This past weekend marked my fourth weekend in the beautiful country of Australia, and we explored a new location, just two hours from Sydney. The program and I got the privilege to visit a wildlife preserve and also experience the beauty of the Blue Mountains, Sydney’s most known national park. This is a must see when visiting Sydney, and the views are breathtaking.
First, we were taken to Featherdale Wildlife Park where we got to see, feed, and play with all sorts of native Australian animals like Kangaroos, Wallabies, Koalas, and Tasmanian Devils. Although you may not believe it, I have been here for four weeks and this was my first time seeing these animals. They don’t just roam around urban streets like I had previously believed. The Koalas are not very energetic animals and they have very limited mobility, this is primarily because all they do is eat gum tree leaves, and they aren’t packed with nutrients.
First, we were taken to Featherdale Wildlife Park where we got to see, feed, and play with all sorts of native Australian animals like Kangaroos, Wallabies, Koalas, and Tasmanian Devils. Although you may not believe it, I have been here for four weeks and this was my first time seeing these animals. They don’t just roam around urban streets like I had previously believed. The Koalas are not very energetic animals and they have very limited mobility, this is primarily because all they do is eat gum tree leaves, and they aren’t packed with nutrients.
Not only did we see these animals, but we got to pet and feed some of them too. The little kangaroos were the best, they were pretty tame and they would come right up and eat from your hands. Don’t worry, the people said that these animals thrive on human interaction, and that during covid when they had to shut down, pretty much every animal showed severe signs of depression.
After this, we headed for the Blue Mountains, which gets its name from the reflection of the sun, causing them to give off a blue hue during the day. We did some waterfall and canyon hiking and got some amazing views. Some people from the program stayed the night to continue on with more hiking bright and early the next day, I however decided not to. You can really see the blue reflection in this photo:
When I got back, my roommate and I regretted not staying over. So we did the only logical thing and woke up at 4am the following morning to begin the journey back and join up with the rest of them. The first bus was full, so after three trains and two buses, we finally arrived to the closest station. We also underestimated this distance and had to walk four miles just to get to the beginning of the hike. It was a trek, but it was so worth it. We spent the rest of the day hiking with the crew that spent the night, and walked around ten miles, swam it a couple waterfalls, and saw some views that left us speechless. I was running on two hours of sleep, but am so thankful I got up and went.
If you ever have the chance, you NEED to come to Sydney and definitely put a day or two exploring the Blue Mountains on your itinerary.