"A Storm is Brewing..." Photo of the Day: January 20, 2015

A storm is brewing over the rainforest...

Photography taken in the Blue Mountains National Park, New South Wales, Australia.

Photo of the Day: July 24, 2015 "The Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains"

This was shot within the Blue Mountains National Park in New South Wales, Australia. I shot this while peering through the rainforest at the "Three Sisters" rock formation during a hike. This beautiful park has some of Australia's most stunning scenery and was a blast to explore!

Photo of the Day: July 13, 2015 "Waterfall in the Blue Mountains"

Here is a photo that I took near the beginning of my recent trip to Australia, in the Blue Mountains National Park in New South Wales. I shot this from an observation point that gave a terrific view of this massive waterfall. Beautiful, right?

Photo of the Day: July 10, 2015 "Blue Mountains"

Because I depart tomorrow morning to return home to Minneapolis from my adventure here in Australia I thought that it was only appropriate to post a photograph of one of the first excursions that I had in the land down under, to the Blue Mountains National Park. Located about a 2 hours drive west of Sydney in New South Wales, this gorgeous mountain range is covered in a beautiful eucalypt forest. Truly one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen!

Photo of the Day: June 13, 2015

Why are the Blue Mountains in New South Wales covered in a "fog" of blue? The subtropical rainforest is made up primarily of eucalyptus trees, which have incredible oily leaves. This oil evaporates into the air where it mixes with dust and condensation creating a stunning blue hue over the enormous mountain range. Photo taken in Blue Mountains National Park, NSW, Australia.

Blue Mountains National Park

I journeyed up to Blue Mountains National Park a week ago Saturday. The park is roughly a two hour drive inland from Sydney, further into the heart of New South Wales.  They are called the "Blue Mountains" for a good reason...they stunningly sit in a haze of blue! The reason for this? Eucalyptus trees. The mountains are completely covered in them. The leaves of eucalyptus trees are incredible oily and this oil evaporates and combines with dust and water vapor in the air creating a gorgeous blue haze over this impressive mountain range.

I visited many of the popular tourists lookouts along with exploring some trails down the sides of the mountains into the dense sub-tropical rainforest made of up primarily eucalyptus trees. Flocks of cockatoos created quite noisy conditions at times and they called to each other from their perches high in the canopy.

The waterfalls in this park are absolutely stunning. I will reiterate for dramatic effect: the waterfalls in the Blue Mountains are INCREDIBLE. Some look so unreal that it is hard for your brain to comprehend that you are seeing actual nature as opposed to a fabricated scene from the movie "Avatar".

To top it all off I got to ride the world's steepest railroad...and yes, I almost pooped my pants out of fear. Okay, not really. But it was steep! Coal used to be mined out of the mountains and a track was built up the side of a near-vertical portion of the mountain to haul coal cars up. Later, after the coal mining industry left the area, a passenger car was added to allow hikers an easy ride back to the top of the mountain rather than having to hike all of the way back to the top after descending.