Canberra

Deciding against the throngs in Sydney, we headed to the Australian Capital for our New Year's Eve.

The drive was by far the dullest of all our trip.. Long straight roads with little to see, we soon found out why there are so many accidents on Australias road's and why people are warned about "micro-sleeps". There are I am sure more scenic routes to get from A to B but being such a huge country we thought we would head from Melbourne to Canberra as directly as possible.

I understand that Canberra is the capital of Australia because a choice couldn't be made as to whether Sydney or Melbourne would be Australia's capital…

and ta-dah!! Canberra was "created" to settle the score.

We rented an Aparthotel with an amazing view over our surroundings. Right next to the main road into the city we opted for the bus to get in for the celebrations. Waiting at the bus stop we got chatting to a couple whose daughter was living and working in the Channel Islands... small world..

Two sets of fireworks, a burger dinner and a LOT of beard compliments (for Stuart..) later it was time to head back to the balcony and a bottle of fizz. And that was it for NYE 2017… not the most exciting of times to be honest but with an offer for a job in New Zealand for Stuart for 2018 we couldn’t have been happier :)

New Year's Day we drove the deserted streets of Canberra to do some sightseeing. Even on such a day it was surprising to be able to drive through a capital city with ease. There was literally no-one around. The sun was super hot so we headed to the National Museum of Australia. It is a fab museum in a great setting. Next to a huge lake and set in a very modern colour blocked building, there is a huge dinosaur skeleton in the expansive foyer. The part that sticks in my memory is learning of the "Stolen Generations". This was the removal of aboriginal children from their families by the Government from 1910 all the way through to the 1970’s. I found it quite upsetting, a shocking part of Australia's history I knew little about.

Sitting down for some delicious cake at the museum cafe we found ourselves next to our bus stop friends from the night before! Unwittingly sharing my cake with a noisy myna bird, we watched the police jet-ski patrolling the lake and enjoyed the sunshine.

Taking on Big Kev's suggestions (thanks Kev) we then drove the (still deserted) streets around the embassy buildings. Different countries buildings showing their personalities with the American embassy having approximately triple the security of any other…

Finishing off the day with a brief trip to Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial, I would summarise that, whilst we did have an enjoyable time, two days were enough to spend in Canberra..Read more