On the third weekend in April I found myself running to a remote and foreign train platform in Central station ready to meet up with 4 other girls I barely knew for a weekend in the Blue Mountains. What an adventure I had in store over the coming days.
Right from the moment we stepped off of the train and onto the platform in Katoomba it felt like we were in a different world. Ladies and gentlemen we are definitely not in Sydney anymore. What I was first struck with was the cool air, being up higher obviously meant chillier temperatures, luckily, like a good outdoorser, I had checked the weather and planned my clothing choices accordingly. There was also a sense of freshness that you miss being in the city, but don't realize you have done so until you take in a nice deep breath somewhere away from all of the tall buildings.
After a quick bus ride we arrived at one of the ‘must-see’ areas of the vast Blue Mountains. Our journey began with a trip down the steepest railway in the world, just newly opened! This was a pretty cool experience, I have to admit that I hesitated quite a bit when my seatmates insisted on putting us in the 64 degree ‘cliffhanger’ position. I wore a smile and joked about being scared while inside I was terrified, I had this vision of something along the lines of DropZone and I am not a big fan of roller coasters of any type. But, all fears aside, I climbed on, insisting on being in the middle so that I could grip my buddies on both sides and took a picture to document my feelings.
As it turns out the incline was huge, you really had to work to not fall forward, but the cars moved quite slowly so it ended up being a pretty cool experience after all of the fretting.
The highlight of the day? Making it up the giant stairway’s 900-ish steps was rough, I started as an optimistic and athletic young gal and by about half way I was reduced to relying heavily on the hand rails and stopping for many ‘picture breaks’ because it was just so beautiful…
The thing about a challenging endeavour is that it makes the ending feel so much greater, and for us the day closed out with a spectacular view of the three sisters from echo point. I found it very interesting to see this rock formation from many different perspectives during our time in these parts of the mountains. Starting from the bottom of our railway ride we looked south-east to the Three Sisters, revelling in our first glimpse of them. We then followed a path below the treeline to the point where we could look up and see them in between the treetops. This, I must admit, needed to be pointed out to me and I am still not sure if I took a picture of the right thing. Interesting how influential perspectives can be, mental note to self to keep perspective in mind in everything that I do.
We then proceeded to march up those never-ending stairs to the point where I was able to put my hand on one of the sisters (I overheard that this was good luck and figured it was worth a try) and then along to echo point, looking back at them and over the vast expanse of blue-hazed trees.
SIDE NOTE for those interested in science; the haze that appears to surround any distant object is due to an optical phenomenon called ‘Rayleigh scattering’. This effect causes the rays of light which hit small particles to be scattered in different directions, because the atmosphere has many small dust particles and water droplets, and since even the air molecules themselves contributed to some extent to the scattering, if an observer look sat a distant object with the intervening atmosphere illuminated by sunlight, eyes will perceive the blue scattered rays of sunlight to reflect the object itself.
I took a lot of time revelling in the amazing day we had, the conditions were perfect for seeing far and wide (and apparently great conditions for the Rayleigh scattering). It was also interesting for me to realize just how many ‘three-sisters’ I have in my life and reflect on those people and the impact that they have had on me.
It was on the first day that I really stepped into my role as tree-lover and in particular eucalyptus tree-lover. I find them so majestic and interesting and couldn't help but stop every once in a while just to look up or lay my hand on their smooth trunks. Taking the time to learn about, and appreciate the things in your surroundings that are quite different than what you are used to is a valuable practice. From afar forests may look the same but when you take the time to peer a little closer, there is so much individuality to be noticed.
Just when we thought that we had learned all that could be learned in a day we got dropped off at the grocery store. Now this may sound trivial for those of you who have never been in a situation like this before, as it did to me when it was talked about in lecture, but this was a whole new learning adventure in itself. Planning and purchasing the components of meals for 5 people for 6 meals and snacks is a much harder endeavour than it seems on paper. Taking into consideration peoples’ budgets, preferences and eating habits in a one-time 45-minute grocery expedition can be a little anxiety provoking. What I learned? Be flexible! By taking on a laid-back attitude for aspects of things that you can manage, everyone is happier. You spend most of the time fending for yourself in life and so making accommodations and compromises for one weekend is not the end of the world. It makes your group happier and more cohesive when people get along.
Making a list is essential, by planning out the things that we wanted to make before getting into the store, we were able to putter around from aisle to aisle crossing things off the list and staying on track. Having some forethought makes it possible for you to make sure that you don’t forget the sauce for your spaghetti or the butter for your sandwiches, it also protects you from the overwhelmingly abundant options that scream for your attention as soon as you step foot in the store.
I think that our cabin did well on this task, I never found myself hungry and really enjoyed the meals that we were able to concoct together, even though both dinners were pasta based! The teamwork in preparation, table-setting and cleaning up was unspoken and successful and I think that this strengthened the bonds that we were able to make with one another, everyone did their part and we all had a better time together because of it.
Being flexible extended also to our shower times as well as our plan for a nighttime camp fire. Shorter showers so that there was enough water for everyone was essential and we were all able to accommodate that. The fact that we were unable to have campfires with the other group was a bit of a disappointment, but an unavoidable one. Making the most of the situation that we were presented with and adapting our plans is all a part of being in the outdoors and also a part of normal life. Having a positive and open mindset means that you can have a good time in whichever situation you find yourself in.
The second day was, without a doubt, the longest and the hardest day for me. Not only was the trail extensive but we also had to battle the elements, Mother Nature was not on our side that day with the cold and rain seeping right into your bones. I learned that going down can be just as difficult as going up. I also experiences an interesting sense of novelty as most of the time, when you are on a hike, you travel up a mountain and then sometimes back down it, but I have never done something like an inverted mountain, starting with the downward direction and finishing with the mentally and physically challenging uphill. It seemed like we were descending for hours and just when we thought we were getting below the treeline we would find that we, in fact, had much farther to trek.
Once we reached the bottom of the valley it was a spectacular sight. I found everything to be brighter, perhaps because of all of the rain, especially the greens the lined the forest floor and reached upward for the sun. I felt as if I was in a magical place with those ghost-white trees.
We were able to practice some river-crossing techniques on this day and the importance of teamwork was made clear once again. Not only was it nice, and in some situations essential, to have a helping hand when crossing a river or clambering over some rocks, but where the teamwork really shone through for me was in its power in lifting spirits. Being cold and wet and knowing that you have hours of hiking left in front of you and no reprieve in sight, it is very easy to take on a negative attitude. Now it’s not like any of us would have just stopped in the middle of the bush and refused to go any further, but I think we all had that helpless and despairing feeling come over us a few times during that day. By incorporating little things like singing songs or chatting with the person in front of you, as well as the task given to us by our leader to ‘find a buddy and keep their spirits up’, we were able to have a much more enjoyable experience. The team was also not brought down by negative comments or complaining which can do a lot of damage. Further, we learned about the teamwork between hiking groups and the importance of things like taking a break at a set point until the group behind catches up before heading off can be critical in emergency situations.
I also learned how quickly conditions can change, one minute I would be taking off a layer because I was so sweaty and the sun had poked out, and the next I was freezing, wondering how I could ever be warm again. This would happen in a matter of minutes and it gave me perspective on how dangerous it could be if someone were to get lost. It is important to pack well and be aware of every possible condition that could come your way in order to have the safest, and most enjoyable, journey in the outdoors.
Once again we were rewarded with an amazing sight at the end of our journey, a magnificent and enormous waterfall. Even though we knew we still had some climbing to do after it came into our sight, I believe we found an extra energy burst to complete the climb. It was spectacular to watch ourselves climb up beside the waterfall. The sun even poked out for a little while at this, the home stretch of our journey.
The final day took us to Wentworth Falls, this got me really excited as I share my Dad’s passion for running water and waterfalls. This day did not disappoint! The sun came out and for what seemed like the first time all weekend I was peeling layers off instead of pilling them on. This day was an easier hike but I was glad that Ian lead us in a warm-up routine before we began our third day of trekking, I was sore in places that hadn't been worked out in a long while.
It seemed as if the entire day consisted of picturesque scenes and I have countless pictures of waterfalls which I look forward to sharing with my Dad when I go home. That day we also had a more serene setting to conduct our personal reflection, here is what I had to say;
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I had a wonderful time this day and remember being disappointed when we had reached Wentworth Falls and I knew that my journey in the Blue Mountains was over. I had such an amazing time getting out of the city and being in nature and places of such beauty. Doing physical work made me feel good at the end of the day, like I had really been able to accomplish something
I am a strong supporter of the use of a blog to supplement learnings experienced in and out of the classroom. The informal platform gives the author the freedom to express themselves in a way that is more open and free from the constraints that an essay or formal report can pose on both creativity and motivation to communicate ideas. A blog also takes on a quality of reflection that we do not find in many other areas of our education to the extent that this platform provides. The process of reflecting has been proven time and time again to be an essential metacognitive process to solidify learning. As a blog is more personal, opinions expressed are never wrong and it may help a student to communicate more than they may have otherwise with the knowledge that their opinions are somewhat free from judgement. It has also been found that ‘warm-up’ writing can help with more formal writing tasks, general writing skills can be developed and maintained with the upkeep of a blog.
This subject is the first one in which I have been assessed through the use of a blog. In speaking from my personal experience throughout this course, and throughout my time here in Australia, I have found blogging about my learnings, as well as my travels and adventures, to be something that I look forward to doing. I find sitting down and letting the words flow directly from my head onto the screen to be rewarding and satisfying. I find that thinking back onto the occasions that I choose to write about, I am able to appreciate them more than I would if they just existed as a passing event in a semester full of novel and exciting experiences. By documenting I also give myself the opportunity to come back to these words one day and re-live my experiences in a way that memory often fails to allow. This will also lead to a reflection in the future when my circumstances may have changed and the reminder of the long day hike in the rain with the hardships I overcame may touch me in a new way, or push me back onto a better course from which I have strayed.
One of the biggest things that I learned from my trip to the Blue Mountains is that you
cannot control the conditions but you
can control your attitude towards them, and what a world of a difference that power can make.
Finally, for your entertainment, here is a video of a famous Blue Mountain leech, I was able to get through my trip without any of these babies getting at my blood supply!
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