Blue mountain a natural masterpiece of Kangaroo country

 Located about 100 km from Sydney, the Blue Mountain is an Australia's leading large, majestic, momantic and diverse natural complex, which is considered a precious green jewel of the Kangaroo country. On an area of ​​1436 km², this place gathers many mysterious, primeval and spreading forests, high and endless mountains, bizarre cliffs adjacent to each other and mysterious sandstone gorges. Lying between those scenic landscapes are waterfalls with romantic, white and smoke-like flows falling down the endless depth of mountains. This place gave me mixed experiences of excitment, peace and joy.

    From Sydney, I and other passengers from all over the world took a day trip on a bus to explore the Blue Mountains. Just a moment after we left the bustling metropolis of Sydney, the nature gradually unfolded before our eyes through the bus’s windows. Our bus went along the bank of the deep Nepean River, through the picturesque ancient Penmith valley and gradually entered the Blue Mountains complex. Stepping out of the bus and looking up at the tall, whispering trees against the clear blue sky, my companions and I suddently

    The Blue Mountains is a great place for those who love a little adventure and discover amazing nature. It is also a place for those who want to discover the purity of blue green mountains and peaceful scenes. Not only the place where eucalyptus forests rise straight up to the sky, the Blue Mountains also has very gentle scent creeping through the trails following gentle breezes. Many studies suggested that because the vast eucalyptus forests here emit oil vapor, when clouds pass or when sunlight shines on suspended eucalyptus oil layer, a very strange blue effect is created. This green color covers the whole landscape, spreading over the cliffs and forests, making the whole area in four seasons looks like a dreamy blue shirt. That's why this place is called the Blue Mountains. Indeed, on the exploration routes through the old forests and mountains after mountains, everywhere I looked was covered with green color mixed with the warm golden sunlight and green color of forests. This scene is created by only a few colors but forms sharp and enchanting spots.

    In essence, the Blue Mountain is a sandstone plateau which has been created by hundreds of millions of years of geographic division and changes, creating rough surfaces, deep canyons, abysses and concave valleys in the mountain bases. Lying between these multi-shaped sandstone patches are deep, mysterious and old forests, a rich and diverse primeval vegetation. Therefore, this place posseses many unique landscapes, which was recognized by UNESCO as a world natural heritage in 2000.  

    The trail through forest called Princes Rock becomes more attractive because it leads through wonderful places of this vast natural complex, namely Wentworth Falls, Kings Tableland Plateau and Solitary Mountain. Everywhere along the trail I and other passengers went by were lush green natural vegetations, eucalyptus forests with pleasant scent and grassy areas, which were golden under the sunlight or silky green if hidden under the shade of trees. Especially, there were many types of conifers with green leaves and reddish brown leaf ends, looking quite prominent on the background of different green tones of the general landscape. There are also many patches of turpentine groves bearing red fruits under beautiful blue sky.

    Wentworth Falls is one of the largest falls in the Blue Mountains, which is located alone among vast forests and surrounded by high mountains, looking like a girl hiding in the depth of mountain. The flow of waterfall is thin and smooth, looks like smoke falling down the mountain base. Not far away, about one kilometer south of the fall is Kings Tableland, the remains of an eroded sandstone layer, which forms a corridor from where one can look and feel the vastness of this place. On the Evans Lookout, I could see the immense, sprawling and endless stretches of mountains, gorges and forests.

    At lunch time, we stopped and had lunch in the old village of Leura, which located adjacent to high mountain ranges, the home of many unique features of local residents. The village is tiny but very beautiful; its streets are full of the shadows of big trees with ancient and gentle shops on both sides. Although the village is small, it has many important and large-scaled works, such as St. Alban's Anglican Church with elegant and beautiful architecture. The red brick Post Office nearby is very charming and graceful. Small cafes and cozy restaurants on both sides of the streets make the village busy but still peaceful.

    In the early afternoon we continued our journey to the other side of Blue Mountain where we could see fresh, immense and cool valleys. This area has three main valleys: Grose, Megalong and Jamison. Among them, Jamison is the most attractive one because it locates next to the famous Three Sister Mountain, waterfall and spreading eucalyptus forests. To have a complete view of Jimison, we followed the trail up to Flat Rock, a cliff called "The Edge of the World". In 2013, Flat Rock was officially named Lincoln's Rock, the name of a great Australian climber who died during a conquest of the Everest at an altitude of 8,700m a year earlier. This change of name is to makes everyone remember him with all respect and affection.

 Lincln's Rock is an oddly flat piece of rock amid a rather rugged terrain. This piece of rock is arrow-shaped, protrudes from its cliff and looks alone in the immense blue sky. Brave passengers could carefully come and sit down at the edge of the rock to take unfogettable pictures. For those who wanted to be safe can stay behind the edge. I also tried my best to come as close as possible and sit down on that famous edge. Although I was a litle bit nervous, I also had some life photos here with the help of the bus driver. This place is also known as the Echo Point viewpoint. The entire Jamison valley looks like a green picture stretching thousands of miles away. The Silitary Mountain in the south of the valley is a highlight spot of the general picture. The sky, clouds, mountains and endless forests of this place blended together like a melancholy, which made me felt refreshed to the utmost.

Next to the Jamison valley is the Three Sister Mountain, which is quite unique. Under the the afternoon’s sunlight, it had yellow and reddish brown color and looked quite strange. The Mountain stretches out of the valley. It is a giant sandstone block which underwent hundreds of millions of years of geographic changes, erosion and finally splited into three different peaks of nearly the same shape and height; therefore it is called the Three Sisters Mountain. I think it is not wrong to call it the Three Brothers Mountain. Perhaps the Mountain is a little bit seductive, so is it more reasonable to call the Three Sisters Mountain? Each peak has its own name. The highest one, the oldest sister Meehui, is 922m high; the next one, Wimlach, is the second sister and is 918m high and the youngest sister is Gunnedoo, which is 096m high. Under the afternoon’s brownish sunlight, the Three Sister Mountain becomes seductive, attractive and a little bit lonely in the midst of vastness.

    Leaving Echo Point, we returned to Scenic World to take a train and experience the steepest scenic train in the world, which took us through a tunnel and a slope of about 400 meters high. The Jamison valley and the Three Sisters Mountain locate just below the train. Their colors changed constantly and bewitchingly under the sunlight. What a meaningful and memorable farewell this place gave us!

    On the way back to Sydney, we took a ferry along the Parramatta River, passed throught Homebush Bay and watched the Olimpic 2000 Olympic Stadium with countless unforgettable memories./.