Sunday 27th June - Sydney - Blue Mountains
First thing this morning the fire alarm in the building was off again - as usual it was only someone cooking bacon for breakfast but by the time Sue had got out of the shower and dressed they'd switched it off again . Hauled our packs up to the car rental place and we were soon on our way. Took about 2 leisurely hours to get to Winmalee but then had to phone Joe twice as we got confused as to where we should be going. Finally got to Joe's just after midday and sat in the morning sunshine drinking tea and catching up on old times. Jumped in Joe's car for a quick bit of afternoon shopping which worked out well for Sue as she got boots and trainers for less than 20 pounds for both pairs! Ate some lunch at the shopping centre and then came back to Winmalee and hit the local bar - briefly met Noel in the car on the way there. Some of the locals in the bar were 'loud' so not surprisingly Joe said he doesn't go there that often! Joe made us all supper of spaghetti bolognaise as we drank some beer and wine - though not too much as Joe's was up early in the morning to start a new teaching role.

Monday 28th June - Blue Mountains
Raided Joe's kitchen (with his consent of course!) for breakfast and borrowed some of his CDs listen to in the car as we headed higher into the Blue Mountains . Took the car round the 'scenic drive' and soon parked up to go for a walk through the hills and valleys close to Katacoomba. Drove on a little further to 'Echo Point' from where the '3 sisters' rock formation can be seen along with fantastic views of the Blue Mountain range themselves. After a ham and cheese fococcia we headed to the 'Scenic Skyway' train and cable car - the train down to the valley floor was more like a roller coaster with it's 52" drop (the steepest railway incline in the world apparently!). At the bottom we walked through a rain forest-like undergrowth accross a timber-built walkway. Grabbed some tea on the way home to cook for Joe - unfortunately as he got held up on his first day at work he never got to savour the delights of chicken fajitas with us.

Tuesday 29th June - Blue Mountains
Took the alternate and more scenic route through the mountains this morning passing many orchards, plantations and such-like along the way. Unfortunately the 'Lonely Planet' told us it was worth heading 50ks out of our way to see some glow worms in a cave - they didn't mention the fact that the road merited a tractor for it's use! We hit the 'Zig Zag' railway for a spin up and down on the steam train - restored and run by enthusiastic volunteers. After doing the shopping we were approached in the car by a man waving his hands - we thought he was about to launch into a tirade about parking in disabled car spaces (which we weren't by the way!) - he asked us instead what the 'no birds' logo on the side of the hire-car meant - we don't know either we told him! Cooked chili con carne for Joe and then headed up to see Noel for a while. We met Leon (in his spiderman suit) whilst Bernie and Ella were still asleep. Back to Joe's for a couple of beers and goodbyes - hoping we can meet up again sometime, somewhere!