, RIGHT?

So, what am I doing at the Courtyard Marriott at LAX? Good question. Last night after a fairly long wait for the Sydney flight, it was about to board so I gathered my stuff, and took one last look at the board before going to the gate for the nice first class experience that my points were providing. And the board said “CANCELLED.” They have got to be kidding. An A380 double deck plane about to depart, cancelled? They were not kidding. They moved as many as they could to the Melbourne flight, but a free seat person would legitimately not be at the top of their list. So, I got to stay over and will try again tonight.

I apologize for not having photos with this post, but do you really want to see the parking garage view that I am enjoying here?

Posted: November 25, 2016 by admin

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THE 2015 FINALE: GOING DOWN?

I had just two full days in Sydney after Tasmania,and had a tip from a friend to do the Giant Staircase up in the Blue Mountains. This low range of mountains is about 2 hours by train out of Sydney and is weird for a mountain range in that all of the developments are on the top, and all of the parks and wilderness are down from the top ridges.

So, to access the wild areas, you go down. Like, in this case 900 steps down! Now, with my fear of heights and trouble negotiating any steps even to/from my office, doing 900 very steep, scary, exposed on the side of a cliff steps down was terrifying. But, there were good railings, and I hung on for dear life and tried very hard to not “see” what was exposed beneath the metal grid steps. Ever done something where you needed to see where you were going but you sort of did not “see” it? Because, if I would have really looked, I am sure I would have totally freaked out. We are talking straight down the side of a cliff.

But, a part of why this trip has been so good is I had situations where I had to confront my fears and I did overcome them. We all know that is a good feeling, but chiefly when the ordeal is done. Not during it!

Maybe earlier in the trip, I would have gone back up the stairs. It would have been great exercise, but it was really muggy, and I was wringing wet just going down, so I chose to hike the 2 miles or so on the flat trail to the cog railway to go back up.

With this, I have effectively ended my Australia journey and blog. I hope that you have enjoyed reading about it and seeing the photos. It has been fun preparing the posts. Enjoy the shots and comments below.

The Three Sisters formation, Katoomba, Blue Mountains.

Typical view down into the forests of the Blue Mountains

The grand entrance to the Grand Staircase which was initially constructed in 1932

Final view from the top.

The beginning……..You have got to be kidding! Worn slippery 85 year old stone steps Then a metal staircase that I cannot even see the steps due to the angle. OMG.