what I did on saturday

There is something about Kingston on a Saturday morning which is appealing. I think it’s everyone eating breakfast and drinking coffee and just generally being happy. Perhaps the promise of spring is also in the air…today I didn’t have to wear my jacket whilst out.

In the arvo, instead of giving in to the temptation to have a kip, I went to another part of the Canberra nature reserve, Red Hill. This is just a mile or so west of where I am staying and is one of the many hills which pops up in Canberra. Again there were parrots on display and I spotted a few kangaroos (my first since arriving). However, the real highlight was the view at the top, which is 360 degrees. From here, you can hardly see a city, just clusters of buildings sprouting out of the bush. To the south and west the ranges rise up (they eventually join up with the Snowies) whilst looking East you have the Parliamentary triangle, Mount Ainslie and the city centre. North is the photogenic Black Mountain.





At the top was a little café (there is a road up there for the less active!) so it would have been rude not to have sat out on the terrace with a cappuccino and slice of chocolate cake! I was so glad I made the decision to go out but tiredness did start to catch up with me walking the pretty streets of Deakin and Manuka. It was late afternoon so numerous flocks of Gallahs and parrots (there seem to be two main varieties – red and blue & red and green) were gladly interrupting my slow walk back to my apartment. I guess I will get used to seeing them eventually and not take any notice like the rest of the city but at the moment they are a real novelty.

So, there we go, one of Canberra’s hills climbed but I’m sure I’ll go back in different seasons to see how the colours change. In the meantime there are some other hills on the list!