Australia 2006
| Before diving into the convention itself, we spent our last
few days in Katoomba, located in
the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. It felt a lot like the Grand Canyon, only instead of dry red sand everywhere you have eucalyptus forest as far as the eye can see. While in Katoomba, we stayed at the luxurious Lilianfels resort--certainly the swankest joint I've ever experienced. Here's a view of the Three Sisters, the most well-known local landmark, and the valley behind. |
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While in Katoomba, we also visited the fabulous
Jenolan Caves.
This amazing network of caverns displays an unending series of spectacular cavern growths, including the curtain of stalactites pictured at the left. |
| Here's a close-up view of that broken section in the above
picture.
As you can see, the cave's already hard at work filling in the gap. Stalactites inside stalactites! |
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Eventually, however, the sun must set on all vacations, and
this one was no different. Eventually, we winged our way back across the
Pacific to the familiar gray autumn of the Puget Sound...sigh. We greatly enjoyed our visit to Australia, and recommend it to anyone looking to combine urban conveniences and friendly locals with natural beauty and spectacular sights. Thanks to Wes Nicholson for his invitation and hospitality, and to all the RPGA players who made us feel at home during the convention! |