Driving out of Sydney was strange in that we were on the most major road (the M4) you could be on to get out Sydney and there were lights and we were going through towns (and not very nice ones either). No wonder Sydney has such traffic congestion! Anyway, back to the trip.
Driving into the Blue Mountains is somewhat of a let down in that I imagined winding up steep roads to get to the top of the mountains but actually it was less impressive than the Poconos. But once you get out and look around it is as though you have been transported to the top and there are cliffs all around.
Friday we spent the day in Katoomba which is the largest town in the Blue Mountains and has the most touristy areas. We took a couple of short hikes around Wentworth Falls with Abby in the backpack. She stayed awake all morning, missing her nap and I was starting to get worried about the weekend. Well, in the 5 minute car ride to lunch at the Conservation Hut she fell asleep, of course. After lunch we headed over to scenic world and took the old rail car down into the valley. 
Around 1880 they were mining coal down in the valley and used the railcar to bring the coal and the workers in and out of the valley. Here's me, apparently on vacation by myself, in the old rail car. We took the cable car out of the valley. There was no way I was hiking out.
We got in the car and headed to Blackheath to pick up some firewood for the night and then down to Megalong Valley and the campsite. Well, apparently Megalong is an Aboriginal word that roughly means "Valley under the Cliff" so it's a little redundant to say Megalong Valley but I digress. Of course it started to rain at this time so everyone in the car (minus Abby) was slightly worried (that might be an understatement) about how setting up camp and the night would go. As we drove into the valley, the rain passed. Thank God!
The night was good. We managed a fire after some serious tending to it, we had steak chili for dinner and we all were in our sleeping bags and asleep by 10pm. We got up in the morning and had some eggs and fried devon (balogna for those not following along) and packed for the hike.
The hike was 15km (9ish miles) and was quite a bit further than I thought we going but it wound up being a really good hike. It was part of the 6 foot track and no, it's not 6 feet wide the whole way. We hiked through farmland first and then rainforest. We ended up at a swing bridge and turned around for the hike back.
All in all, it was a great trip!! Can't wait to go camping again and maybe see some freakin' wild kangaroos already!
There are tons of things that I love about Pyrmont and our new apartment. First is the amazing view off our balcony. Looking east towards the CBD.
Then is how close we are to the Fish Market. You can probably just make it out on the map, south of our marker. Abby and I go down many mornings and get a scone (Can't beat the price at A$1.20/ea) and a coffee for me (I wish I could find a better price at A$4 for a small!). The atmosphere early in the morning is awesome. There are no tourists there yet, the boats are just getting in with all the fresh fish and the pelicans are swimming around in the bay.
