Already I started my day with a headache.
Day two was quite an intense day, on both emotional and physical levels. I actually signed up with a study abroad program to come to Sydney with. They coordinate my classes with the university, guide me through my visa procedures, and plan out my housing for the next four months here. For the first week of my stay here, they took us out and sort of did a city tour. As a lesson for us to know when to take measured risks in a foreign land, they took us up to the Blue Mountains.
Blue Mountains is two hours away from the inner city of Sydney. I did some research on it. It is largely made of sandstone due to an overall dry climate of Australia (you will find that a lot of the houses here are made of sandstone as well). It consists of gorges, pleateau, mini waterfalls, and lots of vegetation. Deepest gorge is about 760 meters, and the highest point is about 1190 meters above sea level. It is an amazing, and breath-taking up there. The sky was so clear that you could see the shadow of clouds overcasting the farmland below (and if you are lucky you might spot a wild kangaroo).
Blue Mountains is a popular place to go rappelling, or as the Australians call it, abseiling. It involves a rope wrapped about a figure eight device (which gives you friction, so you don't plummet to the bottom) which is hooked to your harness. The whole apparatus is not complicated in design but as all physics, its inner working is complicated and takes years of experience. Anyway, basically you are jumping off a cliff, but of course with style.
We started with a short cliff, then an intermediate, and finally challenging. You could also do a hanging cliff where a portion of the cliff hangs out from the rest and you don't have anything for your feet to support on and your feet will just dangle as you come down from the cliff. Or if you even more ambitious, you could do a face down abseiling, where your face is facing the bottom of the cliff and free fall. I didn't do the latter two, and attempted the challenging cliff.
I was nervous on my first cliff. It looks easy but man it requires some strength in your hip and arm. And a lot of trust in that one rope!!! Taking the first step and going over the cliff are the hardest part. My legs were trembling and sometimes I feel I have lost control of them. They don't listen to me any more, and don't move the way I want them to. Once you make it over the cliff, it is pretty smooth, you just have to slowly feed the rope into the figure eight device and down you go.
One of my study abroad program leaders actually offered to go with me on the challenging cliff as a way of encouragement(because I was too scared to do it XD). I went, but that was after a good 3 hours of abseiling already. I was tired from fatigue and the headache. I managed to climbed over the cliff and took a peek of the bottom (150 meters down), then I started to have cramp in my right foot and I couldn't move on. I climbed back up. I did slammed into the side of the cliff and bruised my entire right knee cap. I was limping after that =(
The whole experience was priceless and altogether indescribable. It is probably the last time I would ever do this. The instructors were nice. I see passion in their words and actions. After all, how many of us can jump off cliffs and do that as a living. The trip really demonstrates the value of measured risk. You gotta take some risks in life but also know to take them responsibly.
Some pictures:
Our camp in the mountains
The other side of the camp, where the HUGE hanging cliff is. (See where the rope is hanging?)
That brave soul!
Me.....going down.
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