World Voyage – Sydney Day 1

March 11, 2023

At 5:00 am we entered the Sydney harbor and as the ship turned the Sydney bridge and opera house came into view. What a spectacular site everyone on deck was silent as we took in the magic of the harbor.

We dropped anchor just south of the opera house and the day began with tenders to the dock.

My adventure for the day was to go to the Blue Mountains, which is about 2 hours outside of Sydney.

Blue Mountains seem like a strange name for the green mountain region, but it is, in fact, quite a fitting name. All due to the particular trees found in the mountains; the eucalyptus trees that are in abundance throughout the area! A unique feature of the eucalyptus is the oil found soaked within its leaves. When the sun is particularly hot, the temperature results in the oil to be released from the leaves in a hazy oil mist. Although up close, this haze is unseen, from a further distance, the light reflecting on the mist is quite clear. Causing the entire Blue Mountains region to be covered in a blue haze, looking as if the mountains are blue themselves. It was not hot enough on the day I was there for this to happen but the valley is really pretty. I also learned that eucalyptus leaves contain alcohol. That fact explains why koala’s are so chill!

There is an ancient aboriginal legend surrounding three sisters – ‘Meehni’, ‘Wimlah’ and Gunnedoo’. These three sisters lived in the heart of the Jamison Valley as part of the Katoomba tribe. Yet the girls were young and three brothers from a neighboring tribe captured their hearts. However the law of the land forbids the girls from following their desires and marrying outside their own people. The brothers decided to capture the girls and carry them away to be wed, a major battle ensued as the two tribes clashed and the blood ran thick. An elderly witchdoctor from the Katoomba tribe feared for the safety of the beautiful sisters and cast a spell to turn them to stone to keep them safe from harm. Yet during the raging battle the witchdoctor was killed and unable to reverse the spell.

After viewing The Three Sisters we headed to Scenic World that has the iconic scenic skyway, the world’s steepest railway and the southern hemisphere’s steepest aerial cable car along with miles of rainforest boardwalks. Yes, I rode everything twice. At a 52 degree incline the railway was incredible fun especially backwards!!!

We had a late lunch at a quaint hotel and then headed back to the ship arriving just before sunset. Even though I was exhausted I headed to the top deck and watched the sunset behind the Sydney Bridge.

A fun day of adventuring, a beautiful sunrise and an awesome sunset…..I am so blessed!!

We have another day in Sydney to explore the city.