Sydney Road Trip Day 2: The Three Sisters and Scenic World

After such a long and gruelling day in the car, I thought it'd be best to let the other boys sleep in. By the time we were ready to head out, it was almost lunch time.

Our first stop was Echo Point.

This was just a few minutes' walk from our motel and this lookout area offered an amazing view of The Three Sisters.

Actually, from Echo Point lookout, you have an unobstructed view of Jamison Valley and it is absolutely breathtaking.

There were busloads of tourists there the day we went and the boys had to wait patiently for us to take pictures. Luckily, there were some shaded benches for us to wait on.

Early on in this trip, the boys discovered the hilarity of making faces every time I pulled out the camera. I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of shenanigans like this for the next little while.

Our next stop was Scenic World. I greatly underestimated the wait times for each of the rides at Scenic World so this also happened to be our last tourist attraction for the day.

While we were waiting in line to purchase tickets, there were two guys carrying different animals for us to touch and hold. Whoever came up with this idea is a genius. It was free and it made standing in line a little more bearable, especially for the kids.

Nathan held a lizard, which was then put on his hat because it wouldn't hold still for a picture. This reminded me of King Julian's gecko crown in Madagascar so I called him King Julian for the rest of the day.

Then, he held a python. At first the man was a little hesitant to let Nathan hold this snake but after he confirmed that Nathan wouldn't run away, he placed it on Nathan's shoulders.

Caleb got to pet this little owl. He loves birds.

Our first ride was on the Katoomba Scenic Railway. With an incline of 52°, it's the world's steepest railway. The ride down was like a roller coaster ride and you were practically sitting on top of the person in front of you.

The boardwalk below winds through a lush rainforest, and was dotted with reminders of an old coal mine that once existed in the valley.

This statue of a pit pony and coal miner stood in front of the old coal mine entrance. The boys hopped on for a quick picture.

The boys loved running along the boardwalk. It was beautiful and cool down there in the shade of the trees.

We stopped occasionally to read signs and look at left behind from the coal mining days.

Nathan especially liked this miner's hut.

We caught a glimpse of the Katoomba falls at this one spot where you could see it through the trees, across the valley.

Then, it was time to ride the cableway back to the top of the mountain. We had to wait a little while but there was another duo there to keep us entertained.

Nathan received this yellow balloon sword from the man in green but it was quickly acquired by Caleb. 

Finally, we rode the skyway across the valley to the other side where the Katoomba Falls were. 

We wanted to hike down to the falls but the time for the last ride was approaching quickly so we went to see the cascades instead. 

The sun was setting as we made our final trip on the skyway, back across the valley. The view was absolutely amazing.

I hadn't expected to spend the entire day at Scenic World but this was such an awesome way to see and experience the Blue Mountains.