Scenic World: Mountains Of Fun

One of the most recommended place to see in New South Wales is the Blue Mountains, a good glimpse of the state’s highlands. When you arrived at Katoomba, a suburb of Blue Mountains, you’ll see iconic landmarks and rock formations such as the Three Sisters, Katoomba Falls, Mount Solitary, Jamison Valley, Megalong Valley, Pool of Siloam, Gordon Falls and Leura Cascades. Hence, a lot of view points are built like the Echo Point, Honeymoon Lookout, Narrow Neck Lookout, Devil’s Hole, Cahill’s Lookout and Olympian Rock Lookout to name a few. The spot is loved by hikers because every corner of is wondrous and rewarding. After all, walking trails are created for them.

But upon planning our day tour at Blue Mountains, I discovered the best way to immerse ourselves in this spectacular slice of nature. There’s a tourist attraction here that seems like an outdoor amusement park. But it is more unique because it is set on a mountain side so its rides follow the slope of the mountain and the height of the cliffs.

There are four attractions in Scenic World, three of which are cable-driven rides. These are Scenic Cableway, Scenic Railways, Scenic Skyway and Scenic Walkway.

We first tried the Scenic Skyway since we dropped by at Scenic World’s East Station near Katoomba Cascades and not by the main entrance, thinking that it would be less crowded here. There were still a lot of people in queue because there was only one car and we have to wait for ten minutes for it to arrive. It’s a good thing that one car can accommodate 84 passengers for every ride. As I wait though, I saw how the cable car goes low when it was pulled by cables, especially halfway, so I was frightened and ready to back out.

But once we set foot into the car, we didn’t feel the motion at all as the ride was a slow and smooth. As we glided from one cliff to another while suspended above the ravines, we were caught by the breathtaking views of rainforest canopy that revealed beneath our feet through the electro-glass cabin floor. Opened in 1958, the Scenic Skyway was Australia’s first cable car and the largest aerial cable car in the Southern Hemisphere.

We headed immediately to the Scenic Railway, the steepest passenger railway in the world. The original railway was built in the late 19th century to serve the Katoomba coal mine. Acquired by the Hammon family in 1945, it is operating for tourists for over 70 years. Its route goes through a cliff tunnel before emerging on the floor of the Jamison Valley. It’s also one way of visitors to get down to the bottom part of the Scenic World. The speed was no joke, too.

Our first try on the railway was so funny. We didn’t really enjoy the railway on our first ride because I was busy thinking about myself and busy thinking where I can hold. Before I can get myself comfortable, we were already at the bottom. It’s a good thing we can ride again and again. I made sure I was physically ready the second time so I got to enjoy the views around the tram. The scene, however, was so narrow because it was covered with big rock on one side and towering trees on the other.

If you really want to enjoy the panorama of Blue Mountains, for me, the best rides in Scenic World are Scenic Skyway and Scenic Cableway since these two are built at an unobstructed location. The cabin is made of glass so it provides a 360-degree view of the surroundings, most specifically the Katoomba Falls, the Three Sisters, Mount Solitary, Jamison Valley and endless expanse of the Blue Mountains.

Scenic Cableway is almost the same with Scenic Skyway. The Scenic Cableway is just different because it travels through an inclined path from Jamison Valley to the top of the cliff and vice versa. It is the steepest aerial cable car in the Southern Hemisphere. Passing closely by sheer sandstone cliffs, it showcases the renowned geology and geomorphology of the World Heritage region.

Disembark the Cableway directly onto the Scenic Walkway to experience temperate rainforest. As its name says, the Scenic World’s Scenic Walkway will let you use your feet to wander around, unlike the first three rides. Scenic Walkway is a 500-meter elevated boardwalk between the Railway and Cableway stations. The easy ten-minute walk will let you explore many species of native flora and fauna at this part of Jamison Valley.

Along the way, there are life-sized historical figures, like the original mine entrance, a replica of miners’ hut and scale bronze sculpture of a miner and his pit pony, that display how this site was before. Apart from coal mining history, the Wallway led us to the world of dinosaurs, where it displays and teaches the life of dinosaurs from being eggs up to being extinct. I find it educational, especially for kids.

The excitement doesn’t end there because Scenic World offers another premium ride for adventurous tourists. It’s called Beyond Skyway, the world’s first rooftop cable car experience. Instead of riding inside the Skyway cable car, Beyond Skyway passengers stand on top of the car without glass barriers! Beyond Skyway can be availed through a separate ticket, which includes 20-minute ride on the roof of the cabin and refreshments upon return.

After a fun-filled experience at Scenic World, we took a rest at Terrace Bar. It’s an al fresco restaurant of Scenic World and it has the best view in the Blue Mountains to enjoy a drink and the sunset. Since we recently had our lunch at The Banker at Leura, I only ordered Strawberry Milkshake to ease dehydration. The milkshake was sweet, creamy and fruity. It was so good that one large cup wasn’t enough for me.

Before I end this story, I would like to thank Blue Mountains Explorer Bus for the tour. Scenic World may be reached through public transport but we chose to avail the Blue Mountains Explorer Bus because of its extra service. The tour bus didn’t just brought us directly to Scenic World but it also led us around the suburbs, Katoomba and Leura. Through this, we saw beautiful village houses and discovered local museums and restaurants.