Advance Australia Fair

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After a week in Sydney of desperately searching for work - ANY WORK, I was offered a free ride to Canberra and decided to accept.

Canberra gets a lot of bad reviews from backpackers mostly because of its lack of nightlife but that's not why I'm here so I figured I'd give it a chance. It's the nation's capital for heaven's sake! Gotta see it.

On paper Canberra looks very straightforward, convenient, and easy to navigate because it's a planned city based on a series of circles. The sheer scale of the city (it's HUGE) makes it extremely difficult to get around on foot. And it is possible to get a bit lost. It was very hot while I was there and the flies are in abundance and if you want to walk around where all the art galleries, museums, government houses are, there are no shops which means you have to carry a crapload of water. Exhausting city to explore.

I was there for Australia day - saw some concerts, a wakeboarding demo in the manmade lake, a fireworks display and an outdoor movie screening of an Aussie movie called "Malcom". Heard the Aussie National Anthem for the first time, and I bought sheet music for it at parliament house for 70 cents! It's a bit like Canada Day in Ottawa only on a much smaller scale. I was actually appalled at how few people were about celebrating.

Oh! And I met Guy Sebastian, he's the Australian Idol! How funny is that? I saw him perform and got his autograph too. LOL

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Photos

Canberra
View from the roof of Parliament House

Canberra
Parliament House

Guy Sebastian
The one with the light coloured shirt and dark sleeves - Australia's Idol. ;)

Canberra
Lake Burley Griffin