Into the Blue Mountains

I wake early, hoping to catch a stunning sunrise at McMahons Point, where there is another spectacular perspective of the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House, but, for once, the Weather Gods are not on my side. So I pack up my camera and tripod and take the road to the Blue Mountains…

Whilst most travellers take the well-trodden Great Western Highway, it is the Bells Line of Road to the north, linking Richmond to Lithgow that I choose. This pretty little stretch of road through the Blue Mountains is the road-less-travelled and offers bountiful views as quaint farmhouses emerge. It gets more and more difficult to resist pulling over, leaning over the fence of a roadside orchard and pinching a shiny new Pink Lady. Instead, I stop at the Bilpin Cider Co. who use local Pink Lady and Granny Smith apples to make their tasty cider.

Having spent most of the day cooped up in the car, I stretch my legs southeast of Leura to wander along the triangular outcrop of rock known as Sublime Point. I enjoy the warm sun and peaceful solitude as the path narrows to a dramatic lookout with sheer cliffs on each side. In stark contrast, Echo Point’s clifftop viewing platform draws numerous serenity-spoiling tourist gaggles, their idling buses farting fumes into the clear mountain air. They are all here to see the Three Sisters. This rocky trio are considered the Blue Mountains most essential sight. I decide to leave and come back closer to sunset to avoid the crowds…

Distance: 236.1km