Day 27 The Blue Mountains and wildlife park

We were picked up at the hotel early; the good news is we got the best seats on the bus and the bad is we stopped at 15 other hotels in Sydney before we got on the road.  We had tea, coffee and scones and saw some cute shops before we got to Echo Point for the first view of this vast national park. They told us that this complex of interconnected parks is 1/3 the size of Belgium, only 1500 feet above sea level, and made of sandstone formations because it had been under the sea.  It became a World Heritage Site in 2000 because of its beauty, animal diversity, and plant evolution.
 
They've done a great job to make sure that visitors have a good experience!   They made a cable car with transparent glass in the floor so you can see the ground 450 feet down, a rail car that drops nearly straight down, and walk ways that are wheel chair accessible.  You can easily spend a couple hours and not tire of the views and exhibits.

Then we went to an animal park with kangaroos, koala bears, wallabies, dingos, penguins, multicolored birds, a 7 foot crocodile, a Tasmanian devil, and more.  Chris even pet and fed some cute ones.
 
We took a river trip back home and learned how they have reclaimed the river from 100 years of industrial pollution, mostly all in the last 15 years. The 2000 Olympics was a big motivator as well as funding source.  All together another great day.