Blogs from Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia, Oceania - page 7

Yo! As I have directed some lucky people here, I thought there better be something for them to find on this "blog" while I'm travelling to my first destination. As I am lacking other content, I will instead go through my itinerary as it currently stands: China: Beijing and more (different) Great Wall, before getting on the train to... Mongolia: Ger camp-ing and Ulaan Baatar, then train to... Russia: Siberia (Ulan Ude, Lake Baikal), train, Kungur, train, Moscow, train, St Petersburg. (For those of you playing along at home, all that train adds up to the trans-Siberian railway). Then, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia. By then it will be European summer. I imagine summer on the Dalmatian coast will be horrible. To help cope with that pain, and fill in the time until a ... read more

To make the journey from Moruya to Canberra more interesting, Dean programmed the “shortest” (as opposed to the “fastest”) route into the GPS. 50km of gravel road later, we were back on tarmac – our bones still rattling from the drive!:-) Canberra really is a nice city. If you like modern cities, definitely pay it a visit. Although it’s relatively new, it has an interesting history. When Australia’s colonies were federated in 1901, a decision to build a national capital was included in the constitution. At the time, parliament met in Melbourne but by 1908 this site (diplomatically situated between rivals Sydney and Melbourne!) was chosen as the location of the new capital. American architect Walter Burley Griffin won the competition to design the city. Walter certainly liked symmetry and geometric shapes, as is reflected in ... read more

I know that some of the most memorable moments on this adventure will be the time I spent with Lee Anne and Graham and Family and Friends..... I have truley been blessed with the generosity and friendship I received while visiting Australia, in particular Canberra. Lee Anne and Graham are indeed the center. I was fortune enough to experience their kindness. It is not unusual for them to seat from 6 to 20 people for dinner (and that's not even a party!). They don't just "board" baseball players, they are a part of their lives. They both work hard, and are involved in so much activity outside work, that it would make most people pooped. They picked me up at the airport and quickly whisked me away to the coast.........beautiful! Lee Anne did the tourist thing ... read more

Cockroach Reg. has been evicted. For anyone out there with too much time on their hands who actually reads our blog, then you may remember when Liz brought a stowaway onboard in the form of a very large Cockroach. Upon entry it shot under our fridge and there it stayed for the best part of the last three weeks only occasionally being heard scuttling about in the middle of the night. Whilst watching TV the other night Reg. was spotted by Liz on the sofa, some frantic shouting, a quick lift of the cushion, open the door and Hasta La Vista Reggie. After leaving Hervey bay we headed south toBrisbanefor a few days hoping for some Aussie cultural experiences as recommended in our lonely planet guidebook. Sadly we were thwarted as the museum was closed for ... read more

After over a week in Sydney, we got back on the road heading south/southeast on our way to complete the circuit started over 7 weeks ago. Ending up where we started, Melbourne, was a great way to end the Australian portion of this epic voyage. After all is said and done, we have to say that Melbourne was our favourite "big" city in Australia. We were also in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, and Canberra (as well as Alice Springs, Cairns,and Mackay along the way). While all of them have their unique charms and features, Melbourne really has it all - the skyline, the river, the nightlife, the shopping, the restaurants, the transit (trams and trains), the cafe scene, the culture, the sophistication, the people, the neighbourhoods - you name it. Great city. On the way back, there ... read more