Sizzling Hot!

Today I went with one of my dorm mates (she comes from England but lives and works in Melbourne at the moment) on a long walk: the Grand Canyon Walk. Ok, so it's not the infamous grand canyon we know about in America but hey, it's a mini version of it and it turns out it was nice and cool down there!

We set off at 8am, but then found out that the trains were going according to the Christmas timetable and therefore the train just after 8 wasn't going. So we ended up waiting around for an hour in one of the like 30 coffee shops here in Katoomba. It's amazing that in such a small town there are so many of them. And tell you what: the fresh orange juice is amazing! YUM! So we got the train just after nine, enjoyed the air-conditioned 10min train ride, and walked for almost an hour to start our Grand Canyon walk. It was the hottest part of the day when we started. Not so wise but hey, lots and lots of water folks! Took 3 liters with me. Finished every drop of it too! So in the stinking heat (must of been around 30 degrees by 11 o'clock) we head off to the Canyon. We Went down a whole lot of steps (I think they said it was about 600 of 'em) and Made our way along the cliff top just above the Canyon. Ok, I've seen the Blue Mountains now for 4 days and I can't get over the sheer beauty of it all! I mean, these and indigenous forests with trees some 2 or 3 hundred years old, and several hundreds of hectares have been closed off to any public and therefore these parts haven't been explored at all.... And the spectacular views you get every time you look over a cliff edge never seizes to amaze you. But then you move quickly into the shaded cooler spots to get rid of the flys....

About 20 min in, Megan and I met an American guy who was also doing this walk, so he joined us. That was cool. He comes from LA and lives in Hollywood and works for Warner Brothers so he told me to give him a call when I'm in LA so he can show me around... Nice to have such contacts, because local knowledge is always a much better way to see things!

We struggled on for quite some time until we declined further into the Canyon. Boy was that a relief! From the relentless sun beating down on us, to the cool depths of the Canyon. The vegetation changed completely too! From tall trees and dry paths to very wet paths (thank goodness for hiking boots:) and lots of ferns and beautiful flowers all over the place! I fell once, but hey, only grazed myself and have a lovely bruise to prove my walk! LOL! About halfway where we stopped for lunch, we managed to see fresh water crayfish (they have an Australian name for them but I forget now what that is), saw a really cool lizard (those kinds you normally only see in zoos and stuff!) but taking a picture of it was difficult since it was camouflaged so well! LOL! And I also saw lots of parrots flying above my head. I still can't get used to the fact they are just there in the sky, in the wild! It's crazy! I saw 3 black parrots which are apparently really rare...So all in all it's really cool here! The hike back out of the Canyon was tough to say the least! But hey, I survived it! Though I reckon tomorrow I'm taking a rest day. Go walk in town and get myself a hat! Because I'm getting roasted...Even after putting on lotion with factor 40 four times yesterday!

When we reached the top we were thinking....Oh no, 3kms walk back to the station in the searing heat on a boring road! But as we were deciding on which route to take, these Aussies stopped and asked if were heading towards the town and if we wanted a ride! We were so happy! How nice of them.....And an air-conditioned car too! HEAVEN!

After arriving back in Katoomba, we treated ourselves to a well deserved ice cream and then headed for the showers! Now I'm really going to bed because as the English people say it so well: I'M KNACKERED! or I'M CREAM CRACKERED! (I'm all of the above!)

What colour hat should I buy? I was thinking purple, beige or even pink?