VI : Dejavu Di Sydney - Blue Mountains - Echo Point

Hari ke dua di Sydney.

Aku terjaga awal. Pukul 5 pagi dah terang benderang sebenarnya. Bilik aku ada tingkap so dah nampak cuaca di luar. 

Aku berdoa hari ni cerah sebab aku ada misi tersendiri. Hari ni aku nak pegi ke Blue Mountain !

* hulur tisu sekotak siap siap kat Biqque.

Dulu masa aku datang Sydney aku tak berkesempatan ke sana, jadi kali ni memang aku nekad dah masuk dalam itinerary perjalanan aku. Kalau ikut guideline wiki yang aku print tu pun memang ada ke Blue Mountain. Jadi kena pegi.

Dalam fikiran aku dah nampak ini.

Oh. Kalau nak details perjalanan ke sana boleh refer blog  budak kecik kuat berangan ni.

Berangan Lah Kau Sampai Beruban

Aku rasa dia cover most aspect of the trip to Blue Mountains.

Ayuh !

Bangun pagi kena mandi. Tak boleh busuk busuk, nanti orang pandang serong.

Sebelum tu ayuh melawat hostel tempat penginapan aku  yang bertaraf Jula Juli Bintang 7 nih.

Lobby

Menarik jugak la hostel ni. Ada free beer. Free food. Free itu ini. Tapi internet kena bayar. Benda alah free free tu aku tak ambik pot sangat sebab aku balik je dah abis. Orang agak ramai. Aku pun tak sempat berkenalan dengan sesiapa pun kecuali mamat dan minah kat lobby.

OK lah. Agak helpful jugak.

Tour dulu.

Tempat lepak, ada pool table

Dewan makan

OK. Hotel dia ni nampak buruk skit sebab bangunan lama. Tapi percaya lah, aku memang appreciate lokasi dia. Sangat dekat dengan segala benda dan mudah nak bergerak. Toilet dia asing asing, nampak macam lama tapi bersih jugak. Ada je aku tengok orang dok bersihkan toilet tu hari hari siap lap dinding lagi.

Macam nak berak tak teruja sangat. Nasib baik la bontot aku terdidik untuk tidak berak di tempat tempat lain kecuali di hotel 5 bintang dan rumah sendiri.

* taxi !!!!!!!!!!!!

Eh. Tak mau naik teksi. Hari ni nak naik train.

Siap berpakaian, aku keluar dari hostel lebih kurang jam 7 pagi. Rasanya dah abis awal la kot. Lagipun train ada pukul 7 lebih baru start perjalanan ke Blue Mountains.

Dari hostel cuaca pagi agak mencucuk ke tulang dan gigi geraham. Aku hari ni mengada ngada konon pakai short dan jaket sahaja dengan harapan, OK lah. Cuaca nampak panas.

Tetapi !

Keluar je terus rasa sejuk gila.

Panaskan badan dengan cara menghisap rokok dan berjalan ke Central Station.

Dari Maze Hostel di Pitt St ke Central Station tak de la jauh pun. Ada dekat 500 meter. Semalam aku dah naik train balik dari McMahons tu so aku dah reti sikit la hari ni nak gi ke train station. Semalam tu ada rasa macam ting tong sikit. Nasib la jumpa jalan.

Seawal pagi orang tak berapa ramai. Jadi jalan slow slow je la ke Central Station.

Wiki Guide aku cakap.

After three days of exploring the CBD, it's time to get out to explore the natural attractions of the Sydney region. The most famous of these is the Blue Mountains [37]. The Mountains are a couple of hours' drive from Sydney but just as easy by train. You will be doing some bushwalking today, so it is recommended you take at least a litre of water (and more if it is hot) and some food to eat on the way.

From Central Station, take the CityRail Blue Mountains train (one of the Blue "InterCity" trains, check the timetable [38] before boarding) from the Intercity platforms (4-15) to Katoomba Station ($8.20 single, $16.40 return, covered by MyMulti-3). Any train with the destination "Lithgow", "Katoomba" or "Mount Victoria" will get you there. The journey from Central will take around 2 hours, trains are hourly after peak hour, and you want to make the most of the day, so start early. The 7:21 from Central to Mount Victoria (arriving at 9:24) or the 8:24am train from Central to Lithgow (arriving Katoomba at 10:19) are recommended trains. Thr 8:24 is an express and is slightly faster than the others which stop at all stations once into the Blue Mountains. You can also pick up the train from Strathfield, Parramatta, Blacktown and Penrith stations in Sydney and may stop at other stations on some services.

OK. Aku baru hari ke dua, guide tu dah hari ke 3. Tak pe. Aku memang nak cover sebanyak mana yang mampu.

Sampai kat station, kena fikir cemana nak beli tiket.

Bukan cemana, tapi mana satu. OK. Kalau stay di Sydney ni dalam 5 hari atau 7 hari, boleh beli Multi tiket which cost AUD61 untuk 7 hari !!!!. Dengan tiket ni, kalau ambik Multi 3 boleh cover semua tempat even sururb Sydney dan berjalan la mana mana naik train ke bas ke ferry ke. Semua free !

Tapi aku tak stay selama tu. Aku cuma stay 3 hari dan ini dah hari ke 2. Jadi aku rasa tak berbaloi nak beli tiket Multi tu. Mahal jugak la tu AUD60/RM180 unless aku merayau penuh naik public transport 3 hari tu.

Tapi, ada jugak DayPass yang mana cover area yang sama, valid untuk any medium of transportation around the cities tapi cuma boleh guna dalam masa 1 hari. Harga? AUD21/RM60.

Kalau nak kira, train dari Central Station ke Katoomba adalah AUD8 per way. Pegi balik, pastu kena naik bas lagi aku rasa aku opt for day pass je.

So beli ! Melayang lagi AUD21.

Dah tu tak reti reti nak naik train? Cepat ! Nanti kena tinggal.

Aku dapat naik train 7.24 pagi

Ini seat dalam train. Jangan pelik kenapa seat mengadap ke sini, boleh je tarik pemegang tu tolak ke depan dan tadaaaaa seat tu akan mengadap belah sana pulak. Malaysia macam ni ke? Aku dah lama tak naik train.

Dan train dia adalah 2 tingkat ! So banyak seat, so cari lah dan selesakan diri

On your way up to the mountains, admire the scenery, particularly as the train crosses the Nepean River into Emu Plains, then begins to head up into the mountains, also look out for the small villages which make up the City of the Blue Mountains. On your way up you may catch glimpses out of the train into the spectacular World Heritage listed valleys to the south.

Admire ke?

Aku membuta. Hahaha.

OK. View dia agak menarik gak lah. Bukit bukit, gunung ganang. Cuaca pun not bad walaupun sebenarnya sejuk.

Selepas 2 jam dalam train, akhirnya akan sampai ke station nama dia Katoomba !

Turun dan jangan buat muka blur. Buat muka reti walaupun tak berapa reti.

Train station

Once you get to Katoomba, exit the station towards the town centre and head up to Katoomba Street. Cross the road and head for the Carrington Hotel, an old-looking grand hotel just a few doors up the hill on the right, and look for the bus stop on the street outside (the bus heads towards the station to start off with, so don't wait on the other side of the road). Wait for the Route 686 bus, run by Blue Mountains Bus Company' [39]. Some of these meet up with the train from Sydney (e.g. the 8:24) so don't waste too much time in getting there. If you have time to wait, the Paragon Cafe (the next building along the road after the bus stop) is an old-style cafe with fantastic food and the Carrington Hotel [40] itself has a nice bar on the ground floor. The bus will take you away from Katoomba to the Edge Cinema [41] (a type of IMAX theatre but also displaying movies about the surrounding area) but will then head back to Katoomba and will head down to Echo Point, which is where you want to get off. The bus fare is covered by MyMulti tickets, but will cost $2.10-$3.50 per ride if you don't.

Lepas keluar dari station tu, cross jalan, pastu macam ada roundabout belah kiri ada jalan ke arah kedai kedai. Follow je dan nanti nampak hotel ni dan ada bus stop kat depan tu.

Pose pose cantik ! 

Cantik !

Tak cukup cantik tu. Cantikkan lagi !!!

OK. Dah cantik sikit. Jadi tunggu la bas kat situ.

Ada bunga bungaan

Lepas tu tunggu bas.

OK. Akan ada few bas yang lalu lalang dan berhenti. Ada tour bus jugak yang kaler merah 2 tingkat tapi tu orang kaya kaya. Kita orang miskin tak berapa nak banyak duit dan ada pass macam ni tunggu je bas biasa. route 686. Tapi bas biasa tu pun ada 2 jenis. Masa aku hari tu dia tulis Route 686, trolley 2. Ada route 686, trolley 1 jugak tapi tu tiket lain.

Tanya drebar bas tu je lah. Tunjuk Multi pass tu, kalau kena halau, tak reti reti turun bas balik semula?

Kembali ke posisi asal tadi. 

Ya. Pose cantik balik semula dan tunggu bas Route 686, trolley no 2 !

Bas sampai naik lah !

Dan bas tu akan bawak terus ke destinasi pertama iaitu Echo Point.

Echo Point ni actually kawasan pelantar yang luas dan di sini la, kita boleh nampak 3 Sisters dan Blue Mountain tu.

Dah nampak belum?

Jap. Bagi peluang abang ni menghiburkan peminat

Berjalan ke hujung pelantar dan nampak la view macam ni.

At Echo Point, head straight for the lookout and admire the views of the Jamison Valley and the Three Sisters rock formation [42]. In the distance you will see the Ruined Castle (a small rock formation sticking up above the valley), and the much larger Mount Solitary behind it. Although you can walk out to these, it can take a great number of hours, which you don't have the time to do, and you will be doing a much easier walk down into the valley below.

After exploring the lookout and perhaps the adjacent shopping complex that sells souvenirs and the like, look for the signs to the Giant Stairway. You will be doing the Echo Point to Scenic World walk, which will take around 3 hours altogether (less time if you are fitter). Note: this walk is not suitable for people with a fear of heights, or those with heart or breathing difficulties. If you're not able to (or don't want to) do the walk, take the next 686 bus to the next stop, Scenic World, where you can catch up on this itinerary later (and take the Scenic Railway down and back up) - but if you can do the walk it is highly recommended.

You will begin by passing through the stone archway and then climbing down the Giant Stairway, which was built out of the cliffs (as well as added onto) in the early part of the 20th Century, opening in 1932. The stairway is of over 800 steps and descends 300m (1000ft) into the valley below. On your way down you will have the chance to walk out onto a viewing platform on one of the three sisters and have a different view out into the valley. Be careful as you descend - besides being steep, the stairway can be slippery if it has recently been raining, or it can be extremely windy as you descend.

When you get to the bottom, you will be on a track called "Dardanelles Pass". Keep the cliff on your right and keep going. Eventually you will come to an intersection with signs to "Federal Pass" and a sign to the scenic railway. Turn right. You are now following the "Federal Pass" track, one of the main bushwalking routes through this part of the mountains. Admire the sheer cliffs towering above you, listen to the native birds, and be on the lookout for native wildlife.

You will pass underneath the Three Sisters formation, and later across the waterfall known as Katoomba Falls. There is a picnic table here and it is a good place to stop. You then head southwest away from the falls and will pass a large tree known as "Turpentine Tree", before arriving at an intersection with "Furber Steps" track. Don't head up the steps, but follow the signs to the Scenic Railway, keeping the handrail on your left.

3 sisters

OK. Ada Giantway ke area 3 sisters ni. Tak menarik mana. Nampak gambar atas first sister tu ada bridge sikit. Bukan boleh nampak tiga tiga pun. Tapi pegi jugak ler nak usha.

Pelantar ni ada 2 tingkat so boleh follow the pathway turun ke bawah dan tengok view dari situ. 

Nak tau cerita 3 Sisters ni?

Hmm dulu dulu, zaman tok kaduk ada 3 orang adik beradik perempuan ni jatuh cinta pada lelaki yang sama yang juga merupakan musuh tribes ni. Maka, syok syok jatuh cinta, feeling feeling tapi tak di restui oleh pakcik mereka, lalu pakcik mereka menyumpah mereka menjadi batu !

As simple as that.

Aku jumpa orang melayu kat sini. Ada 3 orang. Dari segi pakaian dah kenal mesti orang Malaysia. Dia orang nak ambik gambar bertiga, kesian pulak aku dengar dok push suruh orang lain ambik gambar dia orang. Then aku pegi dekat.

"Meh nak ambikkan"

Terkejut gak dia. Mesti dia ingat aku bukan orang Malaysia. Well. Abang kan berdarah kacukan !

* sumpah diri sendiri jadi 3 sisters and 1 brother

"Terima kasih ya"

Dia orang cakap, then aku blah. Aku tak tahu dah  mana dia orang lepas tu.

Tapi aku nak cakap la, Blue Mountains ni sebenarnya overated !

Tak de apa yang menarik sangat pun. Datang, tengok batu batu keras macam ni then abis. Cuma ! Sebab Australia ni kaya, so facilities is world class, dan dia orang buat something else bagi tempat ni jadi lebih interesting.

Apa yang interesting? Apa yang something elses tu?

Jap lagi kita gi.

Tapi usha dulu kawasan ni. Beli cenderamata. Nak tumpang kencing pun boleh.

Ada kedai jual cenderamata.

bersambung.....