Our day began bright and early, up at 5:30 a.m. to be ready to see the pilot boat join us, and cruise into Sydney Harbour.

---

It was well worth the early start to experience sailing into this iconic port. Just look at that skyline!

---

---

We came past the Opera House and then under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, headed for White Bay Cruise Terminal, since our ship is small enough to fit under the bridge.

---

---

---

---

Sail-in complete, docked, and after a quick breakfast, we needed to be in the cruise terminal on shore at 8:15 a.m. for a face-to-face immigration process with Australian Border Forces.

That done, we departed for a 9-hour excursion to the Blue Mountains, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Katoomba, about 64 km from Sydney.

---

Our first stop was at Echo Point, where we were able to take in breathtaking views of this distinctive mountain range and its unique limestone rock formations.

---

---

---

The highlight here is the famous Three Sisters rock formations. Our guide Neville told us one version of the story of how those rocks got their name, and that there were many other versions, but mentioned that the aboriginal people do not appreciate non-aboriginals interpreting their dreamtime (origin) stories.

---

There were multiple viewing platforms and vantage points.

---

We got wonderful views of the Jamison Valley we’d be visiting after lunch, and Ted was even able to zoom in to see the aerial tram and the cable car that we’d be riding later.

---

We also noticed a very strange tree with a combination of spiky flowers and velvety-coated fruit. Google identified it as a saw banksia.

---

From Echo Point we travelled through bushland en route to the charming township of Leura where we enjoyed a delicious two-course lunch of chicken schnitzel, broccolini, and mashed potatoes, accompanied by Australian wine and beer, and followed by mixed berry panna cotta.

---

Next it was on to Scenic World, located adjacent to Blue Mountains National Park. Established in 1945, Scenic World began when Harry Hammon, a local entrepreneur, had the vision to transform a former coal mine (Katoomba Colliery) into an iconic tourist attraction. 

We were given all-access passes that allowed us to ride above the valley in the glass-bottom Scenic Skyway aerial tram, travel down into the valley on the world’s steepest railway, walk along elevated boardwalks through the rainforest, and ascend back to the top via cable car.

---

We began with the short Skyway tram ride.

---

---

From the Skyway station we headed directly to the railway so that we could access some of the walkways in the rainforest.

The Scenic Railway track was originally built for mining purposes in 1878, but was converted into a recreational ride for tourists in 1945 by Harry Hammon, whose family still owns the land. Its 52° incline makes it the steepest passenger train in the world. Thank goodness it moved slowly, or it would be a terrifying roller coaster ride! (Most roller coasters traditionally had drops of 30-80°, although now with coasters that flip upside down, the world’s steepest exceeds 90°. No thanks.)

---

The new passenger cars are enclosed, which makes it feel far more secure than a roller coaster; a good thing, since there are no safety restraints – nor were there in the old open cars!

---

The rainforest has the feel of something primeval. Fern trees over 20 feet tall spread their umbrellas overhead. Five leaf water vines (Cissus hypoglauca) wraps the trees.

---

---

It would not have seemed out of place to have a prehistoric animal suddenly appear. Perhaps that’s why for the summer school holidays (in January and into February here in the southern hemisphere) there were displays of audio animatronic dinosaurs throughout portions of the park.

---

As a reminder that this used to be a coal mining operation, there were displays and plaques along the walkway sharing the colliery’s history. Coal, known here as “black gold”, was the main reason that this rocky part of Australia was settled.

---

---

Heading back up from the valley we climbed into an 84 passenger cable car to take the 510 metre journey between the Jamison Valley and the top of the escarpment. This is the Southern Hemisphere’s steepest aerial cable car. It is definitely not as steep as the cable car in Squamish BC, so riding in it was a piece of cake.

---

That left us with 40 minutes of free time, during which time Ted managed to capture a photo of a Red Wattlebird.

---

Our guide warned us not to attempt to do any of the trails, since we wouldn’t have enough time. Even though we were going to be in port overnight, our coach driver had a commitment at the airport at 6:30 p.m. That worked with our scheduled 5:30 p.m. return to the ship, but did not allow him to extend our tour beyond the assigned time.

---

Unfortunately, two of our tour group did not return to our bus at the appointed meeting time. After waiting for an extra 30 minutes beyond our scheduled departure, our guide disembarked to continue to wait, and to get in touch with the ship for instructions, and our driver took us to our next stop.

While we returned briefly to Leura to explore a few of the local boutiques and cafés, our driver returned to Scenic World to retrieve our guide and – hopefully – our fellow passengers.

I took the opportunity to pop into the local “Wooly’s” (Woolworths, the largest food chain both here and in New Zealand) for a couple of authentic Aussie “necessities”.

---

Ted took the opportunity to get some photos of the sulphur-crested cockatoos hanging around Wooly’s.

---

When our bus returned, it was with our guide but no one else. He had confirmed that no accidents had been reported on the trails, but could not find the missing couple.

What happens in cases like this when we’re sailing is that Viking is informed so that they can leave any necessary travel documents at the cruise terminal for passengers to make their own way to the next port. Since we’d be in Sydney overnight, Viking left information at Scenic World to help the stragglers get a train and taxi back to the ship. We heard a couple of hours after our group’s return that the duo were safely en route.

We’re in the habit of almost always taking Viking’s excursions, because the ship will wait for their own excursions if they are unavoidably delayed by something like traffic, whereas the ship will not wait for private excursions. We also know from prior experience – and it was reinforced today – that they cannot wait forever for folks who don’t adhere to meeting times. Today was a cautionary tale for everyone.

We had a quiet evening, since Viking had offered a complimentary on-shore early evening concert by Sydney Brandenburg Orchestra for all passengers wishing to attend, and who were not- like us – on excursions arriving back after 4:00 p.m.

Tomorrow we’ll have an all too short day reconnecting with Aussie friends Ivija and Rod.

POSTSCRIPT: The missing couple were returned to the ship safe and sound. After their walk, they had gotten a ride to Echo Point instead of Scenic World.