Black Mountain - Kalkajaka, as the Australian aborigines call it, is perhaps the most mysterious and frightening place in North Queensland. From the side, the accumulation of huge boulders resembles a heap of coal up to the sky. Geologists believe that this massif is approximately 250 million years old. Mountain - solidified magma was eroded, granite blocks gradually collapsed, crumbled at the edges, until they reached the size of the present boulders.

Historian Hans Looser from Cooktown is a true fan of the mysteries of Kalkajaki, although he would never be dragged into its underground galleries. Throughout his life, he collected the myths and stories of the aborigines about Black Mountain, as well as the memories of eyewitnesses. One of the local legends, says Looser, says that the mountain is of man-made origin, and inside it is hidden an underground empire ruled by reptilians - aliens from another planet, served by fish people ...

Disappeared without a trace

For the first time, the disappearance of people in the area of ​​the mountain was recorded in 1877, almost immediately after the founding of a settlement of white people here. Postman Greiner on horseback searched for a stray calf. And the man, the horse, and the calf disappeared without a trace ... A few years later, inside the mountain, fleeing from pursuers, the fugitive convict Jack Sugar Leg and two of his friends hid. No one saw them again ... Thirteen years later, Constable Ryan from the Cooktown precinct chased the criminal, reached the foot of the mountain - and he was ...

In the 1920s, two young European cavers tried to explore the mountain. They did not return from the caves, as did the two policemen who went in search of them ... What happened to all these people? This mystery excited the Czech explorer Ivan Makerle, who organized an expedition to the vicinity of Black Mountain.

Cave labyrinths

Makerle and his comrades set up a camp near the mountain. At the same time, part of the research group remained at the hotel and kept in touch with them in case of unforeseen circumstances. The Czechs moved along the bed of a dried-up river, which led them to a gloomy, scary place. The shadow of the twisted trees covered the sky, there were dusty bushes and wilted flowers around, and black glossy boulders towered menacingly right overhead ... By evening it quickly got dark, as is usually the case in the tropics. Suddenly a strong wind rose, and people took refuge in the tent ... They were awakened by strange sounds. At first they heard a stone rolling off a cliff right above them ... Then something seemed to slowly slide down the mountain on them ... tent ... A flashlight beam snatched from the darkness a shapeless dark mass that swayed in front of a gloomy wall of black bushes and trees ... However, it soon dissipated. There was silence. It was not possible to find any traces of the night guest, and the people returned to the tent ...

The next morning they began to look for an entrance to the bowels of Kalkajaki. This was easily achieved: the entire mountain was dotted with gaps. Some passages stretched only a few meters deep, others were lost in the darkness ...

Makerle and his companions threw a rope and began to descend along it through one of the holes. They found themselves in a spacious room, from which corridors extended in all directions. We decided to start with the widest one, going diagonally. After walking about a dozen meters, the researchers found themselves in another dark room, from which four corridors led. The first two turned out to be dead ends. In the third, at first I had to crawl, and then a rather high, human-sized tunnel opened ...

In order to find their way back, people marked the path with a climbing rope. The tunnel led straight and was easy to walk through. Then there was a sharp turn, and the vault overhead dropped. Suddenly, a huge bat darted towards those who were walking. There were quite a few of these creatures, hanging on the ledge and swaying monotonously. Unfortunately, it turned out to be impossible to move on.

A huge block, which had once fallen from the ceiling, was blocking the passage. When Makerle squeezed into the crack below it, a large flat stone swayed treacherously under his feet. He almost slipped down, but miraculously escaped falling into the abyss ... In the next few days, the researchers returned to the caves more than once, but soon realized that it would take a lot of time to explore the complex underground system of passages.

The Czech group explained the mysterious disappearances in Kalkajak. In the labyrinth of countless underground corridors it is easy to get lost, hurt, fall under a landslide ... But the mysterious sounds that sometimes come from the mountain range can produce falling stones, wind or even rock breaks caused by sudden temperature changes. However, Ivan Makerle could not explain one riddle. Who appeared near the explorers' tent at night? Maybe it really was an alien alien?

Rainbow serpent

There is also other evidence of anomalous phenomena in the Black Mountain area. Pilots flying over it reported unexplained turbulence, and there were also problems with navigation devices. People heard strange noises, some moans and roars.

Australian ufologists believe that under the mountain there is a portal leading to the underworld, where monsters that resemble lizards live. The natives did not call them aliens, they called them demons or ghosts. The tale of the rainbow serpent has a special place in Australian folklore. As a rule, he punished those who committed a bad deed. Sometimes he just swallowed people, sometimes he sowed chaos in the area. Aborigines consider him to be the progenitor and benefactor, and the huge mountain of Kalkajak is his home, permanent home. In order to ward off evil forces from the mountain, the aborigines hold a special sacred ceremony. They believe that the rainbow serpent, smelling the smell of smoke, understands that friends have come to visit him.

Proponents of paleocontacts have their own point of view: the rainbow serpent is a biological creature. Locals watched the flights of the alien spacecraft, from which lethal radiation emanated, because many died when they saw it. Another of the alleged reasons for the disappearance of people in the Black Mountain region may be associated with the fact that a gold deposit was found not far from it. It was discovered on the Palmall River by the traveler William Ham in 1872. Obviously, the environment around the mine was not the safest.

Blue Mountains National Park in Australia - translated as the Blue Mountains National Park. The unique wildlife sanctuary is named Katoomba National Park. This is one of the most mysterious and picturesque places on Earth. For those who have visited at least once in this place full of surprises will remember this trip for a long time. The mountains in Australia are called blue for a reason, the fact is that a very unusual optical phenomenon is observed there: millions of drops of eucalyptus oil, from giant eucalyptus trees, refract and cover the mountains, giving them a blue glowing color. A haze floats over the mountains, which gives the mountain armada a certain fantastic color, a feeling of unreality of what is happening, a feeling of a mirage and at the same time some kind of magical mystery that defies explanation, is created.

This miracle is located an hour's drive west of Sydney, the Blue Mountains are included in the UNESCO heritage list. Katoomba National Park, or as we say, the Blue Mountains, was founded in 1958. The area of ​​the park is 97 thousand hectares; rugged canyons and dangerous rocky ridges stretch throughout the territory. More than three million people every year from all over the world visit these wonderful places that can be admired endlessly. Blue eucalyptus, tree ferns, mint tree, acacia grow in the national park. Among these tropical trees, you can find no less exotic animals: mountain kangaroo wallaru, gray kangaroo, swamp wallaby, ring-tailed possum, cyst-tailed possum and other marsupials. A variety of exotic birds can amaze anyone, even the most fertile imagination. Here you will also meet the red fantail, Crimson's prosella, Wong's pigeon, yellow flycatcher, and the cave warbler, which lives only in this place in Australia.

There are a large number of waterfalls in the Australian National Park, here you can see both large and small waterfalls, visit the world's oldest caves from the Mesozoic period. Beneath the caves, you will be enchanted by the original platypus pond. The Three Sisters rock is especially popular in this park. Most intrepid hikers consider this place a paradise for horseback riding in the valleys. Thrill-seekers can crawl along the rocky ridges to their fullest, and for those who wish to test themselves with survival lessons, there is no more ideal place to find.

For tourists in the Blue Mountains National Park, all conditions are provided for a comfortable and unforgettable pastime. On the territory of this park there are observation platforms, from which magnificent, magnificent views of the valleys, the famous 3 Sisters cliff and the Echo gorge open up.

In the village, which is located on the territory of Katoomba, for thrill-seekers there is an opportunity to ride on a very steep railway, and for lovers of "spicy" - in the cabin of a cable car above the rocks. Beautiful Australia is waiting for you, get a lot of unforgettable impressions, recharge with positive emotions and dilute the boring everyday life of modern life.

Blue Mountains National Park in Australia- one of the most picturesque and therefore unforgettable places in the world!

Blue mountains are called because there is an unusual optical phenomenon: due to the refraction of light, numerous drops of eucalyptus oil from huge eucalyptus trees, which cover the mountains in abundance, give them a delicate blue color, a kind of haze that makes the mountain range look like some kind of fantastic mirage ...

Part of the famous Great Dividing Range, the Blue Mountains are just an hour's drive west of Sydney and are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Myself blue mountains national park was founded in 1958. The area of ​​the park is 97 thousand hectares.

Blue Mountains National Park

The uniqueness of the Blue Mountains lies, first of all, in their composition of rocks, which is atypical for the Great Dividing Range. Added to this is the abundance of rain and the activity of surface waters, which is common in such steep and rather high mountains. Short, turbulent rivers running down to the Tasman Sea have carved narrow, deep gorges in them. The highest point in the Blue Mountains is Mount Victoria (1,111 meters).

The flora of the park includes the characteristic tree species of the Australian rainforest: blue eucalyptus, tree ferns, acacia, mint tree. The fauna includes: gray kangaroo, mountain kangaroo (wallaru), marsh wallaby, brush-tailed and ring-tailed possums and other marsupials. There are many exotic birds here (red fantail, Wong's pigeon, Prosella Crimson, yellow flycatchers, cave warbler that lives only in the Blue Mountains, and others)

Blue Mountains National Park Three Sisters

For tourists in Blue Mountains National Park all conditions are created! There are several viewing platforms in the park, from where breathtaking views of the valleys located below, the famous rocks open The Three Sisters(giant rock formations from Aboriginal legends) and Echo Gorge.

In the village of Katoomba, you can ride the world's steepest railroad or over the cliffs in the cabin of the cable car. Australia's tallest waterfall can be seen here. Nearby, you can go down to the Jenolan Caves. These are the most famous limestone grottoes in Australia. One of the nine caves has an abundance of magically illuminated limestone stalactites and stalagmites. Activities also include mountain biking, long and short hikes, horseback riding or jeep rides. There are cafes and kiosks along the tourist routes.

Blue Mountains National Park open from 8 a.m. to 6-7 p.m. 365 days a year. A ticket for an adult costs $ 11 on average, children admission is free.

Blue Mountains National Park website http://www.visitbluemountains.com.au/

Visit Blue Mountains National Park very simple - book a tour to Australia with the "Australian Holidays" company. An excursion from the national park is included in the tour program for the May holidays.

After spending a couple of days in Sydney and seeing its main attractions, on the third day we decided to go on a pre-planned excursion to the Blue Mountains National Park - the Blue Mountains.

Of course, I liked the city very much. He's nice and comfortable. But, unfortunately, we were not able to visit a single museum. And there are several of them and quite famous - Marine, Australian, Science, Justice and Police, Mint. There are also several small, but no less significant historical monuments. Australians love the word "Museum" and create them even where you can only display an old cart or stagecoach from the 19th century. After all, there were no special rarities and works of art 100-150 years ago. There were only kangaroos and naked natives around.

And then there is a huge aquarium in Sydney. In addition, there are many interesting suburbs along the rugged coastline. And, of course, there are many beaches where you can spend a lot of time fooling around - after all, we arrived in the summer "from December". So two days in Sydney seemed to us a little! But - we have a tough plan with booked air tickets, hotels and a travel schedule that started just a few days ago.

Excursion to the Blue Mountains

The tour started at 07:20 am from the Oz Experience Office, 804 George Street. So we get up early again and take a taxi to the city center. In addition to us, there were 12 other tourists on the bus - various young people from Europe. Mostly girls for some reason.

The tourist trail and guide informed us on the way that the Blue Mountains Park was formed in 1959 and now covers an area of ​​approximately 2,481 km². There are several rivers in it - Wollangambe, Grows, Cox, Wollondilly and Nepin. If we are lucky, we will be able to see the animals living in the park - kangaroos, koalas, dingos, emus, foxes, stray cats and even horses. And from the picturesque places we will see the Three Sisters Rocks, Wentworth Falls and the Blue Eucalyptus Forest. Super!

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Blue Mountains of Australia. From the Internet

After a couple of hours of driving inland, we arrived at the outskirts of a village. The mountains are nowhere to be seen - there is only one plain all around. Leaving our bus on the outskirts of the village, the driver, who is also a guide, took us to the trail, and we began to descend!


We begin to descend into the Blue Mountains

What kind of mountains are these, I thought? Why the hell are we going down? But, after a couple of kilometers along the path going down, we came to a small two-stage waterfall "Wentworth Falls" three meters high. True, the upper cascade is a little dry. General jubilation, photos like "me and a waterfall". When, having descended another 100 meters, we went to the observation deck, then far ahead we saw another "coast" of the mountains.

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Dali Blue Mountains

It became clear that the village, on the outskirts of which we left our bus, was on a plateau. And everything fell into place. The mountains are a huge ravine or, if convenient, a canyon, with their hills, peaks and lowlands, washed out in ancient times by streams of water.

In a geological sense, the Blue Mountains are a huge sandstone plateau that has been rising higher and higher (due to lowering!) Over the past three million years, in which deep and narrow gorges and valleys, steep cliffs, waterfalls and turbulent mountain rivers have formed ... The difference in elevation ranges from 1215 meters (Mount Verong) to 20 meters (Nepin River) above sea level.

Dali lurk in a blue haze, which Australians believe is the fumes of essential oils from eucalyptus trees. But where, then, did our expression come from: "and he ran away from me into the blue distance"? We don't have eucalyptus forests. Most likely, this is just a common physical atmospheric phenomenon in clear weather in the mountains, skillfully adopted by enterprising Australians. Nevertheless, today we know these mountains under the name Blue Mountains.

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The way back we go along the trail through the recently (last year?) Burnt out eucalyptus forest. The small shrub is damaged, the branches are black and practically without leaves, there is a lot of foliage on large trees, the grass cover is developed normally. There are still a lot of dry branches and leaves lying on the ground - food for the fire still remains.


Eucalyptus threw off his clothes

We approach our bus and move to lunch place - a beautiful green lawn with tables and benches placed in different places.
It was Sunday and of course they were all busy. On some of them the tourists even rested lying down.



Picnic and lunch spot in the Blue Mountains

They did not look for a new place and settled down right on the grass.
Lunch - meat, sausages, vegetable salads, bread, fruits, hot tea, coffee and water - was brought by our guide and laid out on folding tables removed from the bus. Everyone stood in line, like in a restaurant, and took as much as they wanted. There was even a supplement. After lunch we went to see another section of the Blue Mountains.

We again go down to the valley along the mountain path. It takes us to the high waterfall Katoomba Falls, which falls from an almost one hundred meter height. The waterfall is thin - probably in spring - in September, it is more spectacular. Then we come to the cliff, behind which the "blue" distances of the opposite "coast" of the mountains are again visible.

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Waterfalls in December are not very deep

On the left you can see interesting rock formations - "Three Sisters". There is a legend about them: one aboriginal leader of the Katoomba tribe, who had three daughters, did not want to marry them to representatives of another tribe and the latter went to war with him. At a critical moment in the battle, seeing that things were moving towards their capture, he turned his daughters into three rocks, hoping to reverse the action after defeating the enemy. But, alas - he died, and the sisters Mikhni, Vimla and Gannedu remained in the form of rock statues. Yes, whatever you say - a beautiful legend. And these three rocks themselves are quite unusual in shape and make the landscape great.

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Famous rocks "Three sisters"

Back - up to the town of Katoomba - we return on a unique lift - the steepest railway in the world, which is listed for this reason in the Guinness Book of Records. Its tilt is 52 °! Coal mined here was once lifted along it by trolleys. Now it consists of three low (130 centimeters) open trailers with seats that go up and down the rails with cables. There was a lot of enthusiasm, especially when we drove into a dark and narrow tunnel.

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Escalator train to Catomba

In principle, having written about the Blue Mountains and looking at the photographs taken, you begin to understand that there is nothing much to publish - everyone who has been here has the same photographs taken from the same points - viewing platforms - these are "Three Sisters", " blue distances ”and the pitiful strings of waterfalls. Unless previously published "We and Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains"

Yet I managed, it seems, to find something interesting, never published, but which thousands of people pass by in Katoomba - a curious monument to the three sisters and, probably, their father.

The Blue Mountains National Park in Australia is one of the most scenic and therefore unforgettable places in the world. It is one of the finest and most amazing sights in Australia. The mountains are called blue because an unusual optical phenomenon is observed there: thanks to the refraction of light, many drops of eucalyptus oil from large eucalyptus trees, covering the mountains in abundance, give them a delicate blue color, a kind of haze that makes the mountain range very similar to a fantastic mirage.

Part of the famous Great Dividing Range, the amazing Blue Mountains are located just an hour west of Sydney. Blue Mountains National Park was founded in 1958. The area of ​​the park is 97 thousand hectares.

The uniqueness of the Blue Mountains is determined, first of all, by their composition of rocks, which is unusual for the Great Dividing Range. To this should also be added the activity of surface waters, which is usual for such steep and rather high mountains, and the abundance of rain. Short, turbulent rivers flowing into the Tasman Sea have carved narrow, deep gorges in them. The highest point of the Blue Mountains is Mount Victoria (1111 meters high).

The flora of the Blue Mountains National Park includes all tree species characteristic of the Australian rainforest: mint tree, acacia, tree ferns, blue eucalyptus. The fauna is represented by such species of animals as ring-tailed and brush-tailed opossums, marsh wallaby, mountain kangaroo, gray kangaroo and other marsupials. There are also many exotic birds: yellow flyflies, Crimson's prosella, Wong's pigeon, red fantail, cave warbler, which lives only in the Blue Mountains, and many others.

There are absolutely all conditions for tourists in the Blue Mountains National Park! There are several viewing platforms on the territory of the reserve, from which incredible and breathtaking views of the Australian valleys, Echo Gorge and the famous Three Sisters cliffs open.

In the Australian village of Katoomba, tourists have the opportunity to ride over the cliffs in a cable car cab or on the world's steepest railroad. Here you can also see the highest waterfall in Australia. Nearby there is the opportunity to descend into the wonderful Jenolan Caves. These are the most famous limestone grottoes on the Australian continent. Activities in the Blue Mountains also include mountain bike rides, short and long hikes, and jeep and horseback rides. There are kiosks and cafes along the tourist routes.

The Blue Mountains National Park in Australia is open from 8 am to 7 pm throughout the year. An average ticket costs $ 11 for an adult, while children are free to enter.

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