the work meetings are over and a lot of our team members are making their way home. two of us stayed on to explore a little more!

we met up with our guide – Rob – at 7 am to make our trek to the Blue Mountains. they are located about 2 hours west of sydney and the drive out gave us a lot of history of the area. got experienced new south wales’ very bad infrastructure planning with 5 lane highways turning into 2 lanes in places that 4 lanes would be better to support the crush of cars. there are tolls along the main “loop” that will cost you over $30 to do the entire route, and their speed cameras come with 3 warning signs before the actual camera – yet they make a ton of money from speeders!

once we reached the blue mountains we could see why they have their name. there is a blue haze that is emitted from the millions of eucalyptus trees there. the mountains are high and flat, with sheered off cliff formations. created by nothing more than wind and water over millions of years they are spectacular.

rob also supplied us with a lot of facts about his country – the plagues, prisoners, and a major effort to boost the population back in the day by importing whores from england. there is a new effort to increase their population happening today — $5k bonus to a mother at delivery!!

the blue mountains are a must see – and I give Rob @ Sydney Great Escapes two thumbs up!! It was a rippa!!