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Published: December 22nd 2008
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16th December 2008 - SEEING THE SIGHTS OF CANBERRA
We drove througha few towns on our way to Canberra including Queanbeyan where we stopped to check out a couple of campsites. We decided to risk it for a biscuit and try to get one closer to the city. The Information Centre in Caneberra advised us which site to go to but went on to say that it didn't really matter where we stayed because no where is walkable in Canberra.....everything is too spread out!! Before we drove into the city we booked onto the campsite, showered and got ourselves sorted. We then had a good look at the attractions list, worked out what we both wanted to see and then headed off.
Canberra is unlike most cities. Every building seems to be from the same time period (around the 80s), none of the buildings seem to have character and everything looks modern. Residential areas are nestled right in the centre of the city and everything is so wide spread you can't really pinpoint a city centre. It didn't have the hustle and bustle of normal cities and in a weird way, I liked it!!!
Our first stop was The
Royal Australian Mint where you could 'mint' your own $1 coin. We thought that meant that we would take our own dollar and do something to it...that was not the case!! What we actually did was put $2.60 into a machine, pressed a button and out popped a new $1 coin.....all shiny!! What a way to make money...."i'll give you $1 if yoiu give me $2.60!!" Maybe Britain should try it......may help with the recession!!
Our second stop was Parliament House. Cool building with a flag as big as a double deckar bus flying at the top of it. We had a look around, saw a statue of Queen Elizabeth II and the had a walk out onto the roof to see a view of the city. Pretty cool....I liked the fact that the roof had grass on......we contemplated a picnic but thought we may get thrown off!!
Our third stop was the High Court of Australia. I thought I should visit and see what it was like out of interest. Not what I expected....far too modern and unscary looking!!! It was very swish inside and the staff were informative yet brief with their information...the best way to
be!!!
We then had a walk along the lake and had a look at the international flag display with just about every country's flag flying. We found the UK flag and took a photo. I thought the whole thing was pretty impressive!! We the walked a little further and eventually found the 'Australian of the Year Walk'. We thought it would be like the 'Avenue of Stars we saw in Hong Kong or Hollywood stars but no!! There were no statues of Kylie here and no Mel Gibson hand print. It was more like pride of Britain awards where normal people had been given the awards for bravery etc. I did spot a few sports stars names I recognised but no big celebs!!!
From there we headed into town and I van-sat whilst Nat made a phonecall home. Once we had pushed our luck long enough by spening nearly an hour in a 5 minute parking bay we headed to Regatta Place to lay on the grass, chill out and catch some sun. At that point it certainly didn't feel like we were in a city....more like the lakes!!! Canberra is definitely one on its own!!!
Later
that night back at the campsite we chilled out, cooked tea and settled to watch Oceans 11 in the TV room...never fails to disappoint me....before hading off to bed.
17th December 2008 - LEAVING CANBERRA
I thought I had slept well but when I woke my eyelids felt heavy. Maybe the lack of 10 hours sleep each day is starting to take its toll and i'll have to bob some afternoon naps in...they really are the way forward!!! A shower and breakfast helped wake me up and once we were ready we checked out of the campsite and headed to the biggest library ever to have some internet action....4 days without and I was getting the shakes!!!
After a while at the library we headed to find a supermarket - more difficult than it should be in a city and we had to settle for a mini mart type place. Once we were done there we decided to leave Canberra and set back on the road towards the coast again!! One day to explore the capital really was enough!!!
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