April 2021

Having survived our trip to the Central Coast, we decided that the best way to adapt with baby traveling is to keep at it. So with Easter around the corner we made a plan to head West and up the Blue Mountains for a stay in Leura.

Breaking up the journey

You need two things when undertaking a car journey with a baby.

Distraction & Route Planning

Karen took care of distraction with toys, snacks, bottles and a new teddy bear in the form of an Easter Chicky. John planned out the route, taking the motorways towards Penrith and with a strategic lunch time stop added around the town of Wentworth Falls.

The town is located 100km west of the Sydney CBD and is reached by the Great Western Highway. It is named after William Charles Wentworth, one of the men who led the exploration to cross the mountains in 1813. We stopped off at the Wentworth Falls Lake park and its picnic area. In times gone by this was an old railway dam. Its a very nice park with a great playground and bushwalk that goes around the lake. There was also a food truck selling coffee, soup and sandwiches.

Easter House

Leura is a very picturesque town, much smaller than its neighbour Katoomba. The town centre consists of a grid split between Megalong Street and Railway Parade. Leura Mall contains a number of antique shops, restaurants, cafes and other boutiques. It was designed by Danish-born landscape gardender Paul Sorenson. We spent a lot of time pottering around there with Cillian in his carrier or pram. The BnB we stayed in was all decked out for Easter with all sorts of teddies and ornaments and was located just off the town centre on Grose St.

One of the main draw-cards for Leura is that the majority of buildings date from between 1890 and 1920 so it has a real old fashioned feel. Even the big Woolworths shopping centre is tastefully integrated so the village aesthetic is not compromised.

Spectacular Views

On our previous trips to the mountains we had always taken in the views towards the south and Jamison Valley, from Echo Point in Katoomba.

This time we decided to check out the views to the north by heading to the next town up Blackheath and then onto Govett’s Leap. Blackheath is located on the motorway close to the highest point of the Blue Mountains. The town has become a bit of hipster vibe and is a popular stop for people travelling across the area to Orange and Mudgee beyond.

A Leap is an old Scottish word for waterfall or cascade hence the name. This lookout is quite amazing, overlooking the Grose Valley and the bridal veil waterfall that happens to be the 17th tallest in Australia. It is again named after a surveyor, this time William Romaine Govett.

We doubled down by driving around and then hiking to the lookout at Evans Lookout too. From here you can see the sandstone cliff walls, Pulpit Rock and the expansive valley beyond. Beneath the look out is the Blue Gum Forest, containing trees that are 300 years old and possibly originating from a large bush fie.