Blue Mountains Journal

We took the country lunch at Chisholms at Caves House. While it's fun to go inside to check out the Edwardian splendor, it's getting a little threadbare. The carrot and ginger soup was tasty but the menu was nothing to get excited about. Well the nephew has gone home so that's it for being a tourist in our own town and a time for us to switch over the Sweet Wayfaring where I start a new adventure today.

Now after a walk (there was a steep flight of 80 steps to get out of the cave) I'm always keen for a rest. It was a chilly day so the usually vibrant bistro tables were all quite empty. We decided to try the restaurant in Caves House instead.

My legs were now very sore from the walk the day before so after careful inspection of the number of steps involved we took the tour of the Temple of Baal cave. Walking through a man made tunnel in the cliff face takes you into this limestone cave wonderland. The tours is quite pricey at $27-$35 each so we don't do one very often. We usually go for a bush walk instead.

The next day we drove the 90 or so kms to Jenolan Caves. This is Caves House, a grand old style guesthouse. I love its olde worlde charm.

With my legs still twitching from the long walk down I was glad to indulge in a rest at Katoomba Falls Kiosk which is a little way down the road from Scenic World. It's one of those quaint places from an earlier era but inside is modern and pleasant, another spot I enjoy.

The reason why I like the Furber Steps is that it's the only place in the mountains that you can catch a ride back up to the top. Scenic World offers a number of attractions ... in words from their website The Scenic Cableway (top left) - The steepest aerial cable car in the Southern Hemisphere! The Scenic Cableway takes you on a 545 metre ride into - or out of - the World Heritage-listed rainforest of the Jamison Valley. The Scenic Skyway (top right) - Float on air in the Skyway! The Skyway takes you on a 720 metre journey, 270m above ancient ravines and dazzling waterfalls. You are suspended over Jurassic rainforests as you glide smoothly across the sky. The Scenic Railway (bottom left) - Ride the steepest incline Railway in the world. The 415m descent will take you through a cliff side tunnel down into an ancient rainforest. The Scenic Walkway (bottom right) - A path through a Jurassic rainforest. Discover over 2.8kms of boardwalk through the ancient rainforest.

I decided a bush walk down the Furber Steps would be a good idea because it's all downhill so would not be too great a test against the energy of a 17 year old. Even with him being ever so patient it was faster than my usual slow meander taking photos so you'll have to follow this link from a previous visit to see what the Furber Steps are like. This shot gave me a chance to catch my breath at one of the lookouts where you get a view of Katoomba Falls.

We've had a nephew visiting so over the weekend visited a few of the regular tourist spots along with many Asian holidaymakers -- like this lady taking the traditional group snapshot.

I admired the creativity of using an empty cooking mold as a wall ornament as I emptied my cup. On a nearby table a young lady emptied her thoughts into a journal. The rain cleared and the sun began to shine from low on the horizon, reminding us that it was near closing time so we would all have to empty the cafe soon. If you didn't guess, today's theme day for CDP bloggers is Empty. Click here to view thumbnails for all participants