Page:Rambles in Australia (IA ramblesinaustral00grewiala).pdf/246

 impression of Katoomba was that of a very sophisticated spot. The excellent hotel and the soft sweet air, even in winter, though it is 3000 feet above sea level, would certainly make it an ideal place for rest, with an endless variety of delightful walks, which would reveal in their season all kinds of plants, animals, and insects, as well as the magnificent mountain views. It was dark when we started on the return journey, which seemed so interminable that we marvelled at the hardihood of the people who actually live at such places as Katoomba and go into Sydney for business, for such we were told there are. The lights of Sydney and a very belated dinner were more than welcome.

It is difficult in a new country to think in large enough terms—to realise, for instance, that New South Wales is more than two and a half times as large as the whole British Isles. In this vast expanse of country the climate varies greatly, from that of Mount Kosciusko in the south, where ski-ing and other Alpine sports are carried on in the winter, to the warm and humid districts of the north. There is thus a correspondingly great variety of products; from wheat, barley, and maize to sugar-canes and tobacco, cotton, and olives; from strawberries to that much over-*rated tropical fruit, the mango.