Blue Mountains/Featherdale Wildlife Park

We have one day post cruise and are looking for a tour to do. We will have spent a few days prior to the cruise in Sydney so will have seen the usual tourist sights. We are considering a tour to the Blue Mountains and Featherdale Wildlife Park, but are wondering if the long drive is worth it.

We live in a very mountainous region (think Whistler Mountain in BC) and have been told that the Blue Mountains are not what we would consider to be mountains and may be somewhat underwhelming. We have done cable cars and gondolas before many times. With that information, do you think the long drive to the Blue Mountains is worth it? Or Featherdale Wildlife Park? Is there something else that anyone might suggest that is a bit different for a day trip in the Sydney area?

All suggestions are most welcome!

We have one day post cruise and are looking for a tour to do. We will have spent a few days prior to the cruise in Sydney so will have seen the usual tourist sights. We are considering a tour to the Blue Mountains and Featherdale Wildlife Park, but are wondering if the long drive is worth it.

 

We live in a very mountainous region (think Whistler Mountain in BC) and have been told that the Blue Mountains are not what we would consider to be mountains and may be somewhat underwhelming. We have done cable cars and gondolas before many times. With that information, do you think the long drive to the Blue Mountains is worth it? Or Featherdale Wildlife Park? Is there something else that anyone might suggest that is a bit different for a day trip in the Sydney area?

 

 

 

 

All suggestions are most welcome!

I posted a reply but it seems to have disappeared so I'll start again.

What other Australian ports are you visiting on your cruise? What you do , where you go in those ports will help us Suggest a new experience for your last day. And you're right, the Blue Mts are nothing like your Canadian mountains. Not as high, rare snowfalls, no skiing.

We have one day post cruise and are looking for a tour to do. We will have spent a few days prior to the cruise in Sydney so will have seen the usual tourist sights. We are considering a tour to the Blue Mountains and Featherdale Wildlife Park, but are wondering if the long drive is worth it.

 

We live in a very mountainous region (think Whistler Mountain in BC) and have been told that the Blue Mountains are not what we would consider to be mountains and may be somewhat underwhelming. We have done cable cars and gondolas before many times. With that information, do you think the long drive to the Blue Mountains is worth it? Or Featherdale Wildlife Park? Is there something else that anyone might suggest that is a bit different for a day trip in the Sydney area?

 

All suggestions are most welcome!

We did the Blue Mountains and Featherdale and loved it. Also, since then we did a great tour of the Canadian Rockies visiting Banff, Lake Louise etc.

Both were great. I am glad we did the Blue Mountains and Featherdale is a great animal park.

The cruise is to New Zealand so the only bit of Australia we will see is Sydney.

Based on your comments and my experience of two trips to the Blue Mountains, I think you will find them underwhelming. On the other hand, Featherdale Wildlife Park is a different experience from Taronga Zoo (which I assume you will have visited during the few days prior to your tour) and worth visiting. You could go to Featherdale on your own (and not be constrained by the time limit of the tour provider in order to get folks to the Blue Mountains) via public transportation. It takes a while, but you have all day.

We did a Blue Mountain tour a couple of years ago. Featherstone was very nice - got to pet Koalas and feed the kangaroos. Our guide/driver arranged to arrive there at (actually before) opening time and we had the place to ourselves. We found the mountains and the gondolas underwhelming (we are from Seattle area) but our guide was extremely entertaining and informative. We learned more about life in Australia in this day trip than in reading all the guidebooks in the world. On balance it was well worth our time.

Can someone please help with describing the public transportation to Featherdale Wildlife Park and how far is the public transportation drop off to the wildlife park. Anything else to do along the way, getting on and off the public transportation?

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We have one day post cruise and are looking for a tour to do. We will have spent a few days prior to the cruise in Sydney so will have seen the usual tourist sights. We are considering a tour to the Blue Mountains and Featherdale Wildlife Park, but are wondering if the long drive is worth it.

 

We live in a very mountainous region (think Whistler Mountain in BC) and have been told that the Blue Mountains are not what we would consider to be mountains and may be somewhat underwhelming. We have done cable cars and gondolas before many times. With that information, do you think the long drive to the Blue Mountains is worth it? Or Featherdale Wildlife Park? Is there something else that anyone might suggest that is a bit different for a day trip in the Sydney area?

 

All suggestions are most welcome!

I would DEFINITELY go to the Blue Mountains (I didn't go to Fetherdale, the Tauranga Zoo worked for me) exactly because it is not like other mountains - there are formations in the range that tell stories (The Three Sisters) others that look like they have actual visages or faces carved into them but are natural (more stories) and perhaps most importantly, this was once a place of Aboriginal settlement. Thus it's very Australian and unlike any other mountain range - certainly not with the vertical peaks of other ranges but no less alluring. Moreover there are flora and fauna throughout one won't find elsewhere in the world - I walked among kangaroos roaming freely, cockatoos flying overhead, walking among eucalyptus trees, falls and gorgeous flowers, ferns....

I've been to the American Rockies and most everyone agrees the Canadian Rockies are more beautiful - I hope I get to see them. However, I am so glad I got to visit the Blue Mountains - not high but absolutely splendid because they were Australia's natural beauty and wonder on display - that's what I came to see.

I'm not sure if the brochures or websites do it justice...there are some other threads on here with locals posting in there too; check them out for further help in making your decision. Might be glad you did :)

If you go to Australia's Blue Mountains expecting to see something like the Rockies, then of course you will be disappointed. What you will see is an area of geology unique to Australia, with cliffs and canyons that are completely different. The entire area has an abundance of gum trees and it is the vapour from these trees that gives the area, including the air itself, its unique blue coloration.

I can't see the point of travelling to the other side of the world and expecting to see something like you have at home, adn then comparing it unfavorably. Surely, one of the objects of travel is to see something different, something that you can't see in your own country, isn't it?

Can someone please help with describing the public transportation to Featherdale Wildlife Park and how far is the public transportation drop off to the wildlife park. Anything else to do along the way, getting on and off the public transportation?

Here's a link to the Featherdale website that describes how to get there via public transportation.

http://m.featherdale.com.au/mobile/directions/

Australia doesn't have true mountains.

What it does have is Flora and Fauna not found anywhere else in the world.

It is a bit hard to advise you when we don't know what you are doing the days prior to your cruise.

I would DEFINITELY go to the Blue Mountains (I didn't go to Fetherdale, the Tauranga Zoo worked for me) exactly because it is not like other mountains - there are formations in the range that tell stories (The Three Sisters) others that look like they have actual visages or faces carved into them but are natural (more stories) and perhaps most importantly, this was once a place of Aboriginal settlement. Thus it's very Australian and unlike any other mountain range - certainly not with the vertical peaks of other ranges but no less alluring. Moreover there are flora and fauna throughout one won't find elsewhere in the world - I walked among kangaroos roaming freely, cockatoos flying overhead, walking among eucalyptus trees, falls and gorgeous flowers, ferns....

 

Thank you for the information, it is hard to make a decision based solely on the pictures I've been able to find. Your description of the importance to Australia and the Aboriginals, as well as the flora and fauna (which will be very different to what we have at home) certainly has helped us to make our decision. Thank you!

If you go to Australia's Blue Mountains expecting to see something like the Rockies, then of course you will be disappointed. What you will see is an area of geology unique to Australia, with cliffs and canyons that are completely different. The entire area has an abundance of gum trees and it is the vapour from these trees that gives the area, including the air itself, its unique blue coloration.

 

I can't see the point of travelling to the other side of the world and expecting to see something like you have at home, adn then comparing it unfavorably. Surely, one of the objects of travel is to see something different, something that you can't see in your own country, isn't it?

Of course we want to see something different! Our challenge is that two of our party will only have one day in the Sydney area and we will only have 5 days total, so in order to maximize what we see, the question is not so much is it worth the trip (of course it is!) but more whether or not that is the best use of a day when we have limited time. I appreciate everyone's responses and the information that has been passed on. Lots to think about!

If you have 5 days pre-cruise in Sydney, I would consider going to the Blue Mountains for a few days pre-cruise. Scenic World and the Jenolan Caves alone are worth it. There are other interesting things to see in the Blue Mountains also. I think you can see most of Sydney in 2 days - day 1: The Harbor Bridge + Opera House, Maybe take in a show at the Opera House; Day 2: Coogie to Bondi beach walk in the morning; ferry over to Manly Beach in the late afternoon.... then 2 days in the Blue Mountains - Day 1: Scenic World; Day 2: Jenolan Caves. Since you have 1 day post-cruise in Sydney, you could also save the Harbor Bridge + Opera House for post-cruise, or do the Rocks and Darling Harbour during the post-cruise day.... all would be good options....

I would DEFINITELY go to the Blue Mountains (I didn't go to Fetherdale, the Tauranga Zoo worked for me) exactly because it is not like other mountains - there are formations in the range that tell stories (The Three Sisters) others that look like they have actual visages or faces carved into them but are natural (more stories) and perhaps most importantly, this was once a place of Aboriginal settlement. Thus it's very Australian and unlike any other mountain range - certainly not with the vertical peaks of other ranges but no less alluring. Moreover there are flora and fauna throughout one won't find elsewhere in the world - I walked among kangaroos roaming freely, cockatoos flying overhead, walking among eucalyptus trees, falls and gorgeous flowers, ferns....

 

Thank you for the information, it is hard to make a decision based solely on the pictures I've been able to find. Your description of the importance to Australia and the Aboriginals, as well as the flora and fauna (which will be very different to what we have at home) certainly has helped us to make our decision. Thank you!

 

 

You're welcome! I completely understand it being difficult to decide almost anything based on photos - especially coming from a well known mountainous region and hearing the words "mountains" in the description for another place.

 

Glad you're open to considering the unique-ness for the truly unique (and unforgettable) nature, history and culture of Aussie that is on display at the Blue Mountains. I took a day tour - it was SO worth it and I actually wished I'd stayed overnight but I did have longer in Sydney than you do. However you said you have 5 days is it? I think that with city touring plus the day trip to the Blue Mountains - you're back before dinner - you'll get a feel for what part of "out there" Australia (a wee taste!) in addition to the world class city that is Sydney - what better combination, in addition to your cruise, to have for your holiday memories?

 

Hope you do take the tour - don't think as Canadians loving the outdoors that you'll be disappointed. If you do go, come back and let us know how it all went - we love to hear report stories of member's trips!

 

Cheers :)