But I made it, and the Giant Stairway does have handrails (thank God), and descends through some superb scenery - even to the base of the "third" Sister. One other track I turned back when I saw mossy stone steps and no handrail. Forget it.
Actually, I quite enjoyed the Furber Steps (a) because I took them on the "up" track, and (b) because they're not as steep as the Giant Staircase. Only one section was a bit dicey where a tree/stone had flattened the steps - literally.
But what scenery! When the sun DID come out (took a while for the fog to disappear), there's those magnificent cliff faces of the escarpment, towering trees, amazing tree ferns - and birds.
Yes, I HEARD lots, including a couple of eastern whipbirds, fantails, thornbills, an eastern yellow robin (I think) and a host of amazing twitters and tweets (the real ones) of little brown birds who either won't stay still or won't show themselves. How rude. Saw Red-tailed black cockatoos, sulphur-crested cockatoos, scrubwrens, a pied (?) which I'm enlisting my Mum to help me identify (guess who forgot the bird field guide), and…wait for it…TWO lyrebirds – Mum feeding kid.
GORGEOUS. I took photos of them (see one below).
Are there no Willie Wagtail's in Katoomba?
And to top it off, some rain and a thunderstorm, that I think hit mostly east/north-east of Katoomba.
What a simply amazing place. Oh, and there's some landmark thing that a few people like...took a photo of it...