Blue Mountains National Parks
Getting away from the city one more time, I got on the train and made my way to Katoomba. After getting a map from the shop that sold tickets for the hop on- hop off bus, I still wasn’t sure where to go or how to get there. Instead of waiting for the bus, I walked for about half an hour until I was at the visitor center of Echo Point. After being informed that the road to the Ruined Castle and back will take quite a bit longer than I thought, I asked for recommendations for something a bit shorter. The staff member showed me on the map what I can do and where I can go, handed me said map, and sent me on my way. After taking a look at it, I put it in my pocket along with the first map, and that was pretty much the only time I looked at it.
As there was an observation point where I was, I headed over there and got a look at a group of rocks that was named “The Three Sisters”. I didn’t find it particularly impressive or interesting, and very quickly I made my way along the path until I saw a sign directing me to a waterfall. Curious to see if it’s any good, and as it wasn’t too far from where I was, I started walking over there. Every now and then I came across another lookout or observation point, mostly looking at The Three Sisters with a bit of variation to the scenery. The sun was out, the green trees looked lively, and overall it was a pleasant walk, although at that point it didn’t feel like it was worth the two hours on the train. Whenever there was a split in the road there were also signs, for a change, and those signs were quite good… until they weren’t. At some point near the waterfall there was a split in the road, and only one path had a sign on it. I got to the waterfall, kept walking around the area, got confused, and then headed back to the waterfall. At this point I paid far less attention to the signs, and instead just kept walking along the path to wherever it will lead me.
Next to the waterfall there was another trail, and as I walked along I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a waste of time coming to this mountain. Every once in a while I’d say another hiker or two, but for the most part I was by myself. I came across more lookouts, although for the most parts the view wasn’t really worth stopping. I kept walking without much enthusiasm, wondering a few times if I should just go back and spend the day at the beach, when all of a sudden I came across a split in the road, and I looked at the signs to try to figure out which way to go. One of the signs was about some steps, which I vaguely remembered from the instructions I received at the information center. It was a clear waypoint, and without thinking about it too much I set foot on that trail and resumed my walk.
The paved road had disappeared and instead I was walking on a dirt path going down the mountain. I probably should have expected it, but very quickly the path turned into stairs, and quite a few of them. I went down those stairs without having any ideas of what I’ll see at the bottom, or how long it would take me to get there. I also started to worry that I might need to go back the way I came, and walk up those stairs. The road snaked down gradually, alternating between dirt and stairs, with trees and plants on both sides. At some point I found myself at the base of a waterfall which was supposed to look like a witch, but to me it didn’t look like that at all. There was also another lookout point, although I couldn’t see much there short of the tree tops.
The road started to level and I found myself next to another split in the road. Looking at the signs, I picked another trail to go on and kept making my way down. Nothing really special happened until the road leveled again, and I had a choice to make. Right toward something called “Scenic World”, or left toward another trail that leads back to Echo Point. Feeling a bit relieved that I can do a loop of sort rather than going back up exactly the way I came, I decided to turn right and head to the Scenic World first, as it wasn’t too far away and it was one of the few names I remembered from the visitor center. It wasn’t a long walk, and soon enough I found myself in front of a gate. It appeared to be locked, and I had no intention to get inside anyway, so I quickly turned around, went back to the split in the road, and started making my way back.
At some point after I left the gate to Scenic World behind me something changed. I started to enjoy my hike in the mountains, it somehow felt more challenging, and I’m not sure if it was simply going up instead of down, but I started to feel better about coming to the area. The view wasn’t the best, even when I was at the top, but there was something about it that cheered me up somehow. I also saw a few more hikers as I made my way up, but as always they were far from each other and very few. At a few points I saw some more signs, with a waypoint that was marked as “Giant Staircase” which worried me quite a bit. Not only I didn’t save myself from going up some stairs, the name of that section of the trail was quite ominous, and I immediately remembered the dreadful experiences with stairs in South Korea. It certainly didn’t help that the sign recommended to allow for forty five minutes to climb up the stairs.
When I finally got to the beginning of the staircase, it turned out there was another split in the road, heading toward a forest. According to the sign it wasn’t very far away, and I wasn’t very tired, so I decided to go into the forest first before making my way up the giant stairs. The view was mainly trees and plants, and the road was quite narrow. At some points along the way fallen trees were in the middle of the path, and I had to step over them in order to continue. In other parts, I wasn’t entirely sure that the path I’m walking on is the right path, but then I saw a random bench and figured I must be on the way. A short while later I got to a sign that informed me I made my way to the forest, and I stayed there for a while to rest and relax for a bit. When I felt ready I came back from the way I came and found myself once more at the base of the giant stairs.
With a big breath, I started climbing. The metal staircase was very narrow and straight, although it didn’t take long to clear it up. It turned out it wasn’t one giant staircase, but rather a whole bunch of different staircases, made from both metal and stone. It wasn’t very steep, and there were flat spots along the way so it was possible to take a moment and gather strength before going up some more. At a few points along the way I met another hike going down instead of up, and every time one of us had to give way for the other, and those stairs were a bit too narrow for more than one person. As I made my way up, I got closer and closer to the treetops until eventually I could see past them. But it wasn’t the end, so I kept going up, taking short breaks to breath and look around me, until eventually I cleared the stairs. The path has leveled and I was greeted with a nice view of the surrounding area. When I looked at my smartphone I was in for another surprise- I made my way up in just over twenty minutes, less than half the recommended time.
I went along the mostly leveled path until I was finally at the visitor center of Echo Point. From there, I walked over to the train station and all the way back to Sydney, where I could rest and enjoy the rest of the day in a more relaxed way.
With that, my adventure in Australia was coming to an end, and it was time to reflect back on all that I experienced. Australia was nothing like I expected it to be, it wasn’t quite the Western culture I thought it would be, but I can’t quite put my finger on all the differences. From the moment I landed all the way to the last day there was one word stuck in my head, one question, that I couldn’t figure out an answer for- Why. Australia felt like an alternate reality version of a first world country, a country which is both confusing and confused, and I struggled to understand what. While I understood what’s happening, for the most part I didn’t understand why it was happening.
I can’t help but feel like it should’ve been a far better experience, but it was let down by poor public transport, lack of proper hostels and backpackers, poor (and confusing) signs, and a few other issues. It was, for the most part, cold, isolating, and unimpressive. Sure, I have seen some interesting things, learned about the history of the country and saw its nature, but nothing struck a significant impression on me. It is the most mediocre adventure I have had so far. It is also the first country where I feel like I’ve done it wrong. I tried my best, tried to be open to it, but in the end I came to the unfortunate conclusion that Australia is not a country for backpackers. I truly believe it can be a great adventure, but for that there is a need for a caravan, and with it the freedom to go almost anywhere, and particularly deep into the desert, which I was not able to go to.
I might come back to Australia at some point, but if not, I wouldn’t be disappointed. What’s done is done, and now it’s time to bring this adventure to its end before moving on toward a brand new adventure.