Once Upon A Time in the Land Down Under - Version 2

What's a legend if it doesn't have various versions, eh? Well, what do you expect from a story that's been passed down verbally from one generation to another for thousands of years. Anyway, I found another version of the Three Sisters of the Blue Mountains, albeit a more romantic one. A tragic outcome of forbidden love, it seems. So, here goes...

The First Australian dream-time legend has it that three sisters - Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo - lived in the Jamison Valley as members of the Katoomba tribe.

These beautiful young ladies had fallen in love with three brothers from the Nepean tribe. Unfortunately, tribal law forbade them to marry. The brothers were not happy to accept this law and so decided to use force to capture the three sisters, causing a major tribal battle.

As the lives of the three sisters were seriously in danger, a witch doctor from the Katoomba tribe took it upon himself to turn the three sisters into stone to protect them from any harm. While he had intended to reverse the spell when the battle was over, the witch doctor himself was killed. As only he could reverse the spell to return the ladies to their former selves, the sisters remain in their magnificent rock formation as a reminder of this battle for generations to come.

The Three Sisters are 922, 918 and 906 metres tall, respectively.

Dad took this photo as he was fiddling with the DSLR. I thought this angle is quite nice.

Angelina's note: Hmmm....I prefer the first version. Why were the girls sacrificed just because they fell in love with boys from a different tribe? Why didn't they just let the boys send flowers and chocolates to the girls? What a waste. purrr...meow!

Brad's 2-cent's worth: Hmmm...so there's actually no magic bone? No way I can "cure" the girls and marry them? What a waste. I'd buy you chocolates and flowers, Angelina. If Mama would give me some money.... har har har *evil laughs*

Once Upon A Time in the Land Down Under

The majestic Three Sisters of the Blue Mountains have been immortalised in many works of art.

Long ago in the Blue Mountains, three Aboriginal sisters - Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo - lived with their father, a witch doctor named Tyawan.
There also lived one creature feared by all - he was the Bunyip. Tyawan who knew where he lived would leave his daughters high on the cliff behind a rocky wall where they would be safe while he would collect food.
One day, waving goodbye to his daughters, he descended the cliff. On the top of the cliff, a big centipede suddenly appeared and frightened Meenhi. She picked up a stone and threw at him. The stone rolled away over the cliff and crashed into the valley below. The rocks behind the three sisters split open, leaving the sisters on a thin ledge.
There was a deep rumble from below and the angry Bunyip emerged from his sleep. He looked up to see who had rudely awakened him and there, perched on the thin ledge he saw the sisters cowering in fear. Furiously he lurched towards them.
In the valley, Tyawan heard the cry and looked up to see that the Bunyip had almost reached his daughters. Frantically the witch doctor pointed his magic bone at the girls and turned them into stone. They would be safe there until the Bunyip was gone and then Tyawan would return them to their former selves.
The Bunyip became angrier when he saw what had happened and he turned on Tyawan and began to chase him. Running away, Tyawan found himself trapped against a rock which he could neither climb nor go around. He quickly changed into a lyrebird and disappeared into a small cave. Everyone was safe but Tyawan has dropped his magic bone. The Bunyip returned angrily to his hole.
Tyawan crept out of the cave and searched for the bone, still seeking it today while the Three Sisters stand silently waiting, hoping he will find the bone and turn them back to their former selves.
We can see the Three Sisters today from Echo Point and in the valley we can hear Tyawan, the lyrebird, calling them as he searches for the lost bone. The Blue Mountains is just one-hour drive away from Sydney. Anytime is a good time for a visit, unless it's a rainy or foggy day.

They are the tourists' favourite backdrop at Echo Point. 

Angelina's notes: Witch doctors make bad child minders. Anyway, where was the mother? Mama, we haven't been there for ages. purrr....meow!
Brad's 2-cent's worth: What if I go search for the magic bone? If I could return the sisters to their normal selves, I'll marry all three. har har har *evil laughs*

What We Also Did On Eid Day 2

...the story continues...(promise! this is the last of the Eid series)

EID DAY 2
Mama woke us up really early, "Wake up lazy heads. Go wash your face and then I'll give you breakfast. Early start so we can reach home early too," she said.
And Brad had to open his mouth, "Aren't we supposed to go back to the zoo? We haven't seen the lion or bison!"
"Brad, what if we leave you at the zoo while the rest of us return to Sydney. Would you like that?" Dad has a surefire way of shutting Brad up. I just laugh in my head. Don't want to risk getting scolded by Dad.

ON THE ROAD
As expected, it was a loooong and boooooring journey again. Brad, afraid of Dad, just curled up and snored.
Rescue, fortunately, came via Mama.
"Dad, did you notice people selling cherries by the roadside when we passed by this way a few days ago?" she said.
He responded, "Yes. So?"
"Let's find out if there's any PYO orchards around here," Mama suggested.
"I think the cherry orchards are either in Orange or Bathurst. We'll find out there," Dad, surprisingly, agreed.
When we reached Bathurst (Dad didn't stop at Orange!!!), Mama said she needed a pee-stop so Dad had to find one and stopped there.
Mama, my lovely cunning mum, actually went to the big map on the wall and tried to see if any orchard is listed there. When Dad saw what she was doing, she quickly ran to the toilets. teeheehee....

The big map and info board in Bathurst. Population 38,000.

Street view of Bathurst. This city is famous for Mount Panorama, the V8 Supercar Racing circuit.

We found a kebab shop in the city centre and tried to get more information from the shopkeeper. The chap (he's quite cute) told us to go to the Information Centre that's located on the road to Sydney. He also said there's a mosque that we can visit in a suburb called Kelso. After a hearty meal of kebab and chips, we found ourselves on the road again. This time looking for the information centre.

The lady at the counter was very friendly. Mama and Dad bought some Bathurst souvenirs there before asking for information and maps. We found out that there are three PYO cherry orchards in Bathurst. The nice lady marked them on the map and gave us the addresses and telephone numbers. Mama called all the orchards and then made the decision to visit based on the way the orchard people answered. "In business, first impression counts," she explained.

OFF TO THE ORCHARD

Cows having a siesta under a tree. We saw many such scenes along the way to the orchard.

Although we were told that the orchard is just 15 minutes away, it felt like forever. I guess it was because we were all super excited. Oh, the orchard we were looking for is called Stockman's Ridge, located on Limekiln Road. It has a website, you can google it. It practises organic farming.

Cherries are delicate fruits. Therefore we have to be careful in handling them. The owner also took time to take us to the trees and show us how. "Use your thumb and forefinger," he said. "Oh, and the cats are not allowed to climb the trees, OK?"

Look at those humongous cherries! This type is called Starkrimson and matures to a deep maroon.

Mama checking out cherries hiding under the leaves. As the farm is organic, we could eat the fruits straight away as we pick them.

Harvest of the day. The owners even provided us with environment friendly bags.

The harvest upclose. We only picked from three trees and yet managed to get almost 6kg.

Mama checking out a fruiting peach tree.

The peaches are unfortunately still very young. Not ready for harvest yet.

An apricot tree.

Plums, still unripe too.

Organic almonds, anyone?

Dad practising his photography skill. The wooden stilt house is the orchard's office.

On the way back to the main road leading to Sydney, Mama noticed that we would actually be passing by Kelso. So Dad made a detour to look for the mosque.

The Al Sahaba Mosque is clean and nice. There were just us then, luckily it wasn't locked.

ANOTHER DETOUR
I must say that a day in the cherry orchard had a good effect on Dad. He even agreed to stop and stretch our legs at the Blue Mountains. It was late and so we miss the yummylicious hot chocolates at the Chocolate Gallery. But the Three Sisters in Katoomba is always open. So we visited them.

We had good company at Echo Point, Katoomba, where we could view the Jamieson Valley and the Three Sisters.

The graceful Three Sisters.

Sunset at Echo Point.

It took another one and a half hours before we reached home. But I'm not complaining. purrr....meow!

The End.