Year 8 Geography Field Trip – Blue Mountains 

Last week, Year 8 went on a Geography field trip to the Blue Mountains. The day started off at Echo Point, but the weather wasn’t really on our side—it was super grey and thick with fog, so we couldn’t see any of the famous mountain views at first. Luckily, after recess, the fog cleared, and we finally got an epic view of the Three Sisters and the Jamison Valley. It was definitely worth the wait! 

During the trip, we collected primary data for Geography, mostly about how tourism affects the natural environment and the Indigenous communities living in the area. It was interesting to think about how so many visitors change the place, for both the good and bad. 

Next, we went over to Scenic World, which was just a quick 5-minute drive away. There, we hopped onto the cable car—it was pretty big and could fit about 50 of us. Even though the fog was still hanging we could see the cliff faces, which the guide told us had been part of the ocean floor 250 million years ago! Once we got to the bottom, we walked along the Lillipilli Track, looking out for all sorts of native plants and animals. I spotted lyrebirds, heaps of ferns, turpentines, sassafras and lillipilli trees. It was amazing to experience the track in the fog. 

Our data collection continued, measuring wind speed, the direction it was blowing, temperature, and light using a Lux meter. I was surprised by how different the conditions were above and down in the valley. The highlight of the day was the Scenic Railway. It’s super steep—like, 52 degrees—which made the whole ride feel like a rollercoaster in the dark. Everyone, including me, was screaming (I definitely practised my horror movie scream for fun). Even though the sun didn’t shine, the foggy, overcast conditions contributed to the atmosphere. We all ended up having a very unique experience and made a bunch of new memories. 

Mia Zhu and Wenhui Zheng