Canberra
Trip Start
Jun 18, 2008
1
45
72
Trip End
Ongoing
Canberra,
Australian Capital Territory,
Australia
Friday, September 26, 2008
After spending so long in Melbourne it was hard getting back on the road again. We followed the Hume Highway up from Melbourne all the way to Canberra, passing through into New South Wales and then into Australian Capital Territory. The only thing worth mentioning about the journey (except that it was Helens birthday) was that at one point it actually rained mud. No joke. The sky was a reddy brown, then when it rained is was liquid mud. I'm just glad I finally filled the Windscreen Wash up whilst in Melbourne - things got real messy.
On paper, Canberra isn't the most exciting of cities. It was built to be the capital of Australia when Melbourne and Sydney couldn't decide who was the boss. So in the middle of knowhere, surrounded by mountains, Canberra was built.
Personally I thought it all felt a bit fake. I like cities to grow, to be able to follow it's history, and see how areas developed etc - just take a look at London's history, it really is interesting. Canberra is built with the Parliment buildings in the middle, with satelite towns everywhere, and long avenues and roundabouts everywhere - much like Milton Keynes. So it feels fake. It's hard to get anywhere, just take a look at Google Maps.
There is parkland everywhere, which is nice, but it does feel that you have to walk for an hour between any place of interest. And walking in this city is hard - it really is not pedestrian friendly outside of the city centre. Paths just end, getting across the numerous duel carriageways is impossible, and again everything of interest is about ten miles from anything else.
Raining Mud
So with this in mind, we chose (as normal with large Cities) to use public transport, and I'm happy to report that yes you get the same weirdos on busses, regardless of where you are in the world. For instance, within two seconds of sitting down, the man next to me said "I'm 47, don't look my age do I?". He then went on to talk about beards.
Saying that, I also had one of the "Man Moments" every Man will have in his life, on a bus. For instance, the fist time you perfect a handbrake turn. Or the first time you complete Call of Duty 4 on Veteran difficulty. These are important life moments for every Man. Well, for the first time, an older man (the Bus Driver) called me "Chief". Oh yes. I shall make this clear - this is a mark of respect. I was so happy that I celebrated with a couple of biscuits and a can of pop.
It was also the first time in a while that we had trouble finding a campsite. The city itself has two caravan parks only, and it's also time for Canberra's very popular "Floriade" festival. What this involves is lots and lots of flowers blooming at the same time, this year into scenes from popular Australian films. For instance, one flower bed has grown to show the wedding dress from Muriels Wedding. The thing is though, viewing them from ground level, you can't see anything except different coloured flowers. Only from the air can you see the scene they are meant to show.
Entering the ACT
It's a very popular festival. We were also the youngest people there by around 60 years or so. However, it was on our route to the Australian War Memorial, so we mooched through and had a gander.
The Australian War Memorial by the way is superb. As I've mentioned before, I'm a bit of a Military History buff, so things like this are always high on my list of things to see and do. However, I am indeed one of them Liberal types (apologies again to my American friends) and destest any sort of war, violence etc. Saying that, I do think it important to remember what people have done in the past for their country and whatnot, and I think Australia has it spot on perfect in it's memorial.
It's a huge place. Outside, on the upper levels, are the names of all of Australias fallen in the two World Wars, plus the road leading to it is full of memorials to other conflicts. Inside, however, is a massive museum, which I have to say puts even Londons Imperial War Museum to shame - it really is fantastic. Both World Wars are covered, and they hold nothing back in showing how horrendous they were for everyone involved. Korea and Vietnam are also covered really well, which I found interesting as normally most people assume wrongly they were American Wars, and tend to neglect that Australia was involved too. More recent conflicts are also covered, including various places I hadn't even heard of. A really interesting place, with a different perspective on various conflicts, plus a place to say a quick thanks to all those who faught however long ago. You wouldn't be reading this if they hadn't, and I do mean that literally.
We also took a look around Parliment House - home of the Australian Government. After a number of various security checks (during which Helen remembered she had a knife in her bag, used for our daily picnics) we actually gained entry to this huge building. There isn't a lot to see in there - obviously most places are off limits - however you are allowed to wonder around alone, which we did. We also went into to watch Prime Ministers Question Time. It really was one of the most surreal things I have witnessed. For a start, it was weird watching all these people we recognised (from newspapers and TV news) but didn't have a clue as to what they did. Secondly, it's quite scary just how childlike the leaders of the "free world" are. The Speaker of the House is really just a Headmaster, telling people off constantly or telling them to be quiet. He even banned one bloke for 24 hours becuase he wouldn't shut up.
Floriade Festival
I also really enjoyed the fact that none of them seemed too interested in what was going on - much like a boring maths lesson. People were just chatting away (bare in mind that the public galleries are forbidden from making any noise); people talkng over one another; people wondering around and stuff. The Acting Prime Minister (the PM is currently in the USA) was also the worst person in the world when it came to answering the questions put to her. Not once did she answer the question! At one point she just banged on about some guy in the opposition who wrote a book that she read and found boring. It had no relevance at all, and when the guy said it wasn't relevant he was told to leave the chamber! Hilarous stuff, and we ended up in there for ages. I should point out that photos are forbidden - Cameras are taken off you before you enter - so there are no photos on here.
You can also pop up on the roof of the building, where there are fantastic views of Canberra from all angles. Considering this is all free of charge, it is well worth spending half a day there, especially if the House is sitting that day, because it's as entertaining as watching Chimps in a Zoo.
A couple of streets away from Parliment House (which in reality is about 20 minutes walk, once you have got across various highways, without the aid of bridges or pedestrian crossings) are all the Embassies. This in itself is fairly dull, but here in Canberra many of them are built in that country's traditional styles. The Chinese, Papa New Guinea and Thailand Embassies in particuluar are really cool buildings - see the photos in this blog. I should point out, yet again, that I am a fan of architecture!
As it is the Capital of Australia, Canberra has a number of decent restaurants, and since it was Helens birthday we went out on a couple of nights to expensive and pretentious places, but I have to admit the food was very good indeed. I also finally figured out how to use Chop Sticks whilst having a fantastic Malaysian meal (I'm a fussy eater, but when it comes to Asian, I'm all good - I just don't like European).
As I mentioned earlier, Canberra is surrounded by mountains, and we spent one afternoon out amongst them at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Part of Australian Alps National Park, this part is great for spotting wildlife, or at least was until some bushfires destroyed the place a few years back. So when we rolled up I couldn't help but feel a bit dissapointed, as I didn't see any Koalas or new Snakes. Saying that, we did see a large Water Dragon, which was nice. Otherwise it was full of common native wildlife - Emu's, Kangaroos, Wallabies, Pelicans etc.
Shrine to the Unknown Soldier
So Canberra - it's not particually exciting, it's confusing to get around and it feels a bit sterile, but it is well worth a few days looking around the various museums, memorials and government buildings. Or you could spend longer on a beach. It's your holiday, so don't listen to me.
