Blue Mountains: Grand Canyon Hike

This past weekend we ventured up to the Blue Mountains to hike through Australia's Grand Canyon. While it wasn't as large or "grand" as the one back home, it was still quite impressive. The canyon is set in dense old-growth forest and has a stream/river running along the bottom. We traversed up and down the canyon walls multiple times as well as crisscrossed the stream throughout the hike.


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We had a beautiful day for it, cool with bright blue skies. The rain stayed away, defying the weather girl's most dire predictions.

At the end, we were rewarded with amazing views into the next valley, gazing deep into the heart of Blue Mountains National Park.

Us at the top, what a view!

We will definitely be back in the future to check out more amazing hikes. Blue Mountains National Park is only a 2 hour drive from where we live, making weekend day trips an easy proposition. They seem to do a really good job maintaining the many trails that thread through the region, enabling access to a diverse range of hikes and amazing views.

Clambering over a log to get across the stream

Crisscrossing the stream at the bottom of the canyon

Chris on a log that crossed the stream at the bottom of the canyon

Bright green moss covering everything on either side of the path

The view into the next valley

Looking down the canyon from about halfway down

Team photo, midway down into the canyon

One of the many small waterfalls all around the canyon

Looking across the canyon, such dense plant life

Amy and Chris behind one of the larger waterfalls

Visitor #1: James Legrand - Part 1

The first of many visitors?

Amy's brother James recently came to stay with us for about 3 weeks. We were overjoyed that he was able to come out. His plan was to sit on the beach with a beer and relax.

He did this for 1.5 days.


The rest of the time we had him fishing, diving, snorkeling, hiking, surfing, and seeing the sights around Manly and Sydney.

Stunning views met us around every bend in the trail

He has still not recovered from his vacation, returning to the brutal cold of a Massachusetts winter, surely did not help.

James in front of the largest waterfall we encountered

One of the larger adventures we took him on was an excursion to the Blue Mountains for a stunning hike through the aptly named Valley of the Waterfalls.


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James and I took this trip while poor Amy was stuck at work but we were sure to have enough fun for 3 people to make up for the deficit.

I almost perished scrabbling over the slick rocks for this picture

The views of the surrounding valley, as well as the waterfalls themselves were absolutely stunning. This trek, and the greater Blue Mountains National Park are about a 2 hour drive from where we live, but it seemed like another world.

Those convicts sure knew how to pick a country

Stay tuned, we have lots more pictures of other adventures we undertook while James was visiting including another hike, diving, and watersking.