Sydney Off the Beaten Path Tips by keeweechic

Old Sydney Town is an hour's drive north of Sydney and is a re-creation
of the earliest days of the Colony of New South Wales, spanning the years 1788 to 1810. After careful research building commenced in 1972. You can step back into history wandering the streets with the townspeople garbed in the clothes of the period. You will see soldiers on parade, pistol duels, cannons firing and be part of a trial day of the convicts. There are craft stores of the period and eating places.

Unfortunately, I think the park has now closed.

Pacific Hwy, Somersby (Near Gosford)

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Gosford Is 83km north of Sydney on the Pacific Highway. It is a resort and service centre of an area producing mixed farm crop, citrus and passion fruits and manufacturing building materials. With its magnificent waterways and beaches, it is a popular destination for Sydneysiders.

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Governor Phillip originally called the Blue Mountains the 'Carmarthen Hills' and 'Landsdowne Hills'. The name was changed because of the constant blue haze which usually surrounds the area. The Blue Mountains is densely populated by Eucalyptus trees.

The air is filled with finely dispersed droplets of oil, and combined with dust particles and water vapour, short-wave length rays of light are predominantly blue in colour, giving the blue look to the mountains.

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Katoomba has become a major tourist resort. Nearby is the Katoomba Scenic Railway which is located on the site of abandoned coal mines. You can get spectacular views while suspended in a cable car 200 metres above the valley floor. Katoomba is famous for the Three Sisters, a spectacular rock formation on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Jamison Valley.

The legend goes that 3 sisters fell in love with 3 brothers from another tribe and tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers decided to use force to capture the sisters causing a major tribal battle. A witchdoctor decided to turn the 3 sisters into stone to protect them from harm. He intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over but he was killed and no other could do the reversal and so the sisters remain in their rock formation.

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The Scenic Railway was built in 1878 to service a coal mine in the Jamison Valley. Over the years the railway was also used to convey coal and shale from the Ruined Castle area and Megalong Valley. It is a unique ride through a tunnel in the side of the mountain then a hair-raising descent of 415 metres at a maximum grade of 52 degrees which passes an ancient rainforest area before reaching the Jamison Valley.

The Scenic Railway is the world's steepest incline railway and carries more than 850,000 passengers a year.

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The Skyway is Australia's only horizontal passenger carrying cable car. You can find it at the same site as the Scenic Railway. A 7 minute scenic ride takes you 350 metres across a deep gorge. A bit unnerving but the scenery is fantastic.

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