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Canberra

​Sunday 26th August
Last night's rest area was close to the main highway so rather a lot of traffic noise overnight. We drove the short distance into Canberra.
In 1901 when the colonies United and became known as the Commonwealth of Australia, a capital city had to be chosen. Both Sydney and Melbourne vied for the honour, but rather than choose between the two, a decision was reached to establish a new city. Canberra, meaning "The Meeting Place" in the local Aboriginal language was chosen as the name of the capital and the surrounding area was named Australian Capital Territory. In 1912 an American architect won the competition to design the city. However, despite building starting in 1913, it wasn't until the late 1950s that the city really began to take its present shape.
We found it relatively easy to navigate our way around the five main centres which radiate out from Capital Hill where the Australian Parliament is located. As the city was planned from scratch, each diplomatic area was given a plot and asked to design a building that exemplified that country. The result is some stunning examples of architecture. The Papua New Guinea embassy along with a few others were particularly fascinating.
We drove up to the top of Mount Ainslie for incredible views over the city. The artificially created Lake Burly Griffin with its Captain Cook Memorial Jet which was installed in 1970 to celebrate the bicentennial is the heart of the green space. Today the carillon was also playing but unfortunately Blundel's cottage, the only original homestead left in the capital, was closed for refurbishment.
We spent the afternoon exploring the Anzac Parade with its many memorials and the Australian War Memorial. Here displays, light and sound shows and dioramas of battle scenes brought home the true sacrifice of war. Actual aircraft were suspended from the ceiling, a Japanese mini-submarine and a World War One tank were also on display. A very moving visit.
We returned to the Hughie Edwards VC rest area for the night.
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​Monday 27th August
We left Canberra this morning after having shopped for provisions and having had a wander around followed by lunch in IKEA.
As we headed south towards the Snowy Mountains, the scenery became more rolling hills but everywhere was still very parched. Parts of New South Wales have been on high fire alert due to the ongoing severe drought.
We are close to the national park so stopped at Cooma for the night. There is a daily vehicle charge once we enter the park. It seemed unnecessary to pay for today when we could stop short and enter the park tomorrow morning.
[click] to continue our journey through Victoria
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  • Home
    • Introductions
    • Contact
  • Our Adventures
  • Touring the World in your motorhome
  • Our First Trip
    • Iceland >
      • Baltic Cruise
      • Faroe Islands
  • Moselle Valley
    • North America >
      • Route 66
      • National Parks >
        • Alaska & Yukon
      • West Coast
      • Alaska Highway
      • Dempster Highway
      • Canadian Rockies
      • Great Lakes & St Lawrence River
      • Quebec
      • New Brunswick & PEI
      • Nova Scotia
  • Christmas Markets
  • God's Own Country
    • Three Peaks of Yorkshire
    • Greece and Turkey >
      • Turkey
      • France and the Pyrenees
    • Romantische Straße
    • Scafell Pike
    • Great Plains
  • Syria & Jordan
  • From the Tropic of Cancer to the Arctic Circle
    • Morocco and Western Sahara
    • Gibralter, Portugal & Spain
    • Denmark, Norway, Finland and Svalbard
  • Sue wants some more Photo Albums!
  • Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily
  • Southern Africa
    • South Africa
    • Namibia
    • Botswana
    • Zambia
    • Tanzania
    • Kenya
    • Malawi
    • Mozambique
    • Zimbabwe
    • Swaziland
    • Lesotho
  • Ireland at Last!
    • Game of Thrones
    • Belfast
  • Balkans Revisited
  • America 2016
    • New England
    • Eastern Seaboard
    • Florida and the Deep South
    • Music Cities USA
    • North to Canada
    • Newfoundland and Labrador
    • Return to Nova Scotia
  • Ypres Salient
  • On the Road Again
    • Heading East
    • Heading back West
    • Romantische Straße
    • Deutsche Märchenstraße
    • Homeward Bound
  • Nicolle meets her twin sister!
  • Down Under
    • Western Australia
    • Northern Territory
    • Queensland
    • New South Wales
    • Canberra
    • Victoria
    • Tasmania
    • Great Ocean Road
    • South Australia
    • Return to Wetern Australia
  • New Zealand
    • South Island
  • Highlands & Islands
    • Outer Hebrides
    • Harris and Lewis
    • Skye
    • Scotland 500
    • Orkney
    • Homeward Bound
  • Germany 2020 - A Trip down Memory Lane