Blue Mountains

The drive into Blue Mountains was interesting. We drove through Lithgow as the kids were asleep but it had a strange mix of nice old buildings and cottages juxtaposed with a big coal power station and coal terminal. Rachael was driving and freaked out a little when suddenly we went from a not so busy highway onto the Pass of Victoria which is a super narrow highway with huge cliffs either side. The traffic was incredibly busy with huge trucks going both ways.

We checked-in to a hotel at Blackheath just off the highway, and spent a few hours waking up the (very grumpy) kids from their nap before backtracking to Mt Victoria. There was heaps of very loud cicadas pretty much everywhere in the Blue Mountains which I thought sounded really cool, but they bothered Lyra and Rachael.

First stop was The Big Nugget Rock Lookout - it was just at the back of some houses and had some amazing views - but was very terrifying with 2 young kids as there was no railings and sheer drops.

We went to the nearby Mitchell Ridge Lookout where you could see all the trucks driving up the highway we drove in on. It was fenced so we were able to enjoy the views with a bit less anxiety except for when Felix wanted to lean and swing against the (quite old) wire fencing.

We had got pizza for dinner and had it in a park in Blackheath which was a really little town.

The next morning we went to the playground at Blackheath Memorial Park which was quite nice (we saw lots of playgrounds this holidays). Once the kids had burnt off some energy we went Govetts Leap Lookout which was incredible and definitely exceeded our expectations.

We did the short walk to the information centre and then tried to some of the Pulpit Rock track - which would have been good for the kids if Lyra was co-operating but she wasn’t so we bailed and went back to the hotel. (Felix wasn’t super keen about holding hands near the cliffs either)

While the kids were having a break I went for a walk from the hotel to suss out Mermaid’s Cave as we couldn’t work out if the carpark was open or not (there was some roadworks but it was). You could walk there from the hotel although the track was pretty intense (not so bad since I was heading down into the valley but would have been the other way). Mermaid’s Cave itself was great as it suddenly changed from warm to a nice cool rainforest.

The was a shortcut hike from Mermaid’s Cave to Centennial Glen, but it was incredibly difficult - very steep and slippery - would not recommend.

The Centennial Glen hike on the other hand was great - although no way I would have done it with the kids.

All up I was back to town in under 2 hours and so swapped with Rachael and she explored the town and then did a little bit of the hike in reverse, making it to Fort Rock.

We then picked her up and did Mermaids Cave again this time with the kids.

We went to Campbell Rhododendron Gardens next.

And finally we pushed the kids into doing one more thing for the day and went for a drive to Wind Eroded Cave Lookout and Perrys lookdown, which were both great.

I went to Evans Lookout for Sunrise while everyone was still sleeping, which had incredible views and I a Lyrebird for the first time.

I then quickly did the Walls Cave walk before heading back to grab the kids.

Before leaving Blackheath we went back to Evan’s Lookout with Rachael and the kids to see if the Lyrebird was still there, and there was 2 of them and a baby.

Our next stop was Katoomba and Scenic World. The kids had been excited for this the last few days, but the animatronic dinosaurs proved a bit too realistic and we had a bit of a rough start as they were a bit scared.

Eventually we bought tickets and ended up doing the Skyway and Railway and everyone loved it, although Lyra and Rachael found the railway a bit scary.

The lookout for the three sisters at Echo Point was also quite good.

The next morning I quickly did the Pool of Siloam & Lyrebird Dell walks which were quite nice. Unfortunately a lot of the other hikes nearby like Leura Cascades were closed.

We went to the lookout at Wentworth Falls with the kids and we saw a helicopter bringing in supplies for one of the walking tracks flying back and fourth across the valley - which was pretty fun to watch.

And then quickly did the Lyrebird Dell with the kids as it was quite short (and Rachael got to do Pool of Siloam)

Overall the Blue Mountains was excellent, and there was so much we didn’t have time to do so I’d definitelly be keen to come back when the kids are older and more willing to do hikes.