Hey, everyone! My main excitement of the past week has been a quick visit to Canberra with my friend from Darwin. While it was a brief trip, it was really great to reconnect with John and explore Australian Capital Territory (ACT) together.
Canberra
Canberra is the capital of, well, Australian Capital Territory which was my final territory to explore in Australia. It’s basically the Washington, D.C. of Australia. I had heard it was pretty lame and to “just skip it,” but I’m happy I went. I had the added bonus of John as a tour guide – he lived in Canberra for two years so he knew the cool stuff to check out.
After arriving into town by Greyhound, we picked up the rental car and decided to drive around town for a bit since we couldn’t check in to our accommodation until hours later.
I had pictured Canberra as being incredibly small. Basically some government buildings, a grocery store, and some apartments. I did not expect a bustling city with tall buildings. Another “big country town” as they say.
John took me to the Parliament House, which I suppose I could compare to… the Capitol Building? The interior of the building was pretty impressive. Walking in, you’re surrounded by all kinds of marble. Marble floors, marble columns. And not just one type of marble. John was telling me that the marble comes from different territories in Australia. Cool!
He actually used to work at Parliament House so it was funny to walk around there with him. He showed me the courtyard where he used to have lunch, etc.
We walked along a room that had oil paintings of all the Prime Ministers throughout the decades. I was surprised they were the originals – the paintings hardly seemed to have any texture to them. I’m still not convinced!
My favorite part of Parliament House was going into one of the rooms where they do congressional hearings. As someone who isn’t Australian, it almost felt like I wasn’t supposed to be there – looking down at the room where all these Australian politicians sit and discuss big issues.
Another room that was quite interesting was a room that was often used for speeches/events/etc. The Prime Minister does the occasional televised speech there and Queen Elizabeth II (aka Lizzy) had given a speech there as well. RIP, legend.
After walking around for some time, we left Parliament House and drove to Mount Ainsley to do a small hike before checking in to our rooms.
Mount Ainsley
Canberra is surrounded by small mountain ranges – almost as if the ranges themselves are acting as a barrier between ACT and the rest of Australia. One of the mountains closer to town is Mount Ainsley – it’s a popular spot for walking/jogging/biking/etc.
John and I parked the car at some random entrance and began our walk. It was nice to catch up with him along the way. He and I seem to travel very well together. We’ve gone to Litchfield National Park, Kakadu National Park, Fogg Dam, and now Canberra together. While we don’t always have to be constantly talking, I find it very easy to spend time with John. I tend to be a little more introverted in general, but something about John allows me to just talk, talk, talk. Much appreciated!
The hike had some surprisingly mean inclines. The two of us had to take a break a few times along the way up.
But then, the view. Pictures don’t do it justice. Although, they rarely do. It really was a nice spot – overlooking the Parliament House “Mall,” Black Mountain, the lake, and the mountain ranges off in the distance. It was a cloudy day, but John appreciated it coming from Darwin where it’s always blue skies in the dry months.
After a bit, we decided to head back and check in to our accommodation. Other than dinner, we didn’t do much else that night. I was busy working on my Port Jackson shark blog and was having laptop issues. I also took advantage of in-unit laundry which is, honestly, the most amazing thing a backpacker could ask for. Being able to do laundry… for free? I did a number of loads while in Canberra haha. It was one of the highlights of the weekend for me. Aside from laundry and dinner, John and I just hung out. It was lovely!
National Arboretum
I didn’t have any specific plans while in Canberra. I let John plan everything. Sometimes it’s nice to do things that way. I’m glad John took charge since I’ve done so much planning for myself lately.
On our second day, John planned a visit to the local “National Arboretum”. Sure! We started the day off at the Arboretum café – John had a coffee and a tart, for me: an almond croissant and chai latte. Yum!
From there, we walked along one of the longer trails of the Arboretum. We passed many planted trees in neat rows. Small trees, tall trees… all decorating the hillsides of the area.
We spotted some kangaroos which I was happy to see. They were nestled atop one of the hillsides. Some of them stood at attention as we walked past, cautiously protecting the rest of the mob.
Before we knew it, we were back at the car and jetted off to the next spot.
Black Mountain
Black Mountain is the tallest inner city mountain in Canberra. On top sits the Telstra tower. Telstra is one of the mobile providers here in Australia. This tower, though… it’s insane! The most massive cell tower I’ve ever seen and it looks like an alien spaceship, or at least something one may use in an attempt to communicate with aliens. Visits to the inside of the tower were closed until further notice but John said you used to be able to go up there and get a good view of the city. Now, there is a chain link fence surrounding the entrance. John and I joked that it looks quite dystopian – as if you’d have to fight through zombies to get inside.
We checked out some nearby viewpoints and then drove to the botanical gardens.
Botanical Gardens
I just had to go to the botanical gardens in Canberra. Any city I’ve visited in Australia, I’ve gone to their botanical gardens. It was only fair.
I’m glad we did because the Canberra gardens were wonderful. They had lots of boardwalks, lots of walking paths guiding you through all types of plant life. We walked through the rainforest and then to the rock garden before it started to rain. We scurried back to the car, concluding our adventures for the day.
We didn’t do much in the evening – other than a lovely dinner at an Indian restaurant, we just hung out in our accommodation. I did even more laundry and we watched the Brady Bunch movie. John loved the Brady Bunch and seemed to know all the references. It was a good night!
Tinbinbilla Reserve
Our final day together involved my favorite exploration of my time in Canberra – a trip out to Tinbinbilla Reserve. Again, John’s idea. I had not planned a damn thing but John did an excellent job.
The reserve took us outside the city and into more of a natural area – houses and civilization faded away until we were around small mountain ranges and trees. We passed kangaroos clustered near the side of the road. Some wallabies, too, if I’m not mistaken.
We headed to the eucalyptus forest portion of the reserve.
Getting out of the cars, we walked up to a gated fence that we entered to get to the forest. I wasn’t expecting an enclosure for the koalas, but alas. There was a sign on the door warning visitors of red-bellied black snakes which are highly venomous. I wanna see one!!! But it was much too cold in Canberra for snakes to be out and about.
We walked through the gate and were met by ANOTHER enclosure / this one had three koalas hanging out. Two munching on eucalyptus leaves, one taking a nap. I was wondering why they were in the enclosure since it was a nature reserve. Some kind of conservation effort? Maybe they were sick or something and were slowly being reintroduced?
John was so excited to see the koalas. I had recently had my fill with koalas at Magnetic Island. They are very cool creatures. They remind me of my parents dog, Gizmo.
From the enclosure, we went on a walk through the forest. It was John’s mission to see a koala in the trees and not in the enclosure. He had never seen a koala outside a zoo before – and he’s Australian!! Along we walked, until we’d gone the entire trail. “Let’s go back the other way,” I suggested. Then we veered off onto ANOTHER trail. That’s where the wildlife was hiding.
We were startled by what looked like a large bandicoot running along the path in front of us. “What was that?!” And then… another! We tried to see what it was. I honestly couldn’t place it and wasn’t able to get a picture – they were too obscured by the bush and then they disappeared. Maybe a bush rat? It seemed much fatter than a bandicoot.
We continued on and then, SOMEHOW, I managed to spot it which was a feat in itself since most of the time my eyes were searching the ground for snakes. But there is was, high up in a tree. A wild koala for John! “I never would have spotted that myself,” John said. After admiring it, he said, “Alright, we can go now! Got what I came here for.”
We slowly walked back to the car and drove along the reserve / stopping now and again at cool lookouts.
One of my favorite moments of the day was when we passed not one, not two… but FIVE kookaburras. I have never seen that many kookaburras in one spot. We pulled over and got out of the car. The birds let us get quite close to them, too. I love those damn birds! I’ve seen them in every Australian territory except for Northern Territory. (Fun fact: I hadn’t yet seen them in New South Wales, but as I was typing down the kookaburra sightings in my Notes app as something to mention on the blog, I heard them cackling.)
Before long, we had to head back to the city to have food and then part ways. John was flying back to Darwin and I was to take the Greyhound back to Sydney.
John treated me to a lovely Thai lunch along the river (thanks, John!) and shortly after, he dropped me off near the bus station.
It was great to be able to see John again and to have a nice mix of adventure but also very relaxing evenings. I hope we have the opportunity to travel together again one day!
Miscellaneous
What else, what else?
I think I already mentioned in my last post that I’d seen Mason, Lachlan, and Thomas in Sydney so far. It’s so crazy to think that along this journey, I’ve made friends that I’ve been lucky enough to meet up with in other cities as well.
After meeting Ella in Coral Bay, I’d also seen her in Melbourne and Cairns.
After meeting Mason in Tasmania, I’d met him in Melbourne and Sydney.
Lachlan and I met in Darwin, then met for dinner in Sydney.
I met Nadija in Airlie Beach, but we hung out again in Hervey Bay.
Thomas was a friend from the hostel in Tasmania, and we explored around downtown Sydney together one day.
Jamie was a coworker and friend from Perth, she and I met up in Airlie Beach.
And hopefully this won’t be the last time I see them! The world is large, but it can also be quite small at times. Fingers crossed. There are many people I’ve met in Australia that I would love to bump into again.
Art of the Week
I have a piece that I’m really excited to share with you all, but it won’t be ready until my next post. Hang in there hahaha. It is a bit of a larger piece… sort of.
Reflections
It’s all winding down, y’all!
One novelty I’ve accomplished is that as of being in Canberra, I’ve now visited every Australian territory. There are many places within each territory I’d still like to see, but I think I’ve done a pretty damn good job so far.
I don’t have too much to reflect on at this current moment. As I mentioned, I really enjoyed myself with John in Canberra.
I actually am surprised / I thought maybe it would be a pretty lame city from the impression I was getting from others. I could have spent a few more days there, checking out walking trails along the mountain ranges. And I definitely would have liked to check it out in the summer, when snakes are more active.
I don’t have too much planned now that I’ve left Canberra. There is plenty I want to do, but I’m feeling a little bit of that “burnout” again. Too much lately! Too on the go! I need some time to chill out before doing some more exploring.
I’m sure you’ve all heard this or experienced it yourselves, but at a certain point it can feel like you “get used to” all the natural beauty and it doesn’t feel as exciting anymore. Oh, another mountain? Another waterfall? Etc. I think that’s why it’s important to take time to chill – to have a break from all the sightseeing so that I don’t become jaded and stop appreciating it.
Anyways, that’s all for now!
Sending you all my love xx
