Life on a Mountain Near Sydney: New Year's With My Awesome Brothers

With my youngest brother in tow, we headed up to Sydney to celebrate New Year’s with my other 4 brothers there! They live close to the Blue Mountains, which is a World Heritage-listed National Park.

A Chill Day at Home

We spent our first day living our best lazy lives. I slept in as long as I wished and my brothers Alaric and Leo played Roblox together on the computers. Eventually, we all came together to have some lunch: some cocktail sausages or ‘little boys’ as my mum would call them when I was a child.

My brothers play a game on the computer together. One sits in the chair at the corner desk at the computer whilst the other sits on a chair behind him and watches.

Three red cocktail sausages on a plate with tomato sauce.

In the evening we all played outside in the front yard. It was so nice to see a yard again! In Japan, most places do not have a yard and certainly not one with green grass you can run around on. We had fun jumping on the trampoline and we also tried to fly these foam glider planes that would loop in the air if thrown correctly. Much to my dismay, I never did manage a perfect loop. It was quite funny however as 70% of the planes thrown would end up on the roof and someone would have to fetch them!

Light up foam glider planes create a streak of light across the night sky.

A Hike in the Blue Mountains

Something high on my want-to-do list was a hike. Which is something my father also wanted to do, and my youngest brother not so much. However, time and weather were in our favour, so on the second day, we set out in the early morning to do the Victoria Falls Walking Track in the Blue Mountains.

The top of the Mt Victoria Waterfall in the Blue Mountains as water cascades over the rock ledge.

‘Hiker’ or ‘Mountain Climber’ is probably not something that would come to anyone’s mind when they look at me. But my Dad fostered a love of hiking in me since I was a small child. They can and have been incredibly challenging, but the experience and views have always been worth it! One day I’ll share more of my hiking adventures in writing, but if you like videos, you can check out my Mt Nishibetsu climb.

A view of eucalyptus leaves in the mountains of Australia

Yellow and white smooth rock formations are layered on top of each other in the Blue Mountains.

Blue Mountains in fog with eucalyptus tree

A view of the Blue Mountains from the Victoria Falls Walking Track in Australia.

Compared to the mountain climbs I did last year, this walking track was an absolute breeze. The walking track begins by descending into the valley, mostly by way of stairs and passing by some stunning rock walls. On the way down to the falls, we stopped by the Victoria Creek Cascades. I loved them and we could see these small bright red yabbies in the water also. Despite it being a cooler day, some of my brothers and I did end up swimming near the waterfall. As long as it’s warmer than the Pacific Ocean, I’m happy to take a dip!

The whole length of the Mt Victoria Falls can be seen cascading into the water below.

Water cascades over a wide rocky step formation in the Blue Mountains

Bright red yabby can be seen in the clear water.

My brother stands in front of the large cascades behind him in the Blue Mountains

My brother leo looks back at the camera and smiles as we descend down the steps of the Victoria Falls Walking Track in the Blue Mountains

New Years Celebrations With My Brothers

We had a nice low-key day for New Year’s Eve and the party started at 5 pm with a spread of snacks on the table whilst the BBQ got going. Once night fell, we broke out the glow sticks and sparklers. Eli got super creative and managed to give me a halo! We all struggled to stay awake long enough to ring in 2023, but all of us except for the youngest of my brothers made it!

My brothers use sparklers to create a halo on New Years.

For the past two years, I’ve watched the very first sunrise of the New Year, which is a New Year’s tradition called Hatsuhinode 初日の出. I got up nice and early in the hopes of seeing it in Sydney, but unfortunately it was too cloudy. It was still very peaceful and nice though.

The first sunrise of the year in Sydney is obscured by clouds. The sunrise gives a yellow halo effect to the clouds and the trees are silhoutted.

A waterdrop from morning dew can be seen at the tip of thin wispy leaf.

Featherdale Wildlife Park

After New Year’s Day, we all jumped in the car to go visit the Featherdale Wildlife Park. I really wanted to see all the Aussie animals that I’d missed. Everyone knows of the koala, but one of my favourite animals is the echidna. The echidna was super cute but difficult to get a good photo of, but here it is anyway!

The Koalas were also great to see, some looking cute, another channelling a drop bear sleeping pose and one who decided the fan was a much better napping spot than a tree.

A koala sleeps peacefully draped over a tree and looks very cute

A koala can be seen sitting on an off fan

A koala sleeps with its head down sitting in a tree. It looks scary and reminds people of the drop bear from Australian folklore

Stormy Last Night

On our last night in Sydney, a thunderstorm rolled in much to my delight. Some people love them and others hate them. So we ended up with half the family outside under the porch and the other half busying themselves inside the house.

It was spectacular to watch. Since my Dad’s house is up on the mountain, they get a fantastic view of weather events such as this. There was thunder and lightning, booming and streaking across the sky. The rain hadn’t reached us yet, so I had the idea to try and catch the lightning on my camera.

My brothers stand on the grass watching the thunderstorm in the distance as lightning makes the sky bright.

Catching lightning on camera can be difficult since it’s usually too quick to capture, but with a bit of luck and timing, you can get a glorious shot! We were all very excited when I got this photo of my brother Aidan and the lightning!

My brother has his hands up towards the sky as lightning strikes in the distance. His body is silhouetted and it looks like the lighting is coming from his chest.

Brisbane Time

It wouldn’t be a proper visit back to Australia without going to Brisbane, so after our New Year’s in Sydney, Alaric and I jumped on another plane that would take us up to Queensland where he lives with my mother and step-father. We gained an extra passenger from Sydney, Pengi, a soft toy from the Wildlife Park. I’ll miss hanging out with all my brothers, but I know I’ll be back to see them again sooner rather than later!

My tall brother pulls my bright teal coloured suitcase before him as we walk on the pathway outside toward the airport

My brother is smiling whilst sitting on a seat at the airport and hugs his new penguin plush toy close to his face.

If you haven’t read part 1 of this trip, check it out here. Stay tuned for part 3 in sunny Brisbane and a whirlwind day in Melbourne before I returned to Japan!