Mt Buffalo & Blue Mountains Natl Parks

The Three Sisters in the Blue Mtns
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Have you ever been called a fun squasher??? Well, I have as of this week. I guess we all get a little sassy after a couple of long driving days, but when Scott starts to sing and dance while driving to keep himself entertained and I look up from my book and give him a look – he calls me a fun squasher!

Anyway, back to business. A couple of nice stops between Melbourne and Sydney for us were two of the National Parks. The first was Mt. Buffalo NP off of the Great Alpine Road which is one of the oldest national parks in Australia. We only had one night in the nearby city of Bright, so we got in a couple of nice walks in the park before moving on. There was a pretty big fire that moved through the park in 2003 and 2007 and it’s very evident in certain areas of the park, but the vistas were still just as beautiful.

She's a Beauty!

Mt. Buffalo NP
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Our second stop was in the Blue Mountains National Park just outside of Sydney. Arriving in the Blue Mountains National Park visitor center, you immediately smell the eucalyptus in the air as you step towards the lookout into the valley below. The blue hue of the mountains comes from this type of eucalyptus. The big draw here is the Three Sisters, which are three pillars that remain after erosion wore away the softer rock. We took in the sunset views and then returned after dark as the sisters are light up at night. The following day we took a long walk along the cliff top and then down through the rainforest valley below with many waterfalls and birds. We enjoyed the Blue Mountains and definitely see why so many Sydney-ers make their way here on weekends.

Blue Mtns
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As for the brewery/winery visits tally – I got two more micro breweries chalked up for Scotty when we found the Bright Brewery and the Bridge Road Brewery in Beechworth that are in the Mt. Buffalo area. Scott’s favorite was the Bridge Road Brewery as the brewer makes a number of good, hoppy beers which have been hard to find in Australia. Funny enough, the brewer gets some of his hops from Yakima, Washington. We stocked up on some and hit the road.

On now to Sydney……