On Friday I woke up at 6 am (which I found quite difficult) and took a bus to the center of Sydney to get picked up for the trip. We drove all morning and the tour guide decided to teach us about Australian History for the entire two hours. We first arrived at Wentworth falls, a three-tiered waterfall in the heart of the mountains. We began at the top and hiked down to the bottom of the waterfall. Because it was a windy day the water was spraying all over us, needless to say I was glad my camera is waterproof. The hike back up to the top was more of a mountain climb than a hike. The trail consists of 1,400 extremely steep stairs that would be impossible to climb without using the two rails on either side of you. Even though the hike was tough, the view was definitely worth it. Later that afternoon we embarked on our second hike which provided us with an amazing view of the Three Sisters. The commonly told legend of the Three Sisters is that three sisters (Meehni, Wimlah, and Gunnedoo) lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe (Katoomba is now the main town in the Blue Mountains). They fell in love with three men from a neighboring tribe however their marriage was forbidden by tribal law. The unhappy brothers refused to accept this law and decided to capture the three sisters. A major tribal battle ensued, and the sisters were turned to stone by an elder to protect them. Unfortunately the elder was killed during the battle so the sisters were never able to return to their human form. So the three sisters still remain at the top of the Jamison Valley for us to visit today. Our hike lead us to the bottom of the Jamison Valley where we got to take the famous world's steepest railway back up to the top.
The railway is on a 52 degree incline and was actually quite scary to ride. When your first get into the cars you sit down in seats that are angled backwards, however when the railway begins up the mountain your seat is suddenly upright and actually angled forwards. I had to put my feet on the seat in front of me to stop myself from sliding forward out of my seat! After the thrill of riding the railway, my tour guide dropped me and a girl on my tour from Germany off at the hostel in Katoomba where we would be staying the night. We decided to go explore the town however we were unlucky because all of the shops close at around 5 pm even on a Friday in the little town of Katoomba. The receptionist at our hostel had mentioned that the three sisters light up at night so we decided to venture back to see them in the dark. However we of course got very lost and ended up roaming unlit streets in the forest for about an hour before someone told us that we were on the completely opposite side of the mountain from the three sisters. After another hour we were finally at echo point which is a lookout, that we had yet to see, right next to the three sisters. There was a huge light under the lookout that projected onto the rocks so they were all lit up in the darkness. If it wasn't absolutely freezing out we definitely would have stayed longer to enjoy the majestic view. 
We then walked back to Katoomba and roamed the streets searching for a restaurant that was still open. Because it is now winter in Australia, Katoomba was dead silent even though it was 9 pm on a Friday night, so after dinner we headed back to our hostel and watched a movie before crashing after our long and tiring day. On Saturday morning I was picked up from my hostel by a new tour that would take me to the Jenolan Caves. The Caves are an hour and a half farther into the mountains from Katoomba. They are the most visited limestone caves in the country and the oldest discovered open caves in the world! Before venturing off to see them, our tour stopped at echo point so I finally got to see the Three Sisters up close during daylight--such a better view than at night.
After taking way too many pictures we drove up to the Jenolan Caves. Before touring the caves, we were given free time to explore the Blue Lake outside of the caves. Although the Blue Mountains aren't actually blue, the Blue Lake definitely was!
After our tour of the caves ended, our bus headed off on our 3.5 hour drive back to Sydney. About an hour and a half into the drive, our bus broke down. We stood outside in the freezing cold for a while, and then were allowed back onto the bus which was also quite chilly without any heat, where we had to wait for a new bus to come pick us up. Finally after about 30 minutes of shivering a new bus arrived and took us home to Sydney.
I've been told many times that you never want to spend more than a day in the Blue Mountains because it is so quiet and there are only so many sites to see. However I really enjoyed my two days in them and definitely could've stayed longer to enjoy the peaceful serenity that they offer. I definitely hope to return to them one day.
Oh and in case you were wondering why the Blue Mountains were named 'blue,' it's because of a gas that is emitted from Eucalyptus trees that when mixed with water and hit by sunlight turns a blueish color in the valley of the mountains. Apparently when the colonists were first exploring the Blue Mountains they actually brought a boat with them because they believed that there was a lake in the valley! I'm sure they were pretty unhappy when they discovered that it was just the air that was blue after lugging their boat such a long way.
