The Blue Mountains

26 April
Blue Mountains
Partly Sunny, Cold and Windy

Sunday was our day to go to the Blue Mountain for a hike around Katoomba Falls. The Blue Mountains region is about two hours west of the city, so the first leg of our trip was a train ride to Katoomba, one of the major jumping-off points for excursions into the area.

It was a tight schedule in the morning, as we had to leave by 6:45 in order to make the proper connections. In future years, I may try to get the tour guides to move the tour an hour later so that we have a chance at breakfast before we take off. But, we have about 25 minutes at the Katoomba station before beginning our tour, so the students who didn't get up early enough to get breakfast still had a chance. (I was up at 4:30 so that I could get the tickets, so I was ready for a second breakfast by 9:30.)

The train ride took us through the western suburbs and then through tunnels and passages into the eastern portions of the Blue Mountain area. They're not actually mountains at all -- the region is a plateau with deep gorges cut by eons of water activity. Think of it as an older, wetter grand canyon. Very pretty, lots of wildlife, and of course it's covered with a huge forest.
Like most of the forests in the southern part of Australia, this one is dependent on periodic burnings in order to remain healthy. The Aborigines practiced controlled burning before whites arrived here, thus preventing the sorts of wildfires that have plagued the southeast in recent years. The reluctance of property owners to manage forest undergrowth, coupled with the incredibly dry conditions here, conspire to create a dangerous situation. The wildfires in Victoria earlier this year claimed around 200 lives, and caused massive property damage. The first responders during the fires received a special mention at the ANZAC Day ceremonies I saw on television; it will continue to be on the minds of Australians for years to come.

The Blue Mountains region is not immune to fires, though we were in little danger today. And thankfully, I have a group of non-smokers, so we were unlikely to cause damage in any case. But I have been out there at times after controlled burnings, and expected to see the effects of that in some regions today.

The only disciplinary thing that has happened in our travels so far has been an admonishment this morning from the train personnel to keep our voices down. Americans just seem to be louder than Australians, and I have a bubbly, enthusiastic group along with me. I do not want them to change their behavior, but I suppose that I'll have to ask them a little more often to quiet down. But they are constantly asking questions of me and of the people they meet, which I think is great, and would hate to see that vanish. They have already had conversations with Australians about America, our new president, New Zealand, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Aborigines, sports in Australia, and many other topics. One student has relatives in the Sydney area, and has been able to spend some time with them. They are taking to the traveling quite well.

After a couple tight connections, we made it to the Katoomba Falls Kiosk, where we were to meet our guide. A few students had not heeded my advice about dressing for chilly conditions, and so were probably a little cold at first. We all felt more comfortable waiting inside the warmth of the kiosk, though, with time for coffee and muffins.

Our guide Warren proved to be knowledgeable and friendly, and the students took to him pretty quickly. Our walk took us from the top of the gorge to the bottom, crossing the falls four times as we did so. Warren focused on geology and trees as we went along, giving us some valuable lessons about the nature of the forest.

The top of the plateau is covered with a eucalyptus forest that depends on fire and arid conditions for its health, certainly not what one thinks of when describing a rain forest. The temperate rain forest properly begins once we begin descending into the gorge, with the eucalyptus trees and the banksia giving way to the coachwoods, turpentines, and ferns. The ferns are smaller than the ones we will see up north, and there are no palms, cycads, or paperbarks that populate the more tropical rain forests.

Owing to the weather, there was little wildlife. One of the students and I spotted a pair of crimson rosellas, a type of parrot that is common to the Blue Mountains region. They were not close enough to obtain a picture. We did get a black bird to strike a very nice pose for us. I did not hear what Warren called it, but from the photo, I'd say it's some version of a magpie or currawong. The students who were closer to him will have the proper name, I'm sure.

The tour ended with a brief visit to the coal mine remnants at the bottom of the gorge, followed by a ride on the Scenic Railway, a 'vertical' trolley that takes us from the bottom of the gorge to the top in a few moments. It's an exciting ride that takes us inside the rocks of the bluff.

After the conclusion of the walk, the students were free to use the remainder of the day as they wished. Some returned to Sydney on the earlier trains, while others stayed after I left to do some additional exploring. After a lunch with some of the students, I contented myself with a walk over to the Three Sisters, an interesting geological formation. It holds some special meaning for me, as some students conspired with my wife a few years back to give me a framed panoramic photograph of the formation. The Aborigines of the region have some stories about the Three Sisters, but there is no agreement between the language groups about the stories and there are many false stories as well. But my interest is purely in the science of it and the beauty it generates.

Tomorrow is a free day for us. I have modest goals: laundry, getting a quiz ready, and arranging to take the students out to dinner at the Australian Hotel.