This was an excellent tour that was worth every dollar we paid. Our guides were very knowledgable and we had a great time. The hot drinks, doughnuts, and the food we had for lunch was all fantastic. Thank you Menashe and Yamandirra!
Here's how our day went:
Menashe (pronounced Men-osh) picked us up early in the morning just a block from our hotel. We went over the Anzac memorial bridge and had a great view of Sydney in the morning. We stopped by the Olympic center before leaving Sydney and then took the highway to the Blue Mountains. On the way, Menashe gave us a lot of information about the Blue Mountains, wildlife, the Aboriginal people, and really any other question we had, including questions about Sydney and Australia in general. We stopped at a place called Dolly's Doughnuts where we had hot drinks and doughnuts before eventually being dropped off with Yamandirra (pronounced Yam-an-dear-a), an Aboriginal man and our tour guide through the Blue Mountains for the hike. We sat for about an hour learning about Aboriginal culture, including looking at artifacts, and participated in a traditional energy cleansing ceremony before hiking. Yamandirra is incredibly knowledgeable about not only Aboriginal culture, but about the wildlife and the flora/fauna we passed along the way. You will learn so much from him. On the hike we stopped in several places to look at the Katoomba Falls and the Three Sisters (which there is much more to the story and the meaning in Aboriginal culture). We eventually met up with the rest of the group after a two hour informative walk (those who did not sign up for the Aboriginal experience went on the cable car and other scenic places). We then went to the main overlook and then to lunch at a restaurant in Katoomba (if you're American, Katoomba looks a bit like a Rocky Mountain town) called The Yellow Deli, where the food is fantastic (Menashe took our orders ahead of time before both stops so that we did very little waiting). We then took an hour drive to the Featherdale Wildlife Park, where we saw all the well-known animals of Australia. We even got to pet a Koala (can't pick them up in New South Wales) and the Kangaroos! We then took another 45 minute drive back to Sydney where Menashe again was very knowledgeable about about anything you can think of Australia. That was the end of the tour!
We had a great day and believe you will as well!
