With my time in Australia quickly coming to an end it seemed that I should tick a few more ‘to do’s’ off the list. With that in mind 4 of us hired a car and set out for a day in Canberra. Canberra is less than 3h Southwest from Wollongong, so leaving a little short of 9am got us to Canberra just shy of noon. Had we taken the faster route to the expressway we may have shaved a few minutes off. The interesting thing is how close Canberra could be if not for the escarpment one has to traverse to get to the Hume highway. It takes the better part of an hour and a half to reach the Hume from Wollongong thanks to winding roads and a precarious trip up the Macquarie Pass, a really fun road that winds up the escarpment. I am still in shock when I see transport trucks making their way up an down this pass as some of the corners are literal switch-backs and they need to make 20 point turns.
It has been overcast and raining here for the past 2 weeks, with everyday providing a forecast of ‘chance of rain’, however we managed to find a day where the clouds were kept at bay in Canberra. The blue sky was out and it was nice. Canberra, which is aboriginal for ‘Meeting Place’ is a planned city and home to the Australian Government in a geographic compromise between Sydney and Melbourne. It was designed by Walter Burley Griffin who’s design was selected in an international contest. It is a peculiar feeling city which can probably be chalked up to the fact that it was forced into creation. People live there because it’s a city instead of the other way around. My traveling companions said it felt like it was built with Sim City.
Our first stop was Parliament House on/in Capitol Hill. A new building having only been completed in 1988, Parliament House is a testament ot the Australian spirit. An expansive and highly accessible building, it is built into the hill instead of on it because they did not want the imagery to be government above the people. Housed within are the House of Representative, the Senate as well as the Great Hall and numerous offices and meeting rooms. The House of Representatives and the Senate look pretty much like what you’d see in Ottawa, though they have their own colour scheme and modified protocols, though they are based on the Westminster system.
After Parliament House we stopped for a bite to eat downtown at Mooseheads, a pretty solid pub and affordable food. I had a giant burger for $10. With stomachs full we headed over the the National Museum of Australia, an amazing building with interactive and eye catching exhibits. This is how museums should be now a day to entice customers. The museum tells the story of Australia and it’s many different people. As the city shuts down at 5pm we did not have time to visit any of the other sights, with the other main attraction in Canberra being the world class Australian War Memorial.
A solid day and a solid trip. Petrol for the day came out to $60, which was almost a full tank in the Camry We hired.
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