Happy New Year! – Watsons Bay, Sydney - Katoomba

Surprisingly, we managed to get a good night’s sleep. It was also great to not have a hangover. We managed to find a take away coffee that was really good. Midget had a fabulous time. She cleaned up the entire beach and parks of all leftover food. She even fished out and ate a bunch of hamburger buns that had fallen into this river. They were full of sea water. She blew up like a huge balloon. Said our goodbye’s to Marty and hit the road.

marker states: this road was made by subscription was completed in ten weeks from the 25th of March 1811 by 21 Soldiers of His Majesty 73 Regiment. The second side reads: VIII Miles from Sydney.

We had a surprisingly easy drive up the mountains – the Blue Mountains. Apart from Midget farting and looking so incredibly pathetic. She can hardly move. We decided we wanted to visit Jack Thompsons’ pub (the Gearin) in Katoomba, as we’d read about how he was trying to save live music and comedy with regular shows etc. It sounds really good in the mags, but in the flesh, we arrived to a needle in the gutter where we parked and a bunch of bums parked in the outside drinking area. The food was finished for the day so we headed into town. The main street, like the rest of this mountain retreat towns were mounted on the most amazingly steep hills. All the main roads were on hills, and Katoomba took the cake.

We had to wait an extraordinary long time for a microwaved lunch, at a forgettable café and then wandered around the town. We staggered down the hill and then back up again. It was a really hot day, so we were avoiding being in the sun. With my sunburn starting to peel from watching the Sydney to Hobart, I was happy to stay out of the sun. We left Sydney at 35o and Katoomba was 25o so we were much happier, but being higher up in the sky (thus closer to the sun) we were still hot! (I’m sure you all know I was never very good at science.) We then discovered The Carrington Hotel. A stately 1882 hotel that has spent 8 years in restoration and reopened 10 years ago. Its simply stunning. Amazing chandeliers hang and there’s even a stain glass domed ceiling in the bar. Several restaurants and an obligatory ballroom. It’s a credit to its current owners who must be nearly broke under the renos. You can stay for as little as $125pn midweek. Just down the road is a gorgeous chocolate shop and tea rooms. Its pretty much original inside with booths and old timber furniture. Its really cute. The town also had the most fabulous second hand bookshop, Chekhovs Three Sisters. It was the best we’d seen. We found some great books.

Found a fabulous spot resting on a crest of the cliff in a very quiet spot…