Sean and Jeanine

March 12, 2007

The Blue Mountains!

Filed under: Australia — Jeanine @ 9:28 pm

In mid March we had an opportunity to spend a weekend in the Blue Mountains, a mountain range about 100 kilometers west of Sydney. The Blue Mountains gets its name because of its forests of eucalyptus trees. The eucalyptus trees release oils which vaporize into a blueish haze. Here you can see the blueish haze behind a geological structure known as the Three Sisters:

The mountains rise about 1000 meters above sea level. This results in a year round cooler climate than Sydney, which in turn results in a greener and more lush landscape:

While in the Blue Mountains we had the chance to ride on the Zig Zag Railway, a restored steam engine line that is operated by a group of railway enthusiasts:

While driving to and around the Blue Mountains it was fun looking at the unique Australian road signs: