Blue Mountains, Tasmania

Australia is apparently a very natural place.  The population is smaller than that of California but the land mass is similar to that of the US.  Anyway, I went to the Blue Mountains, which are in Katoomba, 2 hours west of Sydney.  It had amazing scenery and some great hiking trails.  The most challenging of these was The Giant Staircase at the Three Sisters area.  It composed of a few hundred stairs going down a mountain on a narrow path that seemed endless.  The spectacular views made it well worth it but it did a number on my knee.

After Sydney and the Blue Mountains, I flew south to Tasmania for a 6-day tour.  I was surprised to find out that only 2% of travelers to Australia go to Tasmania.  It was at the top of my list.  The tour was different and fun because it was with one group of travelers and the guide for the duration.  Before, I was going around to different places by myself on a whim.  Tasmania was great.  It had lots more hiking.  I went to the top of a few mountains and saw vast lands from up there.  It made me feel bigger and on top of the world, while at the same time one with nature.

Besides hiking, I saw some wildlife as well.  There are a number of species endemic to Tasmania.  Some notable animals I saw were wombats, wallabies, kangaroos, and tasmanian devils.  It was cool to see real-life tasmanian devils because I still remember the cartoon version.  At the same time, it's sad because they are becoming endangered because of a recently-discovered mysterious disease that is wiping out their population.  There are efforts underway to find a cure to prevent them from becoming extinct.

After Tasmania, I headed to Melbourne.  More on Melbourne later...