Canberra 2016

23 October

Joanne at Lilianfells (our previous stop) told us the journey via the Great Western Highway was longer by one hour than the route via the outskirts of Sydney but would be much more scenic. It also proved to have much less traffic. We stopped for coffee at Blayney and lunch at Boorowa, the latter being a mix of an antiques shop and a cafe.

Bill picked us up from the hotel and took us on a tour.

• Anzac Avenue and past the Australian War Memorial.
• Mount Ainslie lookout.
• The arboretum established following the disastrous fire of 2003 caused so much damage.
• The Governor General's Residence.
• Red Hill lookout.
• Around the embassies.
• The Parliament Buildings, new and old. Opposite the old Parliament was the "Aboriginal Embassy", a home made shed.

We then had a lovely dinner at Bill and Amanda's before Bill returned us to our hotel, the QT, Canberra.

24 October

We found out there was a launderette at Ainslie so we drove out there. The lady running it was very helpful and we just left everything with her while we went off for breakfast and then on her recommendation to the National Museum of Australia where the History of the World in 100 Objects was on tour from the British Museum! Gill had not been able to visit the exhibition when it was in London so this was a good opportunity.

Bill had promised to take us to the Tidbinbella Reserve provided he was not called to be in court (he is a solicitor). Fortunately for us he was not and was able to pick us up earlier than expected. The hope was to see kangaroos, koalas, platypus and emus and in the end we did see all of them. After seeing some kangaroos as we drove around, we stopped and went for a walk. We managed to see a platypus but they are very shy so it was a distant view as it swam in the lake. There was also an enclosure with some koalas including a baby. Bill had brought a picnic and took us to a location where we saw a lot of kangaroos, some with joeys and many hopping around, sometimes at speed. However, all the time we were in the reserve, there was no sighting of any emus so we left with that box unticked. However, no more than a mile or so down the road we saw a small group of emus and were able to photograph them.

We had offered to take Bill and Amanda out to dinner to thank them for their hospitality but it wasn't long since Amanda had undergone surgery so understandably she wasn't quite up to that. Instead we were invited to dinner at their house again.

25 October

We had breakfast opposite the Law Courts and were rather surprised to see a kangaroo hopping along London Circuit, one of Canberra's main Central Business District roads. That was something that surprised even the locals as whilst they will come into gardens in the outskirts, coming into the city centre is unusual. I quipped that it was skipping bail.

After that we went out to Ainslie again to book haircuts. Then on to the Parliament Buildings (new), the National Gallery of Australia and the Australian War Memorial.

After that it was lunch and our haircuts, the first time we have been on a holiday long enough to have to do that.

In the evening we decided to walk a little way and find somewhere to eat. It didn't take long to find Mezzalira on London Circuit, the same road as our hotel. We had an excellent meal finished with Sicilian Ricotta Cassata, one the best cassatas that I have ever tasted.

This was our last full day in Australia before we headed off for New Zealand.

Photos

Overview of Canberra, looking down on Anzac Parade	Parliament Building towards the back
Lake Burley-Griffin
The Governor's House
The History of the World in 100 Objects	... not all shown here!
	Tidbinbilla
Duck billed platypus during the day!
Me and Bill	Amanda and Bill
House of Representatives - Parliament Building	Senate House - Parliament Building
Anzac Parade	Inside the Australian War Memorial
The Australian War Memorial

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