Picked up the hire car this morning and drove to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. We couldn’t check in to our next abode until 3pm so there was no rush. Just as well as the satnav took us on the ‘scenic route’. In fact it took us halfway across the city of Sydney, the very place we were trying hard to avoid. It being Sunday morning, the world and his dog were on the roads and the traffic was horrendous. We ultimately had no idea where we were going so I had to try and find a place to stop so we could look at the map, kindly bought for us by Scott. If only we had stuck by that instead of trusting the twat….sorry the sat come ‘wherethehellarewenow’ nav! Turned out we were heading in the right direction just not by the most direct route. Eventually we hit the right road and trundled into Katoomba. Still far too early to check in we went shopping for some supplies. You know the kind of thing, beer, wine…..snacks, oh and something for breakfast in the morning. 😁 When we did check in to Cooee Cottage though we found the fridge and cupboards well stocked and breakfast stuff including milk and eggs ready and waiting too! Fantastic planning on the part of our hosts. Brilliant.
So, Cooee Cottage sits in the mountains, tucked away from sight of the road. We had good directions and for once the satnav was getting things right. Yes we drove past it, yes it was on the steepest hill I’ve driven up since my last trip to Cornwall ever so many years ago. It was so steep that near the top all I could see was sky! Reminded me of our 4×4 driver training. Lol. I had to drive over the next junction and along a bit to find a place suffuciently less steep to turn round. Mission accomplished, we never missed it a second time. 😨
It’s a fabulous place. I’ve made a little video for you but sadly you will have to wait for it and the photos as there is no wifi here. We have to go to town and in the library or a couple of cafe’s to get it. I’m currently tethering my mobile phone to my tablet via 4G, but I don’t want to start uploading photos as it takes far too long and my allowance will run out. So be patient, they will arrive !
One thing I have had since arriving in Oz is a very good 4G signal. I didn’t even know my phone was capable of getting it as it’s not heard of in the darkest depths of Norfolk. 😩
It’s the first time I’ve felt chilly since being here. We’ve gone from 30 degree heat you can’t sit out in, to 17 degrees with a log fire and an electric blanket! Ha, I actually put my fleece on. The first time I’ve had my arms covered for days. It’s odd how you can get such extremes of temperature in around 60 miles and an hour or so’s journey. Tomorrow’s forecast for 30 again though and then back down to 19, which will be better for climbing and walking. 😀
We have to sit down now and plan our next 4 days here as there is SO much to see and do and so many beautiful not to be missed places. But, we have to miss some of them as there isn’t enough time to fit everything in 😨. Reading the information book at the cottage it says that if we have cause to visit the log pile we must use tongs……….The dreaded red back spiders are here! 😱😱😨😨😨😨😲
On that note, I’m off to do more planning…..and making sure I check my boots in the morning before putting them on. Stay tuned for some beautiful places.