Wentworth Falls

We finished off last night with a meal at Thai Square in Katoomba. This is only a small restaurant and the food we pretty good. The only downside was it wasn't licensed and the meals were a little overpriced.

It was good to get our weary legs up and rested after yesterday's workout at Echo Point and Scenic World. We both slept reasonably well and had a later start to the day. The plan was to spend some time at Wentworth Falls and take in some art galleries. We arrived at the Wentworth Falls picnic area around 10 AM and the carport was nearly full. We made our way to the information boards and before long were on our way to see the Falls. We could have taken the easy route but decided to start by checking out Princes Rock. This gives you a view directly in front of the waterfall. We also noticed on the other side some trails that appeared to be almost a vertical climb.

From there we took the undercliff walk to the faĺls proper. It wasn't a particularly tough walk although it did have some interesting parts where you had to watch you head clearance to the overhanging rock. In no time we arrived at the falls along with several other walkers. We were able to cross over  the falls to the tracks we could see from Princes Rock. We decided to go to one point and no further. It would have been nice to get to the bottom of the falls but I doubt we would have made it back up.

With the decision to return to the carpark now made we took the shortest possible route, which also proved to be the only direct route. After a short comfort break we then headed off to the Conservation Hut Cafe for brunch. This was another 1 km of an easy walk each way. When we arrived at the hut it was already pretty busy but we managed to get an outdoor table for our refreshments. One thing about the Blue Mountains visitor experience is there are no cheap options. But we are on holidays so a splurge now and then doesn't hurt! All up today we walked about 5.5km and elevation varied over 250m.

With our brunch now settled, and our 1km walk back to the car complete, we started the  search for local galleries. Our first was the Falls Gallery and only 650m from the carport. We drove there anyway, and luckily they had a carpark for visitors. Walkers were filling the streets with their cars so parking would have been an issue.  The property is on around 1 acre of beautifully maintained gardens. It cost a mere $2 per adult to enter and although most galleries are free entry, the $2 fee was well worth it just to be in such beautiful surroundings surrounded by such wonderful paintings and ceramics. This gallery is a credit to Anne and Ian Smith, the owners of the property.

From there we  made our way back to Katoomba to the Lost Bear Gallery. This gallery is another must see gallery in the area. It has a very good variety of paintings, glass, and sculptures on display. This is a very well laid out gallery made up of several viewing rooms. We then made our way to Rex-Livingstone Art and Objects and Gallery NWC in the heart of Katomba. Both of these have a good variety of different media and styles and are well worth a visit to anyone interested in art.

Our time at Katoomba is drawing to a close so we finish the day at the Katoomba RSL again for dinner. Once again the meal and service was exceptional.