55~Down Under: Sydney and Escape to the Blue Mountains

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. ~Edward Abbey

This is an extremely retrospective blog. Seems that travelling with another means they get to hear all your inane thoughts and little adventures; the need to share is somewhat lessened dramatically! I can not really remember the flight from NZ or my journey from the airport to my hostel, the only thing that stands out was the beautiful jacuranda trees. Their lilac blossom was a taster of some of the incredible nature that is in abundance here. However, Australia and my sojourn there can not be ignored. So I will share my snaps and a snapshot of the series of experiences and AMAZING FAMILY and wonderful new people I met. Sitting in Hanoi a month later, the photos prompt me to dive back down under.

I arrived in Sydney and was immediately thrown. Appreciating the slower place of New Zealand, the friendliness of the folk there, my Flying Kiwi family I felt a little lost in the thriving metropolis and hostel culture of partying here. Fortunately, I booked just 2 nights in quite a quirky area, finding yoga and a park to eat some deliciously in season mangoes. This helped to quell the big city jitters and lonely feel that the fast pace evokes. 

The Thai culture here was a happy discovery and I munched papaya salad and negotiated a deal on a great Thai massage; walking the city was epic (deserving of a body rub) and I have to say, I loved seeing the archetypal sights of Sydney.

I walked and walked, seeing Bondi Beach and the beaches between. Surfers, runners, tourists, swimmers. This coastline trek was a hubbub of activity, with fitness fanatics and a crashing ocean.

I shared a dorm with a softly spoken Irish girl seeking work and a young English girl, enjoying the Australian men and beach, also on the hunt for a job. I decided as soon as I arrived that it was time to leave and I headed for an early morning train to take me to the Blue Mountains. Turns out, this was just right. Here, I hiked. I found yoga. I found a friend in an amazing girl called Amy. We roomed together, hiked together, picnicked together, confided in each other and I took her to her first ever yoga class. Her story is one of a true heroine, enthralling and wondrous; hearing her tale and arrival at the magical No.14 hostel is to be held within the safety of the Blue Mountains.

The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn't it be? — it is the same the angels breathe. ~Mark Twain

No 14 hostel was a true gem; not only was it beautiful and cosy, it gave me Amy and Jeremy. I sat in the living room, feeling like I was in a in a mountain chalet apres hike, reading and savouring the lovely peace of the place. A friendly face with a British accent, pack of biscuits and a strong cup of tea (so British, I know!) came and joined me. Jeremy. I loved him as soon as we started talking. He had just been in Afghanistan and is a traveller, a writer, a worldly literary type. He gave me the information that 'Three Cups of Tea' was a PACK OF LIES. I downloaded Krakauer's expose 'Three Cups of Deceit' immediately. Jeremy was apologetic; concerned that he had crushed my crush on Greg Mortenson as a humanitarian hero. Allegedly, his aunty refused to accept that the book was anything but true, unwilling to read the expose. She had read 'Three Cups of Tea' with her book club and hailed Mortenson as an angel, whereas I already knew, loved and trusted in Krakauer (after reading 'Into the Wild' and 'Into Thin Air') and I would readily accept Mortenson as a fallen angel if he was one. I greedily devoured the information, insulted by the lies and enthralled by Krakauer's investigative journalism, his clear presentation of the information and facts. Thank you Jeremy and also Nathan Huisman, I remember you talking about this all the way back in the mountains of Northern B.C. 

I had arranged to meet up with some 'long lost relatives' and had to return to Sydney. My escape to the Blue Mountains was short but just lovely; a weekend of new, wonderful, interesting friends and my first aromas of the outback. Mountains perfumed with eucalyptus and covered with a mesmerising cerulean haze. What a magician mother nature is and this was just the start of the Australian alchemy at work. My escape to the Blue Mountains would hold a special place in my heart: it was the first moment I connected with Australia. Endless skies in the vast lands Down Under. Mesmerising. I felt like I had escaped and arrived at once and for the very first time, I felt could see the curves of our Earth. 

A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed... It feels an impulsion... this is the place to go now. But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons. ~Richard Bach