On a sky blue Sunday morning, we jumped into Jolly Roger (the name of our car) and sailed forth onto our country drive.
Our destination the Blue Mountains.
Just 1.5 hours West of Sydney, Sydneysiders are lucky to have the Blues mountains as a country escape.
We arrived at the newly renovated Hydro Majestic Hotel, located in Medlow Bath (just pass Katoomba and just before Blackheath)
The Hydro Majestic has a rich history, located on the clifftop overlooking the Megalong Valley, the hotel provides scenic views for the valley.
The hotel was completed in 1891, as a health retreat, and in 1902 Australian retailer Mark Foy (Sydney Downing Centre) purchased the hotel believing the land contained mineral springs.
Mark Foy apparently even petitioned the NSW government to change the suburb name from Medlow to Medlow Bath. However by the time the hotel opened in 1904 the mineral springs had dried up…
Rich in history (inspiring Sir Arthur Conan Doyle author of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Edmund Barton (our first prime minister) died here (retired) of a heart failure. To rumoured to also be haunted...
Despite all the history and mystery around this hotel, in my view the best feature about the Hydro Majestic is literally the view. The panorama photo below doesn't do it justice.
For Photographers, the blue mountains has a plethora of scenic places, my recommendations are:
- Bleakheath (Govetts Leap Lookout)
- Leura
- Wentworth Falls
- Katoomba (Three Sisters)
With a wide angle lens and some graduated filters, one may have many memorable trips to the Blue Mountains.
One thing to try after you have taken all your landscapes is to switch your wide angle to a 35mm, 50mm or a Macro lens and see what sort of interesting perspectives you would get.
One of our favorite day adventures, highly recommended!
