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Elaine Friend asked:




“We are in dreamtime. Go and resonate with nature. Whatever comes to you brings a message,” our tour guide tells us. We are in a place called the Euroka Clearing, in the Blue Mountains National Park, Glenbrook, New South Wales, Australia.

Suddenly, a flock of white cockatoos, Australian king-parrots, appear behind a nearby tree and fly over us. “They’re welcoming us,” I said excitedly.

“The bush is said to have eyes,” replies our guide. He watches the flight of the cockatoos. “Did you know that whenever you visit the bush you can be sure that the creatures of the bush will be watching you? You can feel their eyes as you enter their home.”

It is a sunny, 18C wintry morning. We breathe the fresh Eucalypt air of the mountains, and except for the cries of the cockatoos, magpies and crows, everything is quiet.

Most of us saunter to where the kangaroos are. They are Eastern Grey kangaroos, smaller than the Red kangaroos of the desert. To see “kangaroos in the wild” is so extraordinary, I thought, as I flashed my camera. It is a picture of harmony, for the kangaroos are in their natural habitat.

Yet, it is a fragile habitat. Bushfires are the number one danger, according to our guide. The Blue Mountains Parks Administration practices controlled burning of the bush alongside the park road. The burnt area contains the real bushfires, while the heat from the fire germinates the seeds scattered on the ground. Soon, new seedlings sprout and the cycle of tree life continues.

The Wonderbus continues along the Great Western Highway, and from a distance, we could glimpse the blue haze above the plateaus of the Upper Blue Mountains. I learn that the blue haze is the effect of light rays scattering (refracting) when oil droplets evaporating from the Eucalyptus trees in the valley mix with dust particles in the air. Thus, the name “Blue Mountains.”

Our guide points out the shrubs of small, ball-like yellow flowers alongside the highway. It is the Golden Wattle, Australia’s National flower. It is from the flowers and leaves of the Golden Wattle that inspired the adoption of the colors gold and green as Australia’s national colors.

We reach the town of Wentworth Falls, named after William Wentworth, one of the three explorers who crossed the Blue Mountains in 1813. Gathering at the Jamison Lookout, we behold a stunning panorama of sandstone cliffs formed by sedimentary deposits of water dating back 240 million years ago!

“This Banksia is what you’d call a species tree, dating back to the Jurassic era,” Richard says as he points to an odd-looking tree. There are around 15 world species tree, 13 of which are found in Australia. The Wollemi Pine tree discovered in the Blue Mountains is another example of a “living fossil.” Rising out of the valley, we could see plateaus and mountains with intriguing names: Mount Solitary, Inspiration Point, Sublime Point, and Kings Tableland where there are Aboriginal rock engravings.

We learn about the Australian Aboriginal culture. Aborigines regard the earth as a living entity. The fauna and flora of the landscape have an “increase centre” – this is an area of high electromagnetic energy where the performance of correct rituals will increase the life essence stored there and bring about the desired increase. These “centers” exist along a path of underground telluric currents (energy lines of the earth) or the “path of the rainbow serpent” in the Aboriginal culture.

From the Jamison Lookout, we follow the Den Fenella walking trail to Wentworth Falls, bush-walking (as Australians refer to hiking) along narrow and wet trails strewn with large stones until we finally reach the falls’ lookout an hour later. It is a refreshing, beautiful sight; we could see the waterfalls plunging nearly 300 meters into the Jamison Valley below us!

The Wonderbus passes through the picturesque town of Leura, and soon we arrive at the capital city of Katoomba. Our next stop is the Three sisters at Echo Point Lookout. The Three Sisters are ancient sandstone formations, towering over the green forests of the Jamison Valley. From a distance, the Three Sisters create an illusion of three individuals, as if turned to stone according to an Aboriginal legend.

We can make out the yellow-brown hues of the nearby plateaus, shining like crowns over the Eucalypt trees in the valley, and the deep blue mist hovering above added a final touch to the rugged landscape. It is a magnificent work of nature, spanning 230-280 million years ago, when all the area was beneath the sea! Now a World Heritage Listed area, I can understand why the Blue Mountains National Park is the number one tourist destination in New South Wales.

Driving along Cliff Drive, the Wonderbus steers toward Scenic World, where one can ride the Scenic Railway, Skyway or Sceniscender cable car. At the same price, it is now possible to go down into the valley on any one of the three rides and return to the top of the cliff likewise on any of the three rides. Do you want to know what its like to go up against the earth’s gravity? Try Scenic Railway going back to the cliff top. Or are you brave enough to ride the Skyway cable car across the deep Jamison Valley? For the faint-hearted, the Sceniscender is the best option among the three.

As the Scenic Railway descends 229 meters vertically into Jamison Valley, I struggle to keep my eyes open to see the rain forest along the way. It is like riding a roller coaster through a rain forest, with a heart-pounding half joy, half fear.

At the bottom platform, we enjoy a stroll through the rain forest on a wooden boardwalk. There is an abandoned coal mine along the way, reminding us that in the 1880s, the Scenic Railway carried coals from the mines below to the cliff top.

Riding the modern Sceniscender cable car is a visual treat not to be missed. Through the glass walls, we get a bird’s eye view of the rain forest, the Three Sisters, Katoomba falls and Mount Solitary, among others, as it ascends 545 meters to the cliff top.

Our scenic eco day tour with Wonderbus finally ends. It is nearly sunset, at 4:30 pm. The Three Sisters are glowing red-orange now, the afternoon shadows highlighting the rugged edges of the sandstones. Along Cliff Drive, we travel pass Narrow Neck peninsula, which overlooks the adjoining Megalong valley, for a last look of the Blue Mountains, as darkness slowly descends on the bush (wildlife).