Mantra on Northbourne Canberra

... it. Below the lake is Parliament house and all the govt buildings, which is also where I live and work. That half also has a couple of suburbs which have tons of cafés and restaurants so it’s good. Above the lake is what they refer to as the City, which has more shops and businesses and bars. So anyways, I ended up walking to the Canberra Centre (big shopping mall above the lake) which was about 2 hours walk. Afterwards, I ...

... bus was going the other way but the driver actually got out of the bus with a map and tried to show us where we needed to go. A good start to Canberra I think, people aren't usually that nice and helpful. It was getting late at this stage and a half an hour wait for the next bus so we forked out for a taxi to our accommodation instead. I rang my uncle to let him know we weren't calling over and had a chat. I don't think he realised how late it was ...

... to Melbourne in Victoria. Included in the range is Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciusko (2,229 metres) near the New South Wales-Victoria border in the snow capped alpine region of the Great Dividing Range. West of the dividing range the land is mainly flat with a few low ranges including the Flinders Ranges in South Australia and the McDonnell Ranges near Alice Springs. The centre of the continent is mainly desert and sparsely populated. Around 80% of the ...

... while hobbling to checkpoints, the team managed to successfully find checkpoints 48 and 49 and then it was a return to the water to get back on the other side of Lake Burley Griffin (while dodging kayaks that were involved in a 24 hour kayaking race).

From the waters edge, it was a short run to Molonglo Reach to pick up the kayaks although both Jarrod and I were cramping by this stage ...

... visit the inside of one of the telecommunication antennae; now you tell us who's the nerd here! :-) These were the highlights of our trip to Canberra. A beautiful city to visit, no doubt, but not one where we would consider spending our lives in. Good as the government Q&A sessions in the Parliament might be, there is too little action in this city so that we can consider it. Anyway, stay tuned for our impressions of Sydney; those might prove to be a little bit different!

... vi tidligt op, saa vi kunne være paa Southern Cross station, hvor vi skulle naa toget der kører mod Sydney klokken 8.30. Det gik fint. 15 minutter med taxa og vi var paa stationen 30 minutter før afgang. Turen gik fint. Der var god service i toget med mad og drikke til fornuftige priser. Saavel udvalget som kvaliteten af maden var en del over hvad man møder hos DSB. Toget var ret fuldt ( det var jo første dag, hvor der baade var skoleferie i Victoria og i NSW). J ...

... in the building, serenaded by melodious magpies with a pretty wharbling tune, as they patrolled the tables in the now warm sunshine. Following lunch we went to separate venues. (Harry) I went to the modern and impressive 'Australian War memorial', which as well as containing 'the eternal flame' of remembrance and the tomb of the unknown Australian soldier, is also a very well stocked war museum. It contains material from all the ...

... travel as a couple, but critical to my happiness and to keeping our adventure fresh and positive - i have to pay attention to what i want and what is going to make me feel good and healthy and happy, and productive and useful. In a place like Byron bay, with all these choices, i am faced with the questions i'm always so good at avoiding - what do i really want to do? my usual answers are...um, i guess workout, something artistic, but i don't really know what ...

... and buy ponchos which were bright yellow so we looked like little- or large canairys shuffling around the town. This ended being a good laugh despite me and jess not feelin to lively. We went to the three sisters and climbed onto the rocks but couldnt really see anythin because of the mist. We got back the bus - the driver kept talkin even though we couldnt hear a word he said and went on the steepest train in the world through a rainforest. By this time we were soaked so ...

On my first Christmas Eve spent outside the country, we had plans for a great Swedish feast. I didn't know I'd be doing this when I went to Australia, but it is welcome nonetheless. We slept in today, and it was great. We've been really very comfortable at Hartmut and Sue's house. In the morning, with our tea, we helped Sue make the stollen, a kind of German Christmas bread with bits of fruit and nuts in it. Emily chopped the sultanas, raisins and almonds, and I ...