Killer kangaroos and lethal acorns

How do you entertain a fourth time visitor to Canberra? Well, try some killer kangaroos, take in a few cake stops, yet another sunset up Mount Ainslie and a picnic in a hailstorm, and add one final mix of bustling crowds and traffic (where the hell did that come from?!). Hooning around was very much the order of the day as Caroline visited on her last weekend in Australia (such is the power of Canberra… feel the power!).

On Saturday we headed south to Namadgi National Park, a serene if somewhat bleak landscape of high valleys and rocky outcrops, home to hundreds of kangaroos lurking in bushes and old ruins.

Having successfully negotiated those pesky roos and surviving a rather nice picnic we popped into Lanyon homestead, still down to the south of Canberra and so national trust-like we could be in Dorset. Or Wilts. I had yet another disappointing cream tea, but that was as much as I expected from this country, the scones were okay though.

It wasn’t all rural tranquillity though, what with the hustle and bustle of downtown Canberra, coach parties on Mount Ainslie, waiting to be seated at restaurants and marathon runners and cyclists everywhere. Phew, I think I need to get away from all this chaos!

Up on Mount Ainslie, all was pretty much the same as ever, barring the inordinate amount of people watching another fine Canberra sunset.



Down in Kingston, the people were smartly dressed and enjoying the inner south scene (well not at Filthy Mc Faddens), and a scary looking plate of Balmain Bugs and pasta kept the chilly evening at bay.

The next day took us past several runners in the world famous Canberra marathon as we crossed over the lake to the National Museum of Australia. What can you say… typical museum… some stuffed animals, Indigenous stuff, a hills hoist or two, some gold nuggets and iconic Aussie sporting memorabilia. Plus the slightly odd Garden of Australian Dreams.

Now some might say the Garden of Australian Dreams is actually down on the south side of the lake, though today it was more like the Garden of Hitchcock Nightmares as the bells tolled, the leaves turned blood red, the swans turned black and the apocalyptic storm swept in. Perfect for a picnic in the car.

It seems Canberra survived the apocalypse and reverted to just about normal in the late afternoon, where I went for a walk and didn’t take any pictures, so I can’t take any of the credit for these!



So that’s another catch up from the heart of the nation, the national capital, Canberra that is, the only place in Australia where the Olympic torch can be seen as it is lobbed into the lake. Coming up, a mini tour of the south east as I am off to Victoria later in the week and then onto Sydney and inland NSW.

Walk number 3

Taronga to Balmoral, Sydney

A tale of two cities

Commuting Aussie style has been the theme of recent times and is set to continue in the next week with my time alternating between Canberra and that little village up the road, Sydney. This week took me to Sydney for a few days and for once I didn’t catch a ferry anywhere whatsoever. Most of my time was spent between my hotel in the CBD and just across Darling Harbour and into Pyrmont. That’s not to say I didn’t get to see the sights, courtesy of my wonderful hotel room up on the 35th floor.

Meanwhile, back in the national capital, autumn has been creeping in and with it, beautiful days and cool nights. I have been undergoing a process of naturalisation, taking in two ‘footie’ matches at Canberra Stadium. Last Saturday was the Canberra Raiders v St George Illawarra Dragons in Rugby League. For some reason the Raiders have a theme and mascot of Vikings… I have no idea what the connection between Canberra and Vikings are, but it gives the local hoons something to aspire to.

This weekend took in the ACT Brumbies v the Chiefs… and yes the Brumbies mascot is a rather pathetic looking horse. Being more familiar to Rugby Union this was something I could easier follow and I even recognised some names (well one name, Stirling Mortlock, who plays for the Brumbies). Alas the Brumbies lost but there were plenty of tries and a winning bet on first try scorer covered the cost of an Aussie meat pie and beer!

Despite all these attempts to fit in, it still seems I’m a bit of an oppressed ethnic minority, and have taken to some serious protesting…






Of course, with autumn comes the wonderful changing of the leafy suburban streets to a patchwork of reds and yellows and browns. The colours have not quite peaked yet, but a Saturday afternoon walk certainly showed the change in effect.

So it’s back to Sydney tomorrow, hopping across the skies to the city by the sea. My last flight took an amazing approach over the city, so all I can hope is that the flying kangaroo provides me with a window seat and more spectacular views. Meanwhile, back in Canberra the chill will set in and those leaves will continue to crisp up just nicely.

Run, Fatboy, Run!

A time for giving, a time for sharing… oh hang on… wrong religious festival. Where are we? Oh yeah, Easter, so early in the year it crept up without us knowing! Somewhat surprisingly I didn’t head off to some exotic location here or world heritage wotsit there but mostly stuck around the capital of Australia. That might sound boring but there must be something in it as I really really really don’t want to go back to work tomorrow! Earlier in the week was strenuous, made even more challenging by the task to cook something Irish related for St Patrick’s Day. Like most things this week it turned out good in the end… steak, Guinness and cheese pie, mmm mmm mmm.

After weeks of heat, the weekend cooled sufficiently on Friday to bring out the long sleeves. I mostly stuck around the house feeling cosy and not doing much at all. It was a good Friday.

With energy restored on Saturday I headed to the north of Canberra to yet another unexplored section of Canberra Nature Park, Goorooyaroo Reserve (love the name!). This typifies the landscape so common along the drive to Sydney… the browning grassland dotted with bush and rounded golden hills. Of course, I climbed up one of these hills – Burnt Stump Hill – which had a burnt stump atop it no less. The view takes in the whole of North Canberra and down to the sights and sounds of the centre and parliamentary triangle, cloaked by the surrounding hills.

Interesting Australian fact for you – almost everything closes on Good Friday as opposed to Easter Sunday (apart from Harvey Norman of course, because you only have four days to pick up the bargains in the crazy mega price slashing sale… until next weekend). The result is that Easter Saturday seems to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year since people have missed out on consumerism for a day. The Canberra Centre was a veritable buzz of happy shoppers buying cut price chocolate and warmer clothes for the months ahead… it felt like a busy city, aghhhh!

In that topsy-turvy way down here I had my traditional Easter roast dinner on Saturday evening as I planned a getaway on Sunday down to the coast. Given how cooler and cloudier it had been I was fortuitous to be blessed with plenty of warm sunshine down near Pretty Beach in Murramarang National Park. Pretty by name, pretty by nature.










Monday was my equivalent of the family get together as a few of us beautiful Canberra people gathered beside the southern shores of Lake Burley Griffin for a BBQ in the park. In true English style it decided to look a bit dreary, spit a few drops of rain, transform to glorious sunshine and rain cats and dogs. The cats and dogs came midway through eating (though I hasten to add we were not eating them!) but I managed to sizzle the snags on the electric barbie just about in time. The stress of the electric barbie seems to be greying my hair and expanding my belly.

I tried to work on my belly a little at dusk, climbing Mount Ainslie in 20:35, cutting a minute and a half off my previous time but gutted not to break 20. As for the hair I might resort to Just For Men and look like one of those guys in the adverts with the badly synchronised dubbing. Or just get it cut.

And on that bombshell, I wish you all a happy Easter and a prosperous New Year!

phew autumn

Officially I guess now is autumn and the leaves are beginning to fall, but no-one has told the big fella upstairs who is blessing us with endless scorchio days which you never want to end. It's been perfect for Canberra's 95th birthday celebrations which seem to stretch as long as this hot dry spell.

So, what to tell you about my life over the last couple of weeks? Work jumps straight out, but there's been a few wanderings around the capital, games of tennis and baking pies. Last weekend I drove up, walked down and strode up Mount Ainslie (in 22 minutes which I was quite proud of), all around sunset time of course. Ah, happy birthday old girl.

And last night, anything Sydney can do, Canberra can do, well maybe not quite better but not bad. as Skyfire 20 hit the shores of the lake, a spectacular fireworks display. Not only were there fireworks to see but the ingenuity of the Canberra hoons came to the fore as couches were piled onto utes, BBQs were set up, vans became temporary discos for underage drinkers and glowstick sales hit the roof.

With all this jollyness going on I've almost forgotten Easter is right around the corner. With this weather the chocolate eggs may well be a gooey mess, but I'm not complaining. Complaining? That's for whingin' Poms!