Day 22: Home, sweet home
We woke up to a nice big breakfast at our hotel (yay for free food!) and ate to our belly’s delight before getting back on the road to finish up our Blue Mountains drive. We visited some beautiful spots that overlooked mountainous rainforests as far as the eye could see – lush rolling hills teeming with eucalyptus trees all around us. We did a couple of hikes, once again through quite a bit of sludge and rainwater, and saw some more memorable views of the endless mountains.
Then, we made our way down very windy and treacherous cliffside roads to an end-of-the-road valley (we like those end-of-the-road towns!). There, we took an extensive tour through awe-inspiring limestone caves full of stalagtites and stalagmites, helictites and “shawls” made of pure crystal. We could not believe that the original explorers discovered and mapped these caves in the 1800s solely by the light of a candle. It was spectacular! Yay again for nature!
Since it was getting close to evening, we opted out of more cave tours and made our way to Canberra, the capital of Australia, to visit some of Rachna’s family who lives there.
Arriving “home” after three weeks of being constantly on the go was such a great feeling. There is something to be said about just being able to sit down at a dinner table with a yummy home-cooked meal and have a regular conversation that doesn’t involve trying to figure out our next move! Not to mention hanging out with family and having little kids drape over you with smiles, hugs, and lots of love! There really is no place like home – no matter where it is.
We woke up to a nice big breakfast at our hotel (yay for free food!) and ate to our belly’s delight before getting back on the road to finish up our Blue Mountains drive. We visited some beautiful spots that overlooked mountainous rainforests as far as the eye could see – lush rolling hills teeming with eucalyptus trees all around us. We did a couple of hikes, once again through quite a bit of sludge and rainwater, and saw some more memorable views of the endless mountains.
Then, we made our way down very windy and treacherous cliffside roads to an end-of-the-road valley (we like those end-of-the-road towns!). There, we took an extensive tour through awe-inspiring limestone caves full of stalagtites and stalagmites, helictites and “shawls” made of pure crystal. We could not believe that the original explorers discovered and mapped these caves in the 1800s solely by the light of a candle. It was spectacular! Yay again for nature!
Since it was getting close to evening, we opted out of more cave tours and made our way to Canberra, the capital of Australia, to visit some of Rachna’s family who lives there.
Arriving “home” after three weeks of being constantly on the go was such a great feeling. There is something to be said about just being able to sit down at a dinner table with a yummy home-cooked meal and have a regular conversation that doesn’t involve trying to figure out our next move! Not to mention hanging out with family and having little kids drape over you with smiles, hugs, and lots of love! There really is no place like home – no matter where it is.
Rolling mountains
Cave formations
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