It’s time to be tourists and have some capital capers! There’s plenty to keep us out of mischief in Canberra and our first stop is Capital Hill to check out the ultra modern Parliament House. It’s pretty groovy for a government building, inside and out, and we have tons of fun checking it all out. Then we head up to the roof which is covered in grass encompassing 23 hectares of beautiful landscaped gardens and gives us an awesome 360 degree views of the whole city.
Still, no time to hang about admiring the view, we’ve got so much to see and so little time in which to see it. So the next stop on our city tour is the National Portrait Gallery which is a fascinating who’s who of Australia, and basically tells the history of the country through it’s famous faces. After, we hop across the way to the National Gallery of Australia which is home to a stunning collection of over 100,000 works of art. It’s pretty impressive and easy to see why people travel from all over to pay a visit.
It’s a glorious day in the capital so after a whizz round the gallery, we take a stroll in the sunshine around the beautiful Lake Burley Griffin, named after Canberra’s architect and we especially enjoy the Captain Cook Memorial Jet which shoots a 6 tonne column of water 147 metres high in the sky. Lucky for us, we didn’t get one of it’s famous free showers!
Next stop is the awe-inspiring Australian War Memorial which is located in a most stately position overlooking Anzac Parade and Lake Burley Griffin. It’s Australia’s most visited museum and visiting it is a genuinely moving experience. It’s full of pictures, dioramas, relics and exhibitions that detail and humanise wartime events. There’s a thrilling sound and light show but the Hall of Memory with the tomb of the Unknown Soldier steals the show. The walls are lined with tiny mosaic tiles from the floor to the dome. It’s absolutely beautiful. Outside, there are long cloisters containing the Roll of Honour, a series of bronze plaques naming all the Australian servicemen and women killed in conflict. It’s so sad. We could easily spend a whole day at this massive edifice but we still have one more thing on our To-Do List!
We venture to the North West of the City to Black Mountain which is topped by the 195 metre high Telstra Tower. We travel to the top of the 66 metre shaft to check out the view! Absolutely stunning!
Being a tourist is pretty tiring so we go back to our place to revamp and recharge before we go out for the evening. The sky is looking dark and dangerous so we decide to get out while the going is good. We just make it out in time before the heavens open and narrowly avoid a serious soaking. The thunder is deafening, the lightining is large and the rain is coming hard and fast. Still no drama, sheep farmer, we’re warm, dry and toasty and enjoying an ice cold beer and a hearty pub dinner. I love weekends away!
