climbing the mountain

We've just finished two weeks of our renovation and the school holidays, a crazy mix! The whole back of the house is gone and there is half a big hole in the backyard, soon to be a whole hole next week.

I think this is the scariest part of the build (I'm hoping so) before they start putting it all back together again!

Luckily we managed to escape the dust and noise for a few nights up in the Blue Mountains this week. It was so nice to be away and destress a little. Though the place we stayed at was called Serenity Cottage which made me think of this :-)

The Blue Mountains has some of the most amazing views I've ever seen. Photos don't do them justice, they are jawdroppingly grand and there's something about the experience of standing on the edge of these huge canyons that can't be reproduced in photos. We visited a few years ago which I blogged about here.

The villages in the western part of the mountains have a lovely old time air to them, people have been holidaying in this part of the world for over a hundred years and they have managed to keep some of their old worldiness. Old guest houses, antique shops, park monuments, blossom trees. Its a world away.

We visited an old favourite lookout, Pulpit Rock near Blackheath on the first afternoon. Then did a major bushwalk down a million stairs into the Grand Canyon area. Once we dropped into the rainforest area it was like a fairy glen, and the path stepping stoned back and forth across the creek which ran down the side of the cliffs.

Coming back up those stairs was hard work and I was huffing my way up one part, groaning to myself as I rounded another corner to another staircase of steps, when I was surprised by a bird ahead. I thought it was a bush turkey till I got closer and was dazzled to find a lyrebird instead. He didn't even look up at me as he browsed his way through the leaf litter looking for food.

I managed a few photos till the others caught up with me, but he is camouflaged so well in all but this one. I was a bit starstruck but glad I have a record of this delightful meeting.