I remember a story of the Scenic railway in the days when there was an operator sitting at the back. A women sitting at the rear asked "where will I go if the cable breaks?". The operator responded "I think you know that better than me". She then said "What do you mean", to which the operator said "you know what type of life you have led!"
That group of 3 rock formations at the beginning is known as "The Three Sisters". I am 72 now and I can remember being on that Scenic railway as a Kid. Back then it was not enclosed and you sat on wooden benches. The bottom of it was the start of some great hikes through some beautiful terrain. I live West of there now, and travel through there whenever I have to go to Sydney.
I'm 71 and used to holiday regularly at either Katoomba or Blackheath. My cousin and I walked down the Golden Stairs on a few occasions and would walk around the valley to catch a free ride up the railway as there was no ticket collectors at the bottom then. Did one hike to the Ruined Castle rock formation once, past the landslide. It was a longer trek than I thought it would be but we always carried ample water and food.
I'm 40 and even when I was a around 12 they still had the open scenic railway with the little benches! It was definitely cooler back then than what it is now, but good to see they still have it!
When I was in high school we had a retreat at a hotel in Katoomba. When we went to see The Three Sisters, I walked down the stairs to the bottom of the valley in a maxi skirt! And back up too.
We had one growing in our yard that we bought from Mount Anan (sp?) Reserve. It was an amazing tree with white sap and pretty little cones - really did feel like a living dinosaur! It was growing so well, but during the horror bushfire season it died, sadly.
The main point of the naming of the Blue Maintains is the blue hue given off from the eucalyptus trees. The mountains look blue from a distance away and as you look across the valley from the look outs.
I live in The Blue Mountains . I was always drawn here . I was adopted and could not understand the " pull " . Now I know . My blood family is from here . At home , finally .
the scenic railway, as mentioned, the steepest railway in the world, was originally built in the late 1800s to haul coal up from the valley where it was mined, you can still see the mines at the bottom which where dug back under the cliff under Katoomba. The original carriages to carry passengers where built around 1945 for tourists.
miners travelled to & from work on the railway too. I was looking for a comment on it's origins, glad you made it :) Origins explains why it's a "slow roller coaster"
@@cool386vintagetechnology6 I have also travelled in the open cars and wooden seats, also the ones with wire cages, back in the 60's 70's 80's, with the wind rushing thru your hair (not that I have any these days ), not the same now with glassed covered cars
America has the Grand Canyon., we have the Blue Mountain. which is ten times larger and a 250 million year old forest to boot. IT REALLY IS A MAJESTIC forest
You do know that we have second largest canyon in the world it’s actually wider than the grand canyon through not as deep and it just stunning.. it’s the Capertee Valley in the Lithgow Region.. 🧐😊🇦🇺
Well I'm happily living in the Blue Mountains and just LOVE it. I've had a couple of American visitors here and they were very impressed. Love taking visitors to the Megalong Valley for a Devonshire tea ...
Yes you used to be able to put your arms out 😂 I used to sit at the front and OMG was so risky! The wrap around glass cage ruins it now… definitely not as great!
The Blue Mountains are a section of the Great Dividing Range - which runs 3,500 km from North Queensland to Victoria and is roughly 250km wide. A truly beautiful range.
The Blue Mountains is the world’s largest wet canyon system with over 800 canyons and also forms the world’s widest canyon. Charles Darwin studied it and there is a walk in his name. 😊
I hour from Sydney CBD, a world away from the inner city noise! The first colony's access to rich farming lands, our haven of peace and nature, a place to just breathe freely! ❤️
yes its so sexual , my brother looks like a calvin klein model but is a pro boxer i want to feel him in me but know he hugged me i bodybuild yeah i love my brothers
The Blue Mountains is majestic a wonderland of natural beauty, serenity and ancient legends. The introduction showed "The Three Sisters" a famous indigenous story is behind their name. You'll enjoy the research, so I'll leave it to you.
Not only do we have the Blue Mountains, we also have a canyon that is bigger than the Grand Canyon in at least one dimension. It’s called Capertee Valley and many Aussies haven’t even heard of it and it’s absolutely beautiful!
The view from the lookout over looking the valley is spectacular. I grew up in Kandos and still live there, and it still takes my breath away every time I drive past it.
The Blue Mountains were my home for 7 years in Lawson which is mid mountain. We bushwalked every weekend as our home was on the edge of the bush. Spectacular place to live and visit, so much diversity of nature. It should be on your bucket list.
Yep, a great place to hike and explore. Once you get away from the touristy bits that this video shows the place is bloody beautiful. Down in the canyons, along the creeks etc spent heaps of time wandering around the area.
My absolute happy place was camping in the Blue Gum Forest(Acacia Flats campground)which was a 3hr walk from Blackheath station down Perrys lookdown onto the Grose Valley floor, which was at the bottom of that lookout on the video. Absolutely pristine wilderness untouched by humans except for the fittest hikers & campers. Waking up at dawn to watch the sunrise over the cliffs with so much birdsong is a memory I'll carry forever.
we moved to Katoomba 6 weeks before the Granville Train Disaster and I can still remember mum saying that day you could shoot a shotgun up the main street and not hit anyone, as the train was a Blue Mountains train starting out at Mount Victoria. I think it is something you should react to Ryan, we call it the day of the roses.
They really are spectacular. I use to live in the Glasshouse mountains in qld, the indigenous peoples have a wonderful tale on how they were formed, maybe you'd like to check them out Ryan, they all have their own names with Mt Tibrogargen as the father 🤙🇦🇺
I live in the Blue Mountains. There are many magical hiking trails in this region. I usually recommend visiting Govett's Leap in Blackheath, which is about 10 kilometres west of Katoomba. Beautiful area, sometimes it snows here in Winter.
Yes, the Blue Mountains are part of greater metropolitan Sydney. The base suburbs are about an hour drive from the city ( depending on the traffic lol )
My brother in law held his newborn son up on the edge of that rock you called Pride Rock! I couldn’t watch and had to walk back to the car! Definitely a beautiful part of the world!
This needed to have some explanation so that he knew what he was looking at, eg the Three Sisters. The last time I was there, the wasn't any sides on the cars. Also the blue haze that hangs over the area, caused by the eucalypts,is a beautiful thing.
I live on the other side of the big valley. There are two main roads going over the mountains from Sydney. The Great Western Highway that has all the towns of Katoomba, Blackheath and Springwood along it. Then there is Bells Line of Road where i live that has basically no-one. It is a truly spectacular place that i take for granted too often, nice to see it through the eyes of someone experiencing it for the first time.
Once upon a time the first settlers didn’t think there was a way over the blue mountains, until Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson found a way over in 1813 and discovered a way over.
Aborigines were crossing the Great Dividing Range in that area for thousands of years. B, W & L should only be acknowledged as the first Europeans to do so.
@@jennyhenningham4100 Even if you knew the names of the first *Aboriginals to cross, they be deceased, so you wouldn't be allowed to mention their names. I'm sure most can tell loz was talking about colonial history. The ones born there would have crossed it like sherpas over the Himalayas, maybe many times a year. The Europeans probably found a track worn in by the Aboriginals in all honesty, sometimes it got a mention sometimes it didn't
@@coolhandluke1503 The mistake the early European explorers were making was to try and follow the rivers. Most of them end in cliffs with waterfalls. Once they decided to keep to the ridgetops, they found a way over. And yes, the indigenous people of the area would have known that.
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughly parallel to the east coast of Australia and forms the fifth-longest land-based mountain chain in the world, and the longest entirely within a single country. It is mainland Australia's most substantial topographic feature and serves as the definitive watershed for the river systems in eastern Australia, hence the name. Wiki It runs from melbourne all the way up the east coast
So The Blue Mountains are part of The Great Dividing Range, which is a mountainous range that runs from Queensland to Victoria (I believe). The opening shot was of The Three Sisters in Katoomba. My husband and I started our relationship there at sunrise and he proposed there at sunset. We now live in The Blue Mountains and you mentioned living on that cliff in the beginning of the video, well, we have a smaller version of that cliff, and two waterfalls and a cliff in our literal backyard. We are so blessed. The scenic railway is the steepest railway in the southern hemisphere or the world…I can’t remember but it’s one or the other. There you go, in the world. It’s more than the Wollemi National Park, it’s a series of National Parks, valleys, ridges and villages. There’s sandstone cliff and outcrops, lush forest, and it’s home to lots of native species or flora and fauna, including the floral emblem of NSW and the NSW Government, the Waratah. This video only barely grazes over the beauty and character of this amazing place. There’s so, so, so much more to see. Even from my front door, I’ve had red belly black snakes, ring-rail possums, Boobook Owls, countless species of birds and lizards… and that’s before you venture out onto the grounds of this place. It’s called The Blue Mountains because the large number of eucalyptus trees here, emit a haze that looks blue from a distance. If you ever do come to NSW, at least set aside one day for a day trip to The Blue Mountains. It’s one of the most unique landscapes you’ll ever see. Even going to my local Coles is quite the beautiful view of The Jamison Valley. I ride up to Katoomba and ride along Cliff Drive and it never ceases to blow my mind with its beauty.
Both of my parents were born and raised in Lithgow and my mum told me that she used to go on the Zig Zag railway to Sydney. My grandfather worked in the coal mines
My parents lived in the Blue Mts for a long time and we always visited there as Sydney people. I have family history with the railway line. Australia has a lot of mountains, part of the Great Dividing Range. In Primary school we learnt about the Blue Mts explorers and towns are named after them
Australia has every type of scenic beauty you could imagine. Those 3 pinnacles at the beginning of the video are called The Three Sisters, and it is a really beautiful area. We used to live up there when I was a child.
There are so many great walks and canyons. The bush is so thick it makes it difficult to find people when they need to search for missing or injured hikers.
I laughed so much throughout this video! Ryan, your facial expressions and reactions were priceless! I can understand the confusion you seemed to be experiencing, but the Blue Mountains are truly magnificent! Definately worth a better look.
We used to live right near Kurrajong, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. The whole region is beautiful. It might not be near Sydney beaches but folk there are pretty chilled I can assure you. We moved an hour north of Sydney for career reasons but still own our property there (it's rented out) and would move back into it in a heartbeat if circumstances changed.
I used to work at the scenic railway when i lived in Katoomba. It was an amazing place to live and go to work in. One of the best jobs with the best views in the world.
I remember going on the scenic railway when a kid (64 now). Definitely not as safety conscious back then. Was definitely scarey back then when in the front seat, especially going reverse back up the hill lol
I live in Western Sydney and I'm lucky enough to have the beautiful Blue Mountains as my backyard I've spent many happy hours hiking and exploring the mountains as well as showing visitors, it really is absolutely stunning
There's also Blue Mountains in the Appalachians! " . . . the southernmost formation of the Appalachians and are part of the larger Kittatinny Ridge that extends into northern New Jersey."
@@overworlder Ours are called the Blue Mountains from all the eucalyptus trees which are full of eucalyptus oil which slowly rises into the atmosphere and in the diffused light make the mountains look blue from a distance.
Australia has it all. We have mountains, rainforests, beaches, cave systems, deserts, and snow. The Along the length of the Blue Mountains are a series of townships, on either side of the townships are valleys. When you get to the last town named Mt Victoria you decend down a long steep road called Mt Victoria pass, it was originally made by convicts, there is a bridge built by convicts that is still used to this day. Once you get to the bottom of the pass, it opens up to open land. This played a huge part in our history as it paved the way for more farmland the colony desperately needed.
At one stage, you say that the Blue Mountains, and in particular that Valley, would not be known outside Australia. Very true, and something that many Australians themselves may not know is that in a month or 2 (or 12 perhaps) the water you see here may be coming out of a tap in a Sydney home. The water flows into a creek, and from there to a small river. In due course, that river is a tributary of the water in a dam \. In turn, that is the major water supply for Greater Sydney.
I went on the scenic railway back in the late 1970s when the carriages were open. Also remember watching the motorsports at Katoomba's old Catalina Park racetrack on the TV. It was one of those old school extremely dangerous racetracks.
We rode the Blue Mountains scenic railway when my daughter was 5. She slipped as we were getting on and somehow fell head first between the platform and the train. I did one of those "dad saves" you see in videos and stuck out my hand and managed to grab her ankle just before she would have hit the ground and pulled her back up. She was a bit shaken but unhurt and enjoyed the ride (on the inside of the train!).
The three sisters walk is wild! In parts there’s a path that no bigger then 2 people wide and stairs the same and pretty steep. And the fence is so short you feel like you could go over it easy and fall a thousand foot to yiur death lol beautiful place though
After settlement in 1788, the Blue Mountains were believed to be impassable. It was 25 years before a route crossing the mountains was discovered, in 1813. It was considered a huge achievement, and opened up the interior for the settlers. The modern road across the Blue Mountains plus the railway line still mostly follows that 1813 route, and the City of The Blue Mountains is mostly a long, narrow series of settlements along the route. At Katoomba you look out across a canyon that is not as deep as the Grand Canyon, but is one kilometer wider.
I love the Blue Mountains and try to get there as often as possible. Fun facts: *That train was originally how they carried coal out of the valley. *they did build a roller coaster at that location but when doing safety tests found that it was too dangerous so they never opened that ride, but you can still see sections of the track l Pl
A collection of my family live in the Blue Mountains. My ancestors settled a lot of land at the base of the mountains. I started school in a town about an hours drive from some of the scenery you saw. I'm now 400 kilometres away surrounded by sheep. :)
There is a decent hike called the "six foot track" from Jenolan Caves to Katoomba 46 kms or 29 miles in your units. Recommended 3 days, did it between Christmas and New Year period a few years back in two days two nights. There is also quite a few enjoyable shorter walks/hikes to various waterfalls and lookouts throughout the mountains, each of various grades.
Ryan, you should look up the history of the scenic railway. These days tourists have it good with the modern covered scenic railway. The first time I went on it, the cars were open and the places where you could hang on were limited. At the bottom there were 2 railway buffers, and beyond that there was a sheer drop of quiet some distance.
I live in Penrith, at the base of the Blue Mountains & we make weekend trips up there for fun, with my camera of course. Best pace to live, it's beautiful. My husband and I had our honeymoon there 18 years ago
Blue mountains is really a great place to live. I moved away for a year and missed the mountains so much I had to come back. Definitely worth a visit if you're in Sydney. Highly recommend the Elysian bar in Katoomba, amazing views and tasty cocktails.
I have only visited once a long time time ago when I lived in Perth and didn't really do any of the tourist stuff there, just some walking trails. And yes, the shade of the leaves of the eucalyptus trees does make the scenario look blue as the sunlight and clouds shift.
The Blue Mountains are beautiful and diverse, the three stacks are known as the Three Sisters. It’s in NSW, west of Sydney. It has a large forested area as well.
I am a train driver (engineer) and I drive the Blue Mountains line. From the town of Lithgow through to Central Station in Sydney, a 3 hour train trip. This is the main west line and will take you from Sydney to Perth.
Just so you understand Ryan, when you looked at the map trying to work it out the blue mountains run parallel to the east coast of Australia almost the entire length of Australia kind of like the appalachians and equally as beautiful and unique
The Blue Mountains is the small part of the Great Dividing Range west of Sydney. The Great Dividing Range runs the length of the east coast of Mainland Australia, before taking a 90° turn west in Victoria and heading towards South Australia. They were formed due to subduction of the Pacific plate under the Australian plate. This formed New Zealand at the subduction zone, and then due to bounce back of the subducted Pacific plate, the mountain range was formed. The sudden 90° bend is caused by the small portion of crust the Tasmania is part of, thrusting northwards into Australia. In the time of Gondwana Land, the Tasmanian plate was part of an oceanic sediment deposit that was part of what is now the Grand Canyon in the US. Gondwana split, Tasmania broke away from what became North America, slammed into Australia, and in the process caused the Great Dividing Range to essentially “bend” out of the way. (For locals, if you are in Ballan Vic, you are on basalt covered marine deposits near the Gondwana coast of Australia. If you are in Melton Vic, you are on Arizona marine deposits of Tasmania.) The Great Dividing Range is the fifth longest continuous mountain range in the world, and the longest in a single country. A mind blowing fact is the marine deposits that they are formed from, came from an estimated 9km (5.6 mile.) high mountain range that essentially ran north south in line with the South Australian-Victorian border. Sorry, I follow OzGeographics.
check out the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains, I think it is the largest and oldest caves in Australia. Not sure but because Australia is the oldest continent i would think this would make them the oldest caves in the world?
"because Australia is the oldest continent i would think this would make them the oldest caves in the world?" That assumes that the caves are as old as the continent. The claim about the oldest continent assumes a naturalistic view of history.
You might find the Glasshouse Mountains interesting. They're the cores of long-extinct volcanoes, and are often used as challenge climbs by rock climbers. They're in the Great Dividing Range, and their part is north and west of Brisbane. If you already know "The Sunshine Coast" area north of Brisbane, they're due west of there.
@ me too. I was in “The Riff” for 43 years to the day, until last year when I moved up the mountains. I love my Penrith and I love my mountain home. I joke that Penrith has three degrees of separation instead of the usual 6
That was very cool Ryan thanks, I love the fact you suddenly said I wonder how many people die and google it, lol I do the same😅. That scenic railway, I had no idea it was as crazy at the start…I can just imagine getting on expecting to have a lovely quiet time then “Ahhhh” that explains why that woman was holding on as soon as she got in lol 😂
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I remember a story of the Scenic railway in the days when there was an operator sitting at the back. A women sitting at the rear asked "where will I go if the cable breaks?". The operator responded "I think you know that better than me". She then said "What do you mean", to which the operator said "you know what type of life you have led!"
That group of 3 rock formations at the beginning is known as "The Three Sisters". I am 72 now and I can remember being on that Scenic railway as a Kid. Back then it was not enclosed and you sat on wooden benches. The bottom of it was the start of some great hikes through some beautiful terrain. I live West of there now, and travel through there whenever I have to go to Sydney.
I'm 71 and used to holiday regularly at either Katoomba or Blackheath. My cousin and I walked down the Golden Stairs on a few occasions and would walk around the valley to catch a free ride up the railway as there was no ticket collectors at the bottom then. Did one hike to the Ruined Castle rock formation once, past the landslide. It was a longer trek than I thought it would be but we always carried ample water and food.
I'm 40 and even when I was a around 12 they still had the open scenic railway with the little benches! It was definitely cooler back then than what it is now, but good to see they still have it!
When I was in high school we had a retreat at a hotel in Katoomba.
When we went to see The Three Sisters, I walked down the stairs to the bottom of the valley in a maxi skirt!
And back up too.
the 4 sisters according to First Nations people actually, the 4th little bump is an intergral part of their story about the formation of those sisters
Ryan came so close too discovering the JurassicTree ....the Wollemi Pine 👍👍
We had one growing in our yard that we bought from Mount Anan (sp?) Reserve. It was an amazing tree with white sap and pretty little cones - really did feel like a living dinosaur! It was growing so well, but during the horror bushfire season it died, sadly.
@@Erizedd I had one many years ago in a pot indoors ,very cool tree.need too buy another one. would be a cool Bonsai tree.
So nice to see something other than Sydney or a beach being shown to represent Australia.
Hate not only Sydney but also cities. Too many people. That’s why I love the Blue Mountains
The main point of the naming of the Blue Maintains is the blue hue given off from the eucalyptus trees. The mountains look blue from a distance away and as you look across the valley from the look outs.
I live in The Blue Mountains . I was always drawn here . I was adopted and could not understand the " pull " . Now I know . My blood family is from here . At home , finally .
Sue... My great grandfather was a Monckton. He road for 3 years with 'Thunderbolt' the bushranger. 😉
@jemor2143 that would be William Monckton . ...apparently my ( adopted ) father's family .
@@suemonckton7639 Yep, correct! He had a daughter, Sylvia who was my grandmother.
I did a 3 day hike through the Blue Mountains on a track called the Six Foot Track from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves and it was magnificent!
the scenic railway, as mentioned, the steepest railway in the world, was originally built in the late 1800s to haul coal up from the valley where it was mined, you can still see the mines at the bottom which where dug back under the cliff under Katoomba. The original carriages to carry passengers where built around 1945 for tourists.
I was fortunate to travel in those open cars. The modern tourists don't know what they're missing.
miners travelled to & from work on the railway too.
I was looking for a comment on it's origins, glad you made it :) Origins explains why it's a "slow roller coaster"
@@cool386vintagetechnology6 I have also travelled in the open cars and wooden seats, also the ones with wire cages, back in the 60's 70's 80's, with the wind rushing thru your hair (not that I have any these days ), not the same now with glassed covered cars
@@mehere8038 yes the miners also travelled on the cars, there was a replica/maybe real carriage at the bottom many years ago
I was born in Katoomba and raised in Lithgow. So this is my country, and its unique in Australia.
Lucky you. 🥰
In in Penrith
Well said Aussie, we are unique we have it all and we have to look after our beautiful big island home ❤️
My Dad's ancestors lived around there. My g grandfather started work at Wallerawang Stn
@@Fiona-zc6oz I worked at Wang power station myself.lol
America has the Grand Canyon., we have the Blue Mountain. which is ten times larger and a 250 million year old forest to boot. IT REALLY IS A MAJESTIC forest
We also have land mass from the grand canyon down in Tasmania
The blue mountains also has a grand canyon and it's stunning 😁
You do know that we have second largest canyon in the world it’s actually wider than the grand canyon through not as deep and it just stunning.. it’s the Capertee Valley in the Lithgow Region.. 🧐😊🇦🇺
@@aussiekit9172i didn't! Wider than the Grand Canyon? I've been there & it's huge. Wow! I shall google it.Thanx!
@aussiekit9172 I didn't know that. But it's pretty cool I'll have to make a trek out there one day
Well I'm happily living in the Blue Mountains and just LOVE it. I've had a couple of American visitors here and they were very impressed. Love taking visitors to the Megalong Valley for a Devonshire tea ...
Years ago the train just had seats with no sides coming down. It was like a mining train.
I was disappointed riding on it years later and it wasn't as sketchy as it was in my youth. 😆
That speaker sounds like it must be the only thing left from the original train, that southpark skit was spot on😆
Yes you used to be able to put your arms out 😂 I used to sit at the front and OMG was so risky! The wrap around glass cage ruins it now… definitely not as great!
@sarahcooper8473 yeah I remembered try to reach out and try and touch the ferns. 🤣
The Blue Mountains are a section of the Great Dividing Range - which runs 3,500 km from North Queensland to Victoria and is roughly 250km wide. A truly beautiful range.
The Blue Mountains is the world’s largest wet canyon system with over 800 canyons and also forms the world’s widest canyon. Charles Darwin studied it and there is a walk in his name. 😊
The look on your face was priceless Ryan! We do live in a beautiful country!
The Blue Mountains can get bloody cold in winter time. The scenery is very haunting.
I hour from Sydney CBD, a world away from the inner city noise! The first colony's access to rich farming lands, our haven of peace and nature, a place to just breathe freely! ❤️
yes its so sexual , my brother looks like a calvin klein model but is a pro boxer i want to feel him in me but know he hugged me i bodybuild yeah i love my brothers
The Blue Mountains is majestic a wonderland of natural beauty, serenity and ancient legends. The introduction showed "The Three Sisters" a famous indigenous story is behind their name. You'll enjoy the research, so I'll leave it to you.
4 sisters according to the Indigenous story & many of them get really upset about the "3" sisters white version
Not only do we have the Blue Mountains, we also have a canyon that is bigger than the Grand Canyon in at least one dimension. It’s called Capertee Valley and many Aussies haven’t even heard of it and it’s absolutely beautiful!
My parents had a property at Capertee and a house at Glen Davis
The view from the lookout over looking the valley is spectacular. I grew up in Kandos and still live there, and it still takes my breath away every time I drive past it.
The Blue Mountains were my home for 7 years in Lawson which is mid mountain. We bushwalked every weekend as our home was on the edge of the bush. Spectacular place to live and visit, so much diversity of nature. It should be on your bucket list.
Yep, a great place to hike and explore. Once you get away from the touristy bits that this video shows the place is bloody beautiful. Down in the canyons, along the creeks etc spent heaps of time wandering around the area.
The first one is in Katoomba. It’s huge with the tourists. It’s so beautiful here.
My absolute happy place was camping in the Blue Gum Forest(Acacia Flats campground)which was a 3hr walk from Blackheath station down Perrys lookdown onto the Grose Valley floor, which was at the bottom of that lookout on the video. Absolutely pristine wilderness untouched by humans except for the fittest hikers & campers. Waking up at dawn to watch the sunrise over the cliffs with so much birdsong is a memory I'll carry forever.
As an aussie who lives next to the blue mountains I APPROVE
welcome to my home as a kid in the 70's, we were never home and always exploring and getting up to mischief.
we moved to Katoomba 6 weeks before the Granville Train Disaster and I can still remember mum saying that day you could shoot a shotgun up the main street and not hit anyone, as the train was a Blue Mountains train starting out at Mount Victoria. I think it is something you should react to Ryan, we call it the day of the roses.
They really are spectacular. I use to live in the Glasshouse mountains in qld, the indigenous peoples have a wonderful tale on how they were formed, maybe you'd like to check them out Ryan, they all have their own names with Mt Tibrogargen as the father 🤙🇦🇺
My favourite thing about this video is the awe and wonder on Ryan’s face! 😃🥰🇦🇺
I’m in Melbourne but have been to the Blue Mountains twice. Truly remarkable. We have beautiful mountains in Victoria called the Grampians.
I live in the Blue Mountains. There are many magical hiking trails in this region. I usually recommend visiting Govett's Leap in Blackheath, which is about 10 kilometres west of Katoomba. Beautiful area, sometimes it snows here in Winter.
Hey Ryan, the Blue Mountains deserves a much longer video than 8 mins!
Thanks for viewing my home I feel proud to live in a place like this!
Yes, the Blue Mountains are part of greater metropolitan Sydney. The base suburbs are about an hour drive from the city ( depending on the traffic lol )
The Blue Mts are part of Sydney except when infrastructure has to be paid for, then we're 'regional'.
I’ve lived in the Blue Mountains for 37 years and raised 3 kids here
The Blue Mountains are great. Not just because they’re indescribably beautiful, but they’re so close to Sydney.
My brother in law held his newborn son up on the edge of that rock you called Pride Rock! I couldn’t watch and had to walk back to the car! Definitely a beautiful part of the world!
Blue Mountains are beautiful
This needed to have some explanation so that he knew what he was looking at, eg the Three Sisters. The last time I was there, the wasn't any sides on the cars. Also the blue haze that hangs over the area, caused by the eucalypts,is a beautiful thing.
I live on the other side of the big valley. There are two main roads going over the mountains from Sydney. The Great Western Highway that has all the towns of Katoomba, Blackheath and Springwood along it. Then there is Bells Line of Road where i live that has basically no-one. It is a truly spectacular place that i take for granted too often, nice to see it through the eyes of someone experiencing it for the first time.
The Scenic Railway is nothing short of absolutely terrifying!!!!
Please come to Australia, look me up and I'll take you on a guided tour.
❤the first pictures are called "The three Sisters" & is part of a dreamtime story of the aboriginals of the area. I love it there❤
Once upon a time the first settlers didn’t think there was a way over the blue mountains, until Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson found a way over in 1813 and discovered a way over.
Aboriginal people had been trekking across the Blue Mountains for tens of thousands of years befor 1813.
Aborigines were crossing the Great Dividing Range in that area for thousands of years. B, W & L should only be acknowledged as the first Europeans to do so.
Just found out that one of my great great great grandfather's worked for one of these explorers near Bathurst. Actually a convict assigned to him
@@jennyhenningham4100 Even if you knew the names of the first *Aboriginals to cross, they be deceased, so you wouldn't be allowed to mention their names. I'm sure most can tell loz was talking about colonial history. The ones born there would have crossed it like sherpas over the Himalayas, maybe many times a year. The Europeans probably found a track worn in by the Aboriginals in all honesty, sometimes it got a mention sometimes it didn't
@@coolhandluke1503 The mistake the early European explorers were making was to try and follow the rivers. Most of them end in cliffs with waterfalls. Once they decided to keep to the ridgetops, they found a way over. And yes, the indigenous people of the area would have known that.
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills. It runs roughly parallel to the east coast of Australia and forms the fifth-longest land-based mountain chain in the world, and the longest entirely within a single country. It is mainland Australia's most substantial topographic feature and serves as the definitive watershed for the river systems in eastern Australia, hence the name.
Wiki
It runs from melbourne all the way up the east coast
So The Blue Mountains are part of The Great Dividing Range, which is a mountainous range that runs from Queensland to Victoria (I believe). The opening shot was of The Three Sisters in Katoomba. My husband and I started our relationship there at sunrise and he proposed there at sunset. We now live in The Blue Mountains and you mentioned living on that cliff in the beginning of the video, well, we have a smaller version of that cliff, and two waterfalls and a cliff in our literal backyard. We are so blessed. The scenic railway is the steepest railway in the southern hemisphere or the world…I can’t remember but it’s one or the other. There you go, in the world. It’s more than the Wollemi National Park, it’s a series of National Parks, valleys, ridges and villages. There’s sandstone cliff and outcrops, lush forest, and it’s home to lots of native species or flora and fauna, including the floral emblem of NSW and the NSW Government, the Waratah. This video only barely grazes over the beauty and character of this amazing place. There’s so, so, so much more to see. Even from my front door, I’ve had red belly black snakes, ring-rail possums, Boobook Owls, countless species of birds and lizards… and that’s before you venture out onto the grounds of this place. It’s called The Blue Mountains because the large number of eucalyptus trees here, emit a haze that looks blue from a distance. If you ever do come to NSW, at least set aside one day for a day trip to The Blue Mountains. It’s one of the most unique landscapes you’ll ever see. Even going to my local Coles is quite the beautiful view of The Jamison Valley. I ride up to Katoomba and ride along Cliff Drive and it never ceases to blow my mind with its beauty.
Both of my parents were born and raised in Lithgow and my mum told me that she used to go on the Zig Zag railway to Sydney. My grandfather worked in the coal mines
The Zig Zag railway was replaced by a new route with lots of tunnels in 1910. When was your mum born?
My mum was born in 1929 and my dad was born in 1927
My parents lived in the Blue Mts for a long time and we always visited there as Sydney people. I have family history with the railway line. Australia has a lot of mountains, part of the Great Dividing Range. In Primary school we learnt about the Blue Mts explorers and towns are named after them
7:18 rode this back in the early ‘80s when it was caged, not glass
Australia has every type of scenic beauty you could imagine. Those 3 pinnacles at the beginning of the video are called The Three Sisters, and it is a really beautiful area. We used to live up there when I was a child.
He's FINALLY doing my recommendation, no shout out though.
no info...just photography.
I don't see him doing any reading of the comments and leaving a 'like' etc. a bit disappointed
There are so many great walks and canyons. The bush is so thick it makes it difficult to find people when they need to search for missing or injured hikers.
I laughed so much throughout this video! Ryan, your facial expressions and reactions were priceless! I can understand the confusion you seemed to be experiencing, but the Blue Mountains are truly magnificent! Definately worth a better look.
We used to live right near Kurrajong, in the foothills of the Blue Mountains. The whole region is beautiful. It might not be near Sydney beaches but folk there are pretty chilled I can assure you. We moved an hour north of Sydney for career reasons but still own our property there (it's rented out) and would move back into it in a heartbeat if circumstances changed.
I used to work at the scenic railway when i lived in Katoomba. It was an amazing place to live and go to work in. One of the best jobs with the best views in the world.
I remember going on the scenic railway when a kid (64 now). Definitely not as safety conscious back then. Was definitely scarey back then when in the front seat, especially going reverse back up the hill lol
Yes, me too
I live in Western Sydney and I'm lucky enough to have the beautiful Blue Mountains as my backyard I've spent many happy hours hiking and exploring the mountains as well as showing visitors, it really is absolutely stunning
There's also Blue Mountains in the Appalachians! " . . . the southernmost formation of the Appalachians and are part of the larger Kittatinny Ridge that extends into northern New Jersey."
Is that the Blue Ridge mountains of song fame?
@@infin8ee yes blue ridge is the southern end, blue mtns are the northern end in pennsylvania
@@overworlder Ours are called the Blue Mountains from all the eucalyptus trees which are full of eucalyptus oil which slowly rises into the atmosphere and in the diffused light make the mountains look blue from a distance.
Australia has it all. We have mountains, rainforests, beaches, cave systems, deserts, and snow. The Along the length of the Blue Mountains are a series of townships, on either side of the townships are valleys. When you get to the last town named Mt Victoria you decend down a long steep road called Mt Victoria pass, it was originally made by convicts, there is a bridge built by convicts that is still used to this day. Once you get to the bottom of the pass, it opens up to open land. This played a huge part in our history as it paved the way for more farmland the colony desperately needed.
At one stage, you say that the Blue Mountains, and in particular that Valley, would not be known outside Australia. Very true, and something that many Australians themselves may not know is that in a month or 2 (or 12 perhaps) the water you see here may be coming out of a tap in a Sydney home. The water flows into a creek, and from there to a small river. In due course, that river is a tributary of the water in a dam \. In turn, that is the major water supply for Greater Sydney.
I once climbed down onto the 1st of the 3 sisters before all the safety rails. Wow!
I loved the scenic railway when I was a kid
I went on the scenic railway back in the late 1970s when the carriages were open. Also remember watching the motorsports at Katoomba's old Catalina Park racetrack on the TV. It was one of those old school extremely dangerous racetracks.
The Blue Mountains is part of the Great Dividing Range that runs from Victoria in the South throughout New South Wales up to and through Queensland.
We rode the Blue Mountains scenic railway when my daughter was 5. She slipped as we were getting on and somehow fell head first between the platform and the train. I did one of those "dad saves" you see in videos and stuck out my hand and managed to grab her ankle just before she would have hit the ground and pulled her back up. She was a bit shaken but unhurt and enjoyed the ride (on the inside of the train!).
New addition to the cable car: you can now pay extra to ride outside on the roof! With refreshments served! 😆It's definitely on my to-do list.
I used to live in katoomba, the blue mountains region is one of the prettiest places in Australia 🇦🇺
I go on holiday to Leura in the Blue Mountains every year. Such a picturesque town
The three sisters walk is wild! In parts there’s a path that no bigger then 2 people wide and stairs the same and pretty steep. And the fence is so short you feel like you could go over it easy and fall a thousand foot to yiur death lol beautiful place though
You should react to other mountain ranges! Snowy, Grampians, Flinders, for a start
After settlement in 1788, the Blue Mountains were believed to be impassable. It was 25 years before a route crossing the mountains was discovered, in 1813. It was considered a huge achievement, and opened up the interior for the settlers. The modern road across the Blue Mountains plus the railway line still mostly follows that 1813 route, and the City of The Blue Mountains is mostly a long, narrow series of settlements along the route. At Katoomba you look out across a canyon that is not as deep as the Grand Canyon, but is one kilometer wider.
Nocturnal at Katoomba is amazing! Once you go to the Blue Mountains, you're always drawn back.
I remember doing the scenic railway on a school excursion back in the 80s. It wasn't covered back then and looked rickety so it was a scary thrill.
I lived there for over 10 years - very special place ❤️
I love the Blue Mountains and try to get there as often as possible.
Fun facts:
*That train was originally how they carried coal out of the valley.
*they did build a roller coaster at that location but when doing safety tests found that it was too dangerous so they never opened that ride, but you can still see sections of the track l Pl
A collection of my family live in the Blue Mountains. My ancestors settled a lot of land at the base of the mountains. I started school in a town about an hours drive from some of the scenery you saw. I'm now 400 kilometres away surrounded by sheep. :)
There is a decent hike called the "six foot track" from Jenolan Caves to Katoomba 46 kms or 29 miles in your units. Recommended 3 days, did it between Christmas and New Year period a few years back in two days two nights. There is also quite a few enjoyable shorter walks/hikes to various waterfalls and lookouts throughout the mountains, each of various grades.
Blue Moutains is the great dividing range separating the coastal strip from the interior. It runs he entire length of the east cost of Australia.
The mountain range runs down the whole east coast from north Qld to Victoria there are so many beautiful places.
Ryan, you should look up the history of the scenic railway.
These days tourists have it good with the modern covered scenic railway. The first time I went on it, the cars were open and the places where you could hang on were limited. At the bottom there were 2 railway buffers, and beyond that there was a sheer drop of quiet some distance.
Long time subscriber and Blue Mountains resident. Thanks for checking out my part of the world.
Katoomba and the Three Sisters is a day trip if you are based in Sydney.
I live in Penrith, at the base of the Blue Mountains & we make weekend trips up there for fun, with my camera of course. Best pace to live, it's beautiful. My husband and I had our honeymoon there 18 years ago
Fun fact the incline railway never used to have a roof on it, when I was a kid it was completely open. All that held you up was a metal bar 😂
Blue mountains is really a great place to live. I moved away for a year and missed the mountains so much I had to come back. Definitely worth a visit if you're in Sydney. Highly recommend the Elysian bar in Katoomba, amazing views and tasty cocktails.
Blue Mountains National Park - 1,035 square miles/2,680 km2
I live in western Sydney at the foothills of the blue mountains. I crossed the mountains to Lithgow earlier this week.
I did the scenic railway back in 79 while holidaying in Sydney.. It’s completely different these days to the old ride..
I have only visited once a long time time ago when I lived in Perth and didn't really do any of the tourist stuff there, just some walking trails. And yes, the shade of the leaves of the eucalyptus trees does make the scenario look blue as the sunlight and clouds shift.
I am from MD and live in The Blue Mountains!
The 3 pillars are called THE THREE SISTERS. It’s an aboriginal story.
Where is MD ?
@ in Maryland
@@keithkearns93 in medical doctor
0:41 Katoomba is in the middle of the blue mountains
The Blue Mountains are beautiful and diverse, the three stacks are known as the Three Sisters. It’s in NSW, west of Sydney. It has a large forested area as well.
Lived an hour from blue mountains, been over grand canyon in helicopter both amazing
I am a train driver (engineer) and I drive the Blue Mountains line. From the town of Lithgow through to Central Station in Sydney, a 3 hour train trip. This is the main west line and will take you from Sydney to Perth.
Riding through the Blue Mountains on a motorbike (cruiser style) is absolute magic.
Just so you understand Ryan, when you looked at the map trying to work it out the blue mountains run parallel to the east coast of Australia almost the entire length of Australia kind of like the appalachians and equally as beautiful and unique
The Blue Mountains is the small part of the Great Dividing Range west of Sydney. The Great Dividing Range runs the length of the east coast of Mainland Australia, before taking a 90° turn west in Victoria and heading towards South Australia. They were formed due to subduction of the Pacific plate under the Australian plate. This formed New Zealand at the subduction zone, and then due to bounce back of the subducted Pacific plate, the mountain range was formed. The sudden 90° bend is caused by the small portion of crust the Tasmania is part of, thrusting northwards into Australia. In the time of Gondwana Land, the Tasmanian plate was part of an oceanic sediment deposit that was part of what is now the Grand Canyon in the US. Gondwana split, Tasmania broke away from what became North America, slammed into Australia, and in the process caused the Great Dividing Range to essentially “bend” out of the way. (For locals, if you are in Ballan Vic, you are on basalt covered marine deposits near the Gondwana coast of Australia. If you are in Melton Vic, you are on Arizona marine deposits of Tasmania.) The Great Dividing Range is the fifth longest continuous mountain range in the world, and the longest in a single country. A mind blowing fact is the marine deposits that they are formed from, came from an estimated 9km (5.6 mile.) high mountain range that essentially ran north south in line with the South Australian-Victorian border. Sorry, I follow OzGeographics.
check out the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains, I think it is the largest and oldest caves in Australia. Not sure but because Australia is the oldest continent i would think this would make them the oldest caves in the world?
Oooh!!! Good idea!!
"because Australia is the oldest continent i would think this would make them the oldest caves in the world?"
That assumes that the caves are as old as the continent. The claim about the oldest continent assumes a naturalistic view of history.
There's the Otway ranges in Victoria and its like a rain forest with 226 waterfalls.
Love watching your work Many thanks.
You might find the Glasshouse Mountains interesting. They're the cores of long-extinct volcanoes, and are often used as challenge climbs by rock climbers. They're in the Great Dividing Range, and their part is north and west of Brisbane. If you already know "The Sunshine Coast" area north of Brisbane, they're due west of there.
I live at the foot of the Blue Mountians at Penrith. There are many Beautiful walks in the Blue Mountains
So many people from my hometown of Penrith on here!! Lots of Penrith love ❤
@ErinFromSydney I have lived in the area for almost 50years was at Mt Druitt before that
@ me too. I was in “The Riff” for 43 years to the day, until last year when I moved up the mountains. I love my Penrith and I love my mountain home. I joke that Penrith has three degrees of separation instead of the usual 6
@ErinFromSydney I live at Jordan Spring but always wanted to live at Leura or Blaxland
@ I used to live right behind the Overlander, at Cambridge Gardens, so we used to be practically neighbours 🙂 I’m not far from Leura now
That was very cool Ryan thanks, I love the fact you suddenly said I wonder how many people die and google it, lol I do the same😅. That scenic railway, I had no idea it was as crazy at the start…I can just imagine getting on expecting to have a lovely quiet time then “Ahhhh” that explains why that woman was holding on as soon as she got in lol 😂