CA6- THE BLUE MOUNTAINS
This summer I went to Sydney, Australia. This was for my language and work
experience but also just for fun. My aunt, uncle and cousins live in Sydney and I
stayed at their house for three and a half weeks. During that time they took me
to see several cultural things in and around Sydney. One of those things were
the blue mountains. This is a mountainous region in New South Wales.
I am very glad my aunt and cousins took me there. It was very special to see. It
showed many cultural aspects of Australia but at the same time, it was turned
into a tourist attraction. It has trains that go up and down the mountains so you
can see every part of
the blue mountains. The
main attraction of the
blue mountains are the
three sisters. On top of
a mountain, three sort
of little mountains stand
and these mountains
represent the three
sisters. There are
several stories about the
three sisters. My cousin
told me about the
Aboriginal legend, which
says that there were
three sisters: Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo. They were members of the
Katoomba tribe. They had fallen in love with three boys from another tribe, the
Nepean tribe. Because they were from different tribes, the were forbidden to
marry, but they did not accept this and this caused a major battle between the
tribes. The three sisters were in great danger, so a witchdoctor tried to protect
time by turning them into stone. It was supposed to be temporary to protect
them until the battle was over, but the witchdoctor died and the three sisters
remain stoned until this day. This legend and the three sisters serve as a
reminder of the great battle between the Aboriginal tribes.
Actually the evidence about the aboriginals and their lifestyle is what makes the
blue mountains so attractive for tourists. Except for the legend about the three
sisters, there is much more evidence that the Aboriginals used to live in the blue
mountains. In the Red Hands Cave for example, handprints of the Aboriginals
can be found. There are also grooves found which show that the Aboriginals used
to sharpen stones there which they would use to hunt. Carved images of animals
tracks can also be found in several caves.