Fortunately, that stop is just out front of the entrance so I didn’t have any difficulty locating it. Bus did come right on time – that means either the bus drivers have impeccable timing and discipline in going through each route, or they have generous leeways in each of the stop times that they could count on. I’d rather believe the first 🙂
Same bus driver as the guy who took me to the East Station earlier, as he recognized me instantly and asked if I enjoyed the Scenic World place, which I did. Me and a family of hikers were the passengers. He then proceeded to go through the stops, patiently explaining a lot of the places as well. The hiker family alighted at the Cahill’s Lookout bus stop – one of the stops I initially planned for back in May, but I scrapped in favor of the bigger one I had in mind.
I spent the time looking out the window as there were many stops before we got to Leura Station, and these are still curious places to me. Very picturesque routes. Lots of houses along the way, which led me to think these properties must be in the same tier of middle-to-upper-class housing in Antipolo and Tagaytay – cool climate, with amazing views right out the window depending on which highland part of town they had it on. But here, the houses looked very enticing. Nice house with a driveway, wide yard, trees nearby, quiet place with a cool climate. Pretty soon, we arrived at the Leura Station bus stop, and it was time for me to leave this nice place.
Some pictures:
Man, the village might’ve been nice but given the time constraints, I had to catch the train around the 12.50pm time. But it was this or a more leisurely time on the rainforest trail, and I loved the rainforest trail. Maybe next time 😉
I did catch the train on time, and it was to arrive at Penrith by 1.50pm. Train station at Leura was also of a similar tone as Katoomba’s – it looked like an old-timey train station with old-style benches and bricks. Well, ignoring the LED signs and overhead panel displays, it felt like that. Train that arrived was also same, it might be what the BMT line was after all. Silver and yellow.
I arrived at Penrith on time, and like this morning, the regular BMT line was broken in half for maintenance and several buses were tapped to ferry passengers to two stops – Granville and Parramatta. Perfect for me, Parramatta was the end line after all. This time, it’s daylight and the buses were parked right out front of the Jane Street exit, and there were train personnel barking for potential passengers exiting from Penrith. No muss, no fuss. Chose another window seat near the back and just enjoyed the brief relaxing trip. The bus even had elevated feet platforms at the back of the seats! Nice.
I arrived at Parramatta Station at 2.50pm, I guess 5-10 minutes ahead of what Google Maps estimated for it. Then I mapped my way towards Parramatta Wharf, a leisurely 15-minute walk. Pretty straightforward. I could’ve taken the bus but I estimated that I had a lot of time to spare as the first boat off the wharf going to Barangaroo was at 3.38pm, so I had lots of time to spare. Along the way, I stopped at a 7-11 for a bottle of Gatorade to replenish some fluids as I already downed my water bottle earlier.
I arrived at the wharf soon enough, and saw some local teens fishing. God knows what fish were here, but it seems populated enough to be of adequacy for them. Across the river, there was a nice jogging/walking/biking trail with rails on the side. One of the reasons I preferred to walk earlier was to shave off waiting time at the wharf station. I sat at one of the big pegs and waited for the ferry while looking around. And as expected, ferry came on time.
I boarded the ferry, and settled for the outside gallery at front of the ferry. There were only a few options – inside the ferry, on the sides of the ferry, on top, and in front. Most of the elderly folks preferred the warm inside seating. For me, I wanted the front row show.
But 5 minutes in, I knew I was potentially making a bad decision. My fever already dissipated to a great extent – not as terrible as yesterday evening – but still a fever. But the itchy coughing returned, along with copious amount of snot was clogging my nostrils. So I went back inside to take out three things off my bag – my water bottle (which I refilled via the water dispenser in the ferry cabin), two packs of Fisherman’s Friend lozenges (for my throat) and a new face mask (I brought two). I went back outside, and sucked candy as slowly as I can in my mouth to alleviate coughing, in between sips of water. It kind of worked. At least I got to experience a long boat ride riding front.
The boat ride itself was great, well worth skipping Leura Village as an itinerary. The early winter winds as well helped make it cool and breezy, albeit definitely one that made this tropic boy more aware of certain cold weather things. Like, fevers. For some reason, the fever greatly subsided while I was in Katoomba, but it resurfaced a bit while I was on the boat. Earlier I noticed the snots and throat itch, and made the necessary adjustments. However, snot kept seeping out my nose while my throat got itchier despite the extra lozenges and sometimes prompted a cough. Fortunately I had a mask on, or else I would’ve disembarked somewhere else for decency’s sake.
After more than an hour on a boat, we arrived at Darling Harbor and I alighted at Barangaroo, just in time for sunset.
Briathrail // Albert 2MNG 
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