07/27/2026 – Back to driving on the wrong side of the road
Once again we enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. We lounged around a bit then set off for a short walk around the area before heading to the airport to pick up our rental car. Being winter here in Sydney, the mornings can be chilly. It’s been in the 40’s overnight, but then warms up in the sunshine later in the day. After our walk, we checked out of the hotel and schlepped our luggage to the nearby Circular Quay train station. The trains were not running to/from the airport when we arrived two days ago, but they are now that it is Monday morning here. But – which train to take? We knew we had to go to Platform 2, and we jumped on the first train there. Dave followed the stations we went by and it appeared we were heading in the right direction on T-8. However…. on the route map, the T-8 inexplicably splits into two tracks – one headed to the airports and one headed NOT to the airports. Can anyone guess which one we ended up on? Hmm? Anyone?? Yep, we needed to get off our train, take another one headed to our left, and then get back on the T-8 headed back to the airports. Not a big deal, we had plenty of time, but it certainly did not boost our confidence in take public transportation.
We got to the airport, picked up our rental car (a Subaru!) and started heading to the city of Penrith, right on the edge of the Blue Mountains National Park. Ah, yes, Dave vividly remembers the experience of driving on the wrong side of the road, from the wrong side of the vehicle. Looking in the wrong mirror, turning on the wipers instead of the turn signals, opening the passenger window instead of the driver’s, drifting toward the left so he can be closer to the left side lane marker. As Dave recalled, it reminded him of his early days of driving as a teenager – having to pay attention to every detail instead of using his well-defined muscle memory. It doesn’t help that we have now seen two head-on accidents where it looks like one vehicle was driving down the wrong side of the road. Stupid Americans! Dave hopes he can get used to the new driving circumstances quickly!
We arrived in Penrith without any mishaps and checked into our new accommodations. Then we set off to scope out the hiking areas. The hotel clerk recommended the Lawson Waterfalls, a series of five waterfalls. So with no hesitation, we decided to go find the parking area and determine the best ways to find our trailheads. Given that it is winter here, the sun sets early so scoping out and planning our routes was the best option. Along the way we found a local visitor center for the National Park and stopped to get some ideas on some more hikes. The information was a lot, and Dave’s map now has a bunch of squiggly lines and notations giving him all sorts of options. Hopefully he can read it. We finally found the trailhead and walked a portion along the trail, but decided to leave the rest for tomorrow. Time to get back to the hotel and plan our breakfasts and lunches for tomorrow so that we can hit the ground running!
07/28/2026 – Hiking – well more like stair climbing
Running might be an exaggeration. We headed out of the hotel room to begin our drive to the waterfall trail in Lawson when we got distracted by some very beautiful colorful birds. From Rainbow lorikeets and Scaly-breasted lorikeets to Eastern yellow robins to Sulfur cockatoos. Dave frantically worked at trying to get a picture of one that was close, but Kathy scared it away. Maybe tomorrow?? Heading up to the trailhead we had mapped out yesterday was next on the plans. But the best laid plans sometimes are not so well planned. Finally finding the trailhead for the Lawson waterfalls, we breathed a sigh of relief. Granted, it was not the one we had mapped out yesterday. Instead of being at the south end trailhead where we had driven to the day before, we were at the north end trailhead. Oh well, it was a loop and going around in circles seems to be the norm.
Heading down the trails to view the waterfalls we saw lots of colorful birds, we even heard a Laughing Kookaburra! We also saw 5 waterfalls which reminded us of many waterfalls in New York State due to making their way through layers of slate rock. The trail book we bought for this trail has a listing of animals and plants we might expect to see on the trail. At just two (Australian!) dollars, some of its inaccuracies could be forgiven, especially since it was written by 4th graders! Kathy did read loud and clear: don’t pet the spiders. Duh! Since we left the hotel so early, we decided to find another trailhead, as if 2.5 miles of endless up and down was not enough. Next on the list was the Nature Trek, another loop trail that is approximately 4.5 miles long. What was not in the description was that the trail consisted of stairs, more stairs, and even more stairs – all headed downhill. (And we all know what happens to things that go down…) The saving grace is once you have done the stairs, you arrive at a Conservation Hut Café – a small diner at the top of the hill. It was a wonderful spot to stop and get liquid refreshment and a cookie for the rest of our journey back to our car. Kathy had a banana smoothie that called to mind Dave’s feeble attempt to get a banana smoothie in Morocco (which was really a banana split loaded with ice cream, toppings, and of course a banana or two) while Dave opted for hot cocoa. Still winter here!
It was an enjoyable day and we made it back to the hotel before the sun set at 5 pm (remember, we are in Australian winter right now!) Last on the list was to find dinner, a local fast food taco joint for tacos and burritos. Now, if we can only make it until 9 pm before we fall asleep!
