Steem Wars: Day 3: HOME: Team Australia submission by Private Arlybear
Welcome to my home town, the beautiful World Heritage Listed, Greater Blue Mountains. Located about an hour and a half from Sydney, it is, in my opinion, Sydney's hidden gem.
My mountain journey began in 2011 when Ben took me to Echoes for my 31st birthday. I remember that bitter cold day, it was true to form Katoomba weather, misty, fresh and just bloody cold, but I was excited anyway because it was our first trip up here.
We pulled up to this gorgeous boutique hotel called Echoes. I fell in love straight away. The grounds we're beautiful and best of all, it seems to be quiet, exclusive and intimate. I like that. I don't do well in crowds.
We headed up stairs straight away. After an hour drive I had a mighty thirst for wine and made a bee line to the bar... Ok I didn't Ben got my drink for me.. That's me sitting down, on my phone, while staff sorts out the massive glass fireplace.
The suite was warm and cosy with killer views....
..... and a small outdoor area so we can walk out to the garden and take better photos of the killer view.
That is not fog. That, my people, are clouds.
The buffet breakfast sealed the deal for me.
The seed was planted after that trip.
As years went and I quit my job and focused on working with energy, the need to leave the Sydney basin increased until we began looking for land, coming to the conclusion perhaps we should try before we buy..
Fast foward to 2015. Time to try before we buy.
This is a photo taken from the sunroom in our house the morning after we moved. Amazing right? I loved that house.
I instantly felt at home and for the first time in a very long time I started drawing and painting again.
Sometimes (most of the time) I'll have a visitor. This little guy is Patch, on account of the dirt patch on his chest, except he's really not little. Cockatoos are BIG birds! He became my friend and bird protector, coming back again and again after all the others have gone.
He eventually got really friendly and started knocking on my bedroom window.
Then he brought a friend..
The whole family..
Distant cousins.. All hand fed by me :)
I've lived at a lot of different places and nothing beats the Blue Mountains on freshness, community, friendly fauna and views.
Moving up here changed my life. If you can make it up here I suggest you do and you'll see what I mean. Can you tell I love where I live? :D
Hero Standard by: <3 Private Arlybear
I was looking and I was thinking this looks like here in my Blue Ridge Mountains, until the birds. Wow. My very first after school job at age 14 was cleaning cages in a pet store (among other tasks) and we had a cockatoo that sat on the register and talked to customers "hiiiii" "ank yew!" "need a bag?"
Would these wild ones mimic too?
ohh you're a mountain folk too! It's great being up in the mountains isn't it? Huge flood? not up here, all that goes down the mountain! ;)
These are wild cockatoos, I don't know if they can talk, but they're hella smart. They learned to track me around the house, made easy by the wrap around deck, but still they stalked me while I was inside the house.
I reckon if I had another few months with Patch he would have flown away dropping the F bomb all over the mountains :D
"fowl" language! :D
:D :D :D lolol yup!
I should have seen that coming :D
Yep DUCK!
Was there just last week. this photo though is a little older but it is very rare - it is as if it was taken before the Skyway was built
Wow. Such a gorgeous photo!
You didn't come up for Winterfest did you?
We came up for a birthday party for a friend who runs Rex-Livingstone gallery in Katoomba. We decided to stay away from the crowds - though we did stay in town above the gallery and had breakfast with the survivors on Sunday morning.
How was it?
Ohh I've never been to the gallery. I'll have to check it out.
That was very smart of you lol
We got there too late and missed out on the food. However we managed to migrate to pub after pub along with the rest of society that night.
Sunday morning was brutal.
Beautiful hometown. Love those mountains. I dream to be there someday!
The mountains are amazing. Come up! We'll have coffee :)
Wow! ! This is really cool. . I'll be there soon😊 have a nice day.
You too beautiful!
😊
You've inspired me Arly - upvoted and resteemed! SK.
When are you moving? :D
Thanks brother!
Not today - too bloody cold atm. ;) Off to ACT tomorrow too. Freezing! SK.
LOL ACT apparently is meant to be colder than Katoomba. Good luck! I've been stuck to the fireplace for 2 months now :D Stuff going to ACT
Looks like loads of fun. and I would like to eat at the buffet lol
That breakfast buffet was insane! I wish I got up earlier and was there the moment they brought the food out! :D
I stayed with a friend in Winmalee back in 96.
Beautiful place.
Winmalee is beautiful we drive out there sometimes to shop (not that many shopping centres up here) and it's really sought after right now. I've been watching the house prices out here and not that many people want to sell their house at Winmalee.
You should come back. They fixed the Great Western Highway and now it's a cruisy scenic drive.
It's a long way from Adelaide, but then what isn't?
Give those 'flamin galahs' a pat from me, and I'll give our opportunistic magpies a pat from you.
Ohh geesh Adelaide! Yeh it's a bit of a hike :D
Deal! lol
lovely pics :) i've been to the blue mountains a couple of times and i really loved it, so beautiful and i found the atmosphere there very peaceful yet invigorating somehow. you're so lucky to live there!
Peaceful and invigorating - that's it exactly.
I always think it's because of all the trees. We definitely have more trees than people up here.
I think the community is so tight knit because of that. We are actually considered "country" we have a Country Target lol
Come and move up before the prices skyrocket!!
that view, those animals, that peaceful feeling... amazing place! Drawing and painting are my talent too! very hidden tho, but I hope one day I will discover them :) Beautiful place :)
It is amazing :) I love love love it up here.
I know your talents will come out in time. It's a bit like that with me. Different things come out when Im in a different place.
I adore The Blue Mountains. My favourite place in the area is The Jenolan Caves. I cried when I was ten and my Dad wouldn't let me do one last tour of the caves. A couple of years ago, we got caught in un-forecasted snow in a rental car driving from Goulburn to Oberon. I had no idea what to do except "avoid the black ice", which you can't see anyway. I'm a Queenslander for God's sake. I know surf lifesaving. But snow? I'm 110% useless. But yeah, we made it safely to Blackheath. So beautiful, we didn't want to leave. I also love love love Norman Lindsey's place. You know why The Blue Mountains are in the clouds? Because they're the foothills of heaven.
Say Hi to Patch for me :-D Tell him he has a fan club now.
I haven't been to Jenolan Caves in ages - You make me want to go. Awww hun (((hugs)))) I would have cried too. That place is magic.
LOL :D Thank god you make it back to Blackheath safely! That's the thing up here, come winter - who am I kidding - come autumn it can snow at any time. I worry about hubby when he's driving to work early in the morning. There's been a lot of crashes up here lately :( so yeh.. Im really glad you guys made it back Ok.
I still need to visit the Norman Lindsay Gallery. We drive past it all the time and it actually made it to my wedding venue short list, yet I have never been!
I'm adding Jenolan Caves and Normal Lindsay to my to do list ;) Thanks @diginaut
Haha I will if I ever see him again. We moved last year (just across the Great Western - such is my devotion to my mountains lol) and now we're waiting and looking for the right property to buy.
I'll say some prayers for your hubby hun. If I moved there, I don't think I'd leave.
Thats so lovely of you hun. Thank you I really appreciate that.
Yes it's a bit like that. We tried it because I'm terrible with the cold, but once we got here we both looked at each other and said we aint never going back down the mountain. lol
Beautiful views and great post. And your very own aviary!
Beats Indiana thats for sure! :P
haha the Blue Mountains is one big aviary