Day Trips from Sydney: The Blue Mountains and Scenic World

In order to get away from the city life in Sydney for while we booked a one-day trip to the magnificent Blue Mountains situated about one and a half hour drive from Sydney. The Blue Mountains are a part of the Greater Blue Mountains Area World Heritage Site. The most famous site in the area is the Three Sisters sandstone rock formation depicted below.

The Three Sisters

After a short aboriginal show we proceeded to the Scenic World. The Scenic World was established in 1945, but the area had previously been used by mining companies digging for coal. The Scenic World is Australia's most visited private-owned tourist attraction. In the Scenic World you can experience the wild nature of the Blue Mountains by a cable car called the Scenic Skyway, a Scenic Railway (which by the way is the steepest in the world) and the Scenic Cableway.

View from the Scienic Skyway

On the glass floor

In the Scenic Skyway you'll find the world's only electrostatic glass floor. The color of the floor changes from opaque to transparent as the cable car crosses the valley.

 Going down with the Scenic Railway

The Scenic Railway was originally built to transport coal from some mines down in the forest. Now all that is left from the activities here are some statues, mining tools and the closed mines.

The Scenic Walkway

The Scienic World provides you with great opportunities to take a stroll in, and learn about, the rainforest. As you walk along the elevated boardwalk of the Scenic Walkway you can read about the local flora, or just enjoy the fresh air and the sound of birds in the trees.

And if you finish the tour early you can visit the souvenir shop where you find local products to take with you home.

We spent about two hours in the Scenic World, but if you enjoy walking in nature and seeing the beautiful landscape you might as well spend even longer time in the area. My dad is a real nature-lover, and he could definitely have spent the whole day just walking around the forest.

Enjoy! :)

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Scienic World

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About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.