Time for a non-coaster riding day (yes they do exist). Instead we were going to look at a coaster, one that has been written into coaster folklore. Orphan Rocker at Scenic World in Katoomba is probably the world's longest SBNO coaster - for those not familiar with the terminology it means Standing But Not Operating. It was built around 25 years ago but never passed the safety tests to allow it to open, and it's laid dormant ever since. There are plans to open it one day but nobody knows when.
Aside from the coaster the park offers some spectacular views of the Blue Mountains, a good enough reason to go.
This is the entrance to the "park". From here there are 3 transport methods. A yellow skyway takes you over a canyon to a nearby station. A red funicular railway takes you down the mountain to a forest walk, and a blue cable car takes you down the mountain to the other end of the walk. We bought a ticket that allowed 2 rides on each, which would mean 2 forest walks, but would allow us to ride both the red and blue rides in both directions.
First up was the red funicular, which is actually the worlds steepest at 52 degrees. It much steeper than how it looks at either station and offers a very bizarre ride down the mountain.
The view from the bottom red station. The mountain in the background is called Mt Solitary.
The forest walk includes some history of the park which was heavily mining-based.
The walk through the forest is invigorating despite the heat. I think the plants giving out so much oxygen makes this enjoyable.
The blue route is the cable car.
The yellow skyway. From the station on the other side you can walk further into the mountains.
A shot from the yellow sky way looking back at the main station.
That rock is called Orphan Rock and now you know where the name of the roller coaster came from.
The view from up here is amazing, and the photos don't do it any justice really.
The 3 rocks are called the 3 Sisters, and are one of the signature rock formations in the Blue Mountains.
Lovely day for this!
This is Katoomba Falls, an OK waterfall that you can walk around to the top of, just be careful you don't slip (I didn't, but got close a few times). You walk to it from the other skyway station.
During the walk around to the waterfall you walk through an area damaged by fire. I had completely forgotten how prone this area is to fire and recalled seeing some of the footage on the news.
WARNING: The photos below are just coaster porn.
Whilst there I did of case take pictures of the Orphan Rocker track where I could see. A lot of it is buried within undergrowth.
Random Aussie wildlife.
Scenic World is all about location location location. It offers amazing views of the Blue Mountains but only if you're lucky with the weather. A couple of friends 2 days behind came here and had no visibility whatsoever. I'd like to give a special thanks to Andy, one of the staff, who was both a brilliant guide and a good laugh able to keep people from Europe, US and the Japanese entertained. The park has a real asset with him in their team.
A rather amusing van we passed on the drive up to the gold coast. Even funnier was that it was a woman driving.
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