Bushwalking in the Blue Mountains

On a lovely Autumn Day on 2 April, Cam and I joined mum and Dad for birthday bushwalking in the Blue Mountains.

Before the bushwalk...

We set off early as it is a surprising distance from Randwick to the mountains (100kms) and after meeting with mum and Dad at the foot of the mountains, decided to spend time at the National Park in one of the first Mountain suburbs.

The picnic spread...spoilt within minutes by my spilling soft drink on the picnic blanket.

To reach the park, we had to drive down some rather daunting hills (which many a cyclist was trying to ride up!) but nothing was too challenging for our new car and we followed a short dirt road to a nice picnic clearing. Once we had partaken of the birthday feast (including KFC and birthday cake), we decided to hike it off along a bushwalk graded as 'Beginner'. By the time we were halfway to our destination, there were serious questions to the validity of this claim by the Department of Parks and Wildlife however, we pressed on, inspired no doubt by the promise of the stunning view of the Nepean River that was to come.

After what seemed like abseiling down the remainder of the mountain, imagine our surprise and disappointment when we reached the river - and the end of the path that was not the park or grassy area we were expecting but a patch of sand about 50cm squared....We had to perch on a rock to relax! We stayed for all of 5 minutes before facing the inevitable task of climbing back up the hill...aided by my trusty walking stick, I huffed and puffed my way up the mountain, stopping every 5 metres to avoid an asthma, heart or panic attack. Kudos to mum and dad or their positive attitude up the hill but I still don't think they believed me when I assured them we were not trying to knock them off in the bushlands. Cam in the meantime, proved the fittest of the group and practically bounded back up the mountain.

The rock upon which we perched when we reached our destination; The Nepean River

The sandy patch; Dad, Mum and I successfully reach the top of the mountain.

On the way back to our cars, we spotted some kangaroos resting in the park and they were more than happy to oblige our photos.

Happy Birthday to mum and Dad for the 1st and 9th of April!