Just back from a lovely short break in the Blue Mountains where our girls group spent a few days catching up and seeing some sights. I think it was made all the better by our stay at Hayview. It is just outside of Leura (less than 5 minute drive) and just beautiful. I was going to write a review but single houses dont meet the TA guidelines. HayView is an artichectural triumph (in my opinion)- lots of zinc alum, stainless steel and glass. It is basically 2 pavilions- a sleeping zone and an entertainment zone and very well decked out- good furnishings, linens and kitchen stuff. IPod docking station, TV, DVD's etc. Great views and some nice street walking to be done.
Coming from Perth we were super impressed with the flowers/trees- azaleas, rhododendrons, warratahs, etc of the Blue Mountain region. All guaranteed to wither and die in sunny hot WA!
We spent a fair bit of time browsing and shopping the strip in Leura and then Katoomba. Lots to keep a group of girls entertained. Lots of vintage stuff too.
Ate at Fresh (ok), Red Door (pretty good coffee), Blue Elephant in Katoomba (great organic lunch and good coffee) and had afternoon tea at Lillianfels.
Highlight for me was a walk from Echo Point in Katoomba to the Leura Cascades taking in the 3 Sisters. Good terrain and enjoyable walking conditions- quite a few stairs but nothing daunting. We were very fortunate to see a pair of Lyre birds in the forest that proved difficult to capture on film, but what an experience!
Would love to go back and do some more walking- 3 nights is too short !


