Hello, Steve. Great pictures. It can be beautiful in the upper mountains but remember Blackheath is not nicknamed Bleak Heath without good reason.
Now I don't wish to offend anyone reading this, but I used to visit Katoomba regularly on weekends. Fortunately I was undertaking indoor work on most occasions. It was quite common to leave home in balmy conditions but on arrival at my destination find a gale blowing and the temperature a significant number of degrees C cooler. I detest the wind.
As you noted, weekend traffic can be a right proper pain. Much roadwork has been done over the last few years but there is still a number of bottlenecks. My wife attended a seminar in Katoomba just last weekend. On the Sunday I drove to my nearest railway station to collect her (she was on a 'bus as railway trackwork was underway) and stood around for 45-minutes (in the wind). I gave up and came home. She rang and said she was still stuck in traffic at Lawson. After a quick mental calculation I decided to warm the inner man and made some soup and demolished it. So, another 45-minutes later I revisited the station. Good timing.
Bloody tourists.
