After the long weekend last week, Clive took another one this week and we set off for a weekend in Australia's capital city.
We had been planning to visit Canberra for a long time (at least to see why everyone was so disparaging about it!) and decided to pick a weekend when the weather forecast was reasonable enough to allow us to cycle round Lake Burley Griffin. Having discounted many previous weekends, we decided to just go for it, or the trip would never happen!
The drive south-east from Sydney took around 3 ½ hours, and we detoured from the Hume Highway at Goulburn to find some lunch. What a miserable place! One long main street with the world's largest concrete ram (the 'big merino') positioned at the southern end to 'attract' tourists to the area. I'm sure it has a lot more appeal on a pleasant summer's day, but when we parked the car, freezing rain was lashing down and we took shelter and ate a horrible sausage roll in a mall for lunch. At least it was hot though!
We shivered back to the car and continued to Canberra, arriving at 2pm. We'd booked a room at the Diplomat hotel, to the south west of Canberra's main centre and a short drive from the Parliament sector. First impressions were good, helped by the fact the rain had stopped, but it was still chilly. We couldn't get over how quiet everywhere seemed – Canberra's wide, straight streets were devoid of people, and there even seemed to be a lack of cars, despite it being Friday afternoon!
We set out to explore, and spent the afternoon getting our bearings and visiting the new Parliament House, where we were just in time to join what turned out to be a fascinating tour of the building, opened in 1988 by the Queen. The old Parliament buildings still stand a short distance away, but we didn't have the time to explore both. The evening was spent warming up in a Thai restaurant in the local Kingston suburb. We'd forgotten what it's like to feel cold, but soon remembered! Canberra is higher than Sydney and tends to be much cooler, especially in the winter. While we were there, temperatures ranged from 3 – 14 degrees, compared to 15 – 24 in Sydney.
We'd brought our bikes with us and spent Saturday morning cycling around the lake, which is a prominent feature through the centre of the city area. It was cold, but we had the occasional burst of warming sunshine and had a lovely 37km ride on well-kept paths with just the occasional hill – very different to riding in Sydney! There were points of interest along the way, including a carillon, and one of Canberra's oldest houses which was built long before Mr Burley Griffin planned the city and created the lake! Lunch was at a brasserie amongst blossom trees in bright sunshine by the water's edge. Very pleasant, but very difficult to get going again!
In the afternoon, we did the 'cultural' thing, visiting the Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery, complete with aching legs, ending the day by driving into the city to get the night-time vibe – very modern and clean, possibly lacking in character a little, and freezing cold with a biting wind blowing down the wide streets! We chose 'hot' food again, and the curry was delicious, but it was lovely to get back to our room and the heater. The bed even came with an electric blanket. What softies these southerners are!
After a great night's sleep, we breakfasted on croissants and bananas bought the day before (well, hotel breakfasts are exorbitant!) and set off for the War Memorial. I expected to just see a monument, but there was a large museum too. It really needed a whole day to explore, but we skimmed, wanting to drive up to the Mount Ainslie lookout before heading for home.
The lookout is on the top of a hill and lends a fantastic view of the city and its surrounds. Burley Griffin planned for a straight line from the lookout to the War Memorial, down Anzac Parade and across the lake to the old parliament buildings and the new. The view across the lightly populated city to the mountains circling Canberra and the steep drive up to the lookout was well worth the effort. Sadly, from there, it was time to head for home.
I enjoyed Canberra much more than I'd anticipated. People say it's insipid and dull, but I liked the contrasts to Sydney - Canberra is flat, with large, open grassy parkland, currently covered with a carpet of yellow wild flowers which looked beautiful. There also seemed to be a greater variety of deciduous trees, which would look lovely in the autumn. The buildings were modern, but the clean lines were easy on the eye and the city itself was very well-presented and seemed to offer everything for a comfortable existence – except perhaps sea water! The drive to the coast would take almost 2 hours, which is where Sydney would definitely have the edge on a hot summer's day!
The people seemed very relaxed, probably due to a lack of traffic jams, but the high number of students keeps a buzz about the place – Canberra has the best-ranking universities in Australia. We're not sure if we'd be ready to live there just yet, but it is certainly a change from Sydney and made for a very enjoyable weekend away.
