Canberra

We had a short visit to Canberra in November. On Friday it was very sunny and hot at 35 degrees, the day I chose to walk up to the National War Memorial. Canberra is laid out on a grand scale despite having under 400,000 residents, with many wide open spaces, so once you leave the city centre it is a long way to walk anywhere. It was obviously designed with the car in mind. In walking to the War Memorial and back into the centre I covered about 6 km, and Capital Hill is the same distance in the other direction. During most of that walk I saw almost no other pedestrians, although once I got into the big shopping mall in the centre of North Canberra there were plenty of people there, out of the sun. There were also plenty of people visiting the War Memorial, but out on the suburban streets it was very quiet.

Navy Memorial on Anzac Avenue

The (actual) bridge of the ship HMAS Brisbane

On Saturday we relented and hired a car, which greatly increased our ability to get around the sights. Crossing the lake to South Canberra took us to the National Portrait Gallery, a short walk down to the lake's edge, and then on to a visit of Parliament House. There we joined a free tour led by a very sprightly 75-year old woman who delivered a great commentary. We saw the House of Representatives and the Senate, and finished with a visit to the roof, which is actually a grassy hill, dominated by a massive flag pole above. The views across Canberra are great from up there, although by that time it was windy and raining.

Brian and Ned Kelly's death mask

Flagpole atop Parliament Hill

On Sunday toured the National Musuem, which is a bit Te Papa-ish, then had lunch up the Telstra telecommunications tower on Black Mountain, from which you can see how the city sprawls across the landscape for miles. The flight each way was via Sydney to and from Wellington, with Qantas. I timed this photo of the Dash 8 wheel hitting the tarmac at Sydney perfectly!

National Museum

Telstra Tower on Black Mountain

Touchdown in Sydney