This past weekend has got to be one of the highlights of my trip so far. Jen (American) and I headed out to the Blue Mountainswith Oz Experience. 2 hrs out of Sydney by bus, the Blue Mountains derive their name from the blue haze that forms a s a result of the evaporation of eucalyptus oil into the air. Pretty cool, I didn't see a blue haze though and there's not any koalas, despite all the eucalyptus trees. I guess they only eat certain species of eucalyptus.

Day one: Started out in a wilderness park where the kangaroos hang out. Not the nicest looking creatures once you get up close and personal. They've got these awkward front legs that dangle from their bodies. Supposedly effective for disemboweling other males kangaroos when fighting for a mate. What's kind of cool about the females is that they can carry 3 joey's at three different stages of pregnancy. She can put pregnancies on hold and even determine the sex of the baby. Imagine the implications if humans could do the same thing. Next, we headed out for an ecotour through the mountains. Our walk included views of Wentworth Falls and the Jamison Valley. After lunch, we drove into the town of Katoomba to see the famous Three Sisters rock formation. To finish off the day, we headed down the 1046 furber stairs into the rainforest below and took the world's steepest scenic railyway car back to the top. Built in the 1880's, it was used to transport coal from the mines below. It's rickety old carriage on wheels with an incline of 52 degrees. Thankfully, the ride to the top lasts only a few minutes. I imagine a lot of work must go into keeping it up to safety standards.

Spent the night in the Blue Mountains YHA. Nicest hostel I've seen yet. Next day, Jen and I figured we needed to step out of our comfort zone yet again . . . what will be next? We signed up for a canyoning and abseiling adventure with tour operator High 'n'Wild. We swam, walked, waded, rapelled (called "abseilling" in Australia) and squeezed through tight spaces. The first half of the day was spent descending 9m and 27m cliffs via rope and harness. With shaking hands and my heart beating in my mouth, I managed to make it down both. Quite exhilarating! The second half of the day was the canyonging and our final descent down a 30m or so waterfall called Empress Falls. Check out the High 'n' Wild website for pics http://www.high-n-wild.com.au/. I still can't believe I did it. Wetsuits, backpacks, ropes and harnesses. And of course, someone at the bottom to save my life should I fall. Which I didn't. Awesome experience. I reckon it's one of the best so far! I just know I'm going to come home using this phrase. Please tell me if I do! Who knows what I'll do next.