Go big or go home

On Monday morning we had to wake up super early to catch a 7:00 bus to the Blue Mountains. The bus ride was about 2hrs long through some twisty roads. Once we arrived we were shown how to put on all the gear (the helmet smelled especially gross) and began to climb down the mountain to our rappelling sight. The trail was not well kept, so it was pretty treacherous. Once we got to the sight we were given a demonstration on how to rappel down a rock that was about 15ft tall. After some instructions, we got a chance to try it for ourselves. My first time down went very smoothly because I have had some similar experiences. After a couple tries at the 15ft rock, we moved on to rocks that were around 60ft or so. I rappelled down three times. The worst part was climbing back up to the landing ground. We had to climb up a small ladder. By the time I would get to the top my heart would be pounding heavily. Around noon we stopped for lunch. I of course chose to eat the pasta salad, a roll, and a slice of watermelon. After lunch, it was time for the big rappels. I went down a 160ft cliff which was pretty awesome. By the time I got down to the bottom my hand was burning due to the friction from the rope.

My motto while I have been here so far is "go big or go home", and since I am across the world and about a 22 hour flight away from home my only option is to go BIG! This is why I chose to go face first off a 180ft cliff. We were put in an additional harness across our chest to support us as we went down. It was very nerve wracking sitting at the edge of this cliff knowing that I was about to go over the edge. I had to shuffle my butt off the rock edge, and then walk down part of the cliff. The worst part was definitely trying to get started. Once I began, it was a total rush to be hanging face first looking at the ground that was 180ft away.

At the end of the day we had to hike back up to where the shuttle was waiting. My legs were so tired from all of the hiking we had done. This was made even more difficult because I was given some of the rappelling rope to carry up. I was drenched in sweat and totally out of breath when I finally made it to the top. We were given a free beer by the guides when we were done.

On the way back to Sydney, we stopped to check out the Three Sisters, which is a rock formation. It was a beautiful sight to see. We had panoramic view of this huge canyon that looked like the grand canyon just covered with trees.

After dinner at Mammas restaurant we went to a bar called Three Monkeys. We met up with a bunch of people and hung out there for awhile. The crowd other than us seemed pretty old so after some drinks we headed out on the town to find a dance club. We found this great place and danced until about 1am.

This was one of my favorite days so far because it was packed with so much fun and adventure!