The First 2 Weeks

The first two weeks are done and dusted, in fact, it's been almost 4 weeks since we left home and it is only now that I have had the time, space and energy to blog.

The first two weeks were tough. Really tough. For completely different reasons.

Week 1 was spent at North Haven so Greg could do some work at his parent's house before we headed off. This meant he spent every day at their house, working hard on much needed maintenance/repairs, and I was trying to settle in to the new routine and schooling Tilda. It was lovely to spend time with his parents, as they are lovely people, but it was hard too. It wasn't really the start of the journey as we barely spent any time together as a family and it just felt rushed. It was hard for the kids as they were confined to inside the in-laws house quite a bit as we spent a lot of time with them and their yard isn't fenced so the kids can't roam. It was also hard knowing that we will be leaving them for a year. Week 1 was mostly tough on an emotional level.

Week 2 was tough for a very different reason. We did so much, and crammed so much into every day, that it was physically exhausting. Every day we bushwalked to waterfalls or lookouts or other adventures, most of which included steps, steps and more steps. It was a lovely time together and felt like the real start of our "big lap".

We did all of the "obligatory" Katoomba attractions - the Three Sisters, Katoomba Falls, Katoomba Cascades and Scenic World. We had hoped to do the Giant Staircase but decided it would be too much for the little ones so gave it a miss in the end, much to Greg's disappointment.

Selfie on the Scenic Railway

We also did the not so touristy attractions... namely the hike to Mini Ha Ha Falls, walked part way to Wentworth Falls and played in the playground at Blackheath (which is pretty awesome, by the way). The walk to Mini HaHa is a relatively simple walk, with some very steep ladders towards the end. The gorge and cliff walls are stunning and worth the walk. At the bottom of the Falls is a swimming hole. It was a very hot day so we had intended to swim. One dip of the toe soon had me reconsidering the wisdom of this as it was FREEZING! OK, so maybe not freezing, but pretty darn cold. The Falls were mainly visited by young teens and twenty-somethings who were all braving the water to swim or jump in from the rocks. Greg decided to swim, so after sitting on the ledge for a little bit in he went. I could tell by the look on his face and the way he sucked in his breath that it was cold. I ummed and ahhed for a while and in the end decided that I needed to do this too. I mean, I'm only getting older and if I don't do these things now, I never will. So after some psyching up I dove in. What can I say? It was so cold it made you gasp and then it felt like you just couldn't breathe. I lasted all of probably a minute and that involved the "holy crap it's cold, I'm gonna get out" mad paddle for the rocks. It was cold but invigorating. I think I can see why Swedish people go to saunas and then plunge into ice cold water, but it's not something I would do in a hurry. I was also happy to overcome my initial nervousness/fears of diving into a freezing cold, who knows how deep, pool at the bottom of a waterfall. It was a first for me.