Frommer's Australia from $50 a Day 13th Edition - To Parent Directory

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CHAPTER 4 . NEW SOUTH WALES
Tips Timing Is Everything: When to Visit
If you can, try to visit the Blue Mountains on weekdays, when most Sydneysiders
are at work and the prices are lower. Note that the colder winter
months (June–Aug) are the busiest season. This period is known as
Yuletide—the locals’ version of the Christmas period, when most places
offer traditional Christmas dinners and roaring log fires.
aimed at younger people. A day trip including a visit to Featherdale Wildlife
Park costs A$70 (US$45); and a 4-day trip including abseiling and canyoning
costs A$395 (US$257).
Visitours (& 02/9909 0822; www.visitours.com.au) runs a fabulous
minibus trip to the mountains, stopping off at Featherdale Wildlife Park and the
Olympic site. You get to see all the usual 1-day sights, learn to throw a
boomerang and play the didgeridoo, and take a ferry ride down the Parramatta
River back to Circular Quay in Sydney.
Cox’s River Escapes, P.O. Box 81, Leura, NSW 2780 (& 02/4784 1621;
www.bluemts.com.au/CoxsRiver/), offers recommended tours for those wanting
to get off the beaten track. Half-day trips with morning or afternoon tea cost
A$110 (US$72); full-day trips with morning tea, lunch, and afternoon refreshments
and entry into Jenolan Caves cost A$220 (US$143).
AAT Kings, Shop 1, corner of Alfred St. and Ferry Wharf no. 1, Circular
Quay (& 02/9518 6095; www.aatkings.com), operates three typical big bus
tours of the mountains, taking in most of the usual sights, with a couple of short
walks included. One tour includes a visit to Jenolan Caves. Tours range in cost
from A$85 to A$113 (US$55–US$73) for adults, and A$43 to A$86
(US$28–US$60) for children. Another large operator, Australian Pacific Tours
(& 1300/655 965; fax 02/9660 5016), offers a similar trip with a visit to the
Australian Wildlife Park and a quick visit to the Sydney Olympic site at Homebush
Bay. This tour costs A$94 (US$61) for adults and A$47 (US$31) for children.
If you hate big-group travel, then choose another option.
BUSHWALKING & OTHER ACTIVE ENDEAVORS
Whereas almost every other activity costs money, bushwalking (hiking) is the
exception to the rule that nothing in life is free. There are some 50 walking trails
in the Blue Mountains, ranging from routes you can cover in 15 minutes to the
3-day Six Foot Track that starts just outside Katoomba and finishes at Jenolan
Caves. If you are planning on some bushwalking, I highly recommend picking
up Sydney and Beyond—Eighty-Six Walks in NSW by Andrew Mevissen (Macstyle
Publishing). It features eight walks in the Blue Mountains, from easy 1-hour treks
to 6-hour tramps. Buy it at bookshops and tourist information centers. Otherwise,
the staff at the tourist offices and National Park office will be happy to point
you in the right direction, whether it be for an hour’s stroll or a full-day’s hike.
Great Australian Walks, 81 Elliot St., Balmain, NSW 2041 (& 1300/360 499
in Australia, or 02/9555 7580; www.greatwalks.com.au), is a superb operator
offering walks in the Blue Mountains. I had great fun on their 3-day “Six Foot
Track Walk” from Katoomba to Jenolan Caves. Though not a wilderness trek, it
goes through pockets of rainforest and gum forests and traverses farming country.
One of the best adventure operators in the area, High ’n’ Wild, Unit 3, No.
5 Katoomba St., Katoomba, NSW 2780 (& 02/4782 6224; www.high-nwild.com.au),
offers a series of canyon expeditions, taking in scenic rainforest