Seeking The Three Sisters on the Land of the Kangaroo

"Did you know that those three are sisters?" 

My family and I were wandering around the Royal Botanic Garden, an oasis of 30 hectares encompasses a city in Sydney planning to search for the sisters. The garden living up to its name does seems lavish with the green of trees, bushes and grass. The flowers around the garden create a kaleidoscope space when shine with ethereal light from the sun above. The statues at the garden stood proud looking at us group of people finding our way around the New South Wales (NSW). The nearest attraction to the Royal Botanic Garden will be the Opera House which is the heart of Australia located a kilometre a part from each other. The scenery facing the Royal Botanic Garden is one immaculate view where the wall along the garden is facing the Tasmanian Sea. The weather was nice and breezy at 17 degree Celsius considering it was spring in Sydney at that moment.

"Are they really sisters?" I asked my uncle who act as the guide on our trip, very much intrigued to know about the sisters. "Very much they are" he answered with a small smile. I look up on the location of where The Three Sisters are situated, which is quite secluded from the city. I'm keen to know what's the fuss of the The Three Sisters was all about and hence a journey was set to where The Three Sister is situated, which is located at Echo Point Katoomba, around 2.5 kilometres from the Great Western Highway. The other name for the place can also be identify as the Blue Mountain. The voice of my aunt asking all of us to make ourselves ready can be heard. Ready as in "please make sure to settle all the bathroom trips here because there won't be any on the highway!" 

We boarded on a rental car enough for 12 people and there were 11 of us in the car, it was humongous. The cost for the rental car was approximately $100/day, it is quite reasonable for people travelling in group and are alright for those who wanted to try driving on a foreign land. My uncle who served as the guide will also be piloting our entire adventure in seeking the sisters.

The journey heading to Blue Mountain was a quiet one. Exhaustion plastered on everyone's face after wandering around the garden rich with gems. True to my aunt words there was no Rest and Relaxation (RnR) sighted along the highway like the highway back home. If you are pretty much exhausted from the road trip your best savior will be the gas station situated near the exit of the highway in small town of the area or any gas station sighted will do. 

The highway heading to Blue Mountain was much deserted compared to the one I'm used too. There were only grass on my left and right and to be precise they were pampas grass along the highway. It was not a busy road on that day and only minor traffic can be spotted on few places. The signpost of Blue Mountain indicating we had arrived at the rightful place. Upon arriving there, there were one or two trees in Blue Mountain that were blanketed by the snow. While most places in NSW were enjoying spring, there were also places in NSW with the remnant of cold winter such as the Blue Mountain. I was still on the car and have zero realization of how cold the weather was that day. 

Once my uncle cut off the engine, all of us hopped off the car and were happy to be out until the strong wind almost knock everyone on their knees. It was one strong wind and the fact that this place hadn't started their spring completely had everyone shivering the entire day. The cold and piercing wind was understandable as it was 13 degree Celsius when we first arrived in Blue Mountain. The snow on trees should be an enough explanation on how cold it will be that day. 

Photo courtesy of https://www.bluemts.com.au/

As we walked further the sight of magnificent rocks had everyone glued to the ground. Little did I know the rocks were actually the Three Sisters that we were looking forward for the entire day. My mother and I went down the trail to have a better look on the scenery while the others were scattered around the place. The trails gave us clear view of the rocks standing tall at 922, 918 and 906 metres, respectively and that was over 3000 feet above the sea level. 

The name given Three Sisters was given in behalf of the legend where they believe the rocks were once human and sisters. According to Aboriginal legend, the three sisters were known as Meehni, Wimlah and Gunnedoo. They believe that the sisters were turn into a rock as a result of falling in love with the three brothers of different tribe. There was a law that forbade a relationship with another tribe and with the three sisters being in the Katoomba Tribe while the brothers were from the Nepean Tribe it was impossible for them. The brothers from the Nepean Tribe were trying to force the relationship to happened in which then caused a battle between tribes. As a result, the three sisters were in danger and in order to avoid the inevitable the sisters were turned into a rock by the witchdoctor. During the tribal battle the witchdoctor got himself killed which caused the ongoing spell to be in effect for the rest of the three sisters life. 

The sky turn into patches of blue and grey by the time we had explored the place. The wind had also become a lot stronger than before forcing all of us to regroup and retreat as the weather was getting worst by the end of the day.