In the Australian capital of Canberra we had a guided tour of Parliament House and visited the Australian War Memorial Museum.
We were up bright and early after a busy day in Sydney the day before seeing the aquarium, Darling Harbour and Manly.
Our first bit of business of the day was to get to Sydney Airport to pick up our hire car for our trip to Canberra.
Our friend and host, Jam arranged for his friend to take us to the airport. This was David, a brilliant taxi driver, who negotiated the busy Sydney traffic and an elderly lady with road-rage to get us to our destination.
The drive from Sydney to Canberra
Our drive to Canberra in Australian Capital Territory would take us three hours.
Australia is one of the biggest countries on earth. It was not surprising to us that, similar to Canada, there were little signs of population along the road.
Unfortunately because of the ongoing NSW Bush Fires, the smoke was hiding the view. It’s so sad to think of the loss of both animal and human life as well as the loss of property. We really hope that Australia recovers quickly from this disaster.
Big Merino in Goulburn
Around halfway into our journey, Jam recommended that we should stop in the town of Goulburn to see Australia’s largest ram.
Ok, it was not real a ram, but a giant 50ft concrete statue of one. Although we did try to convince my wife that we were seeing a real-life ram that was in the Guinness book or records. She responded with “how do you know it will be there today?”
This giant ram celebrates the Goulburn’s links to the wool industry and also boasts a gift shop selling various sheep memorabilia.
Lazy Su, Canberra
After arriving in Canberra we dropped the bags off at our hotel on the outskirts of the city. Then it was time for a spot of lunch!
We decided on a place called Lazy Su, it specialises in Asian cuisine and also accommodated for vegans and vegetarians too.
I chose the nori and avocado salad with wakame, avocado, potato, nori, roe, and gribiche sauce. It was delicious, especially when washed down with a cold beer.
Parliament House, Canberra
After lunch we made the short journey through Canberra’s interesting road system to Parliament House.
New Parliament House is home to the Australian Parliament. In 1988 it replaced an older building now known as “Old Parliament House”.
We booked on a guided tour of the building which took in the House of Representatives, the Senate, Great Hall and the roof garden.
Despite the smoke from the bush fires, we could still see the Canberra skyline from the roof, but not the surrounding mountains.
The tour was quite interesting, especially because of a very enthusiastic American man who kept exclaiming the noise “urrrgggghhhh”. He would then ask a deep and complicated question.
As with all tours it ended near the gift shop. I deeply regret not buying a hat which said ‘Head Gardner, Parliament House’.
Australian War Memorial
Our next destination to visit was the Australian War Memorial. This is a national memorial to the Australian armed forces who have fought or died in wars.
The museum tells the story of conflicts in World War I, World War II, Vietnam, Afghanistan and many other countries.
The museum also focuses on the experiences of military personnel as well as some animals who served them.
Ethiopia Down Under, Canberra
After a ‘welcome drink’ in our remote hotel, we then got an Uber to Ethiopia Down Under. This was our choice for our evening meal.
We opted for a vegetable sharing platter including vegetables and lentils in sauces such as mild spice, coconut sauce and berbare. It was served with rice and Injera bread, which we used to eat the food.
The quality of the food was really impressive and you could bring your own wine too! Although I think we over stayed our welcome a bit, as we had a few hints from the staff that it was time to leave.
It was then off back into central Canberra to enjoy a few drinks in a secret bar called Molly and then the Moosehead pub.
We had a great day exploring the Australian capital of Canberra. We are heading back to Sydney tomorrow via the city of Wollongong.
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