So Much To Do in Australia's Capital

We've had a fantastic 4 weeks in Canberra, and still haven't managed to see and do everything. One highlight of course has to be the reason for the city's existence - Parliament House. At this time of year the pollies are off on their annual holidays, but the building is still open to visitors. The iconic flag pole is visible from almost anywhere in Canberra, and the inside of the building is just as striking as the outside. Unlike Old Parliament House you can't actually sit in the chamber, but the current House of Representatives is a lot more modern and recognisably Australian, with a much less ornate (and more tasteful) Speaker's chair. But you don't want to be fooled into thinking that we the Australian people scrimped in the building's construction - the foyer contains more marble than you would have thought possible in one building.

The High Court is also currently in recess, but the lovely building is open to visitors, although we had to leave our water bottle at the front security desk. Who knows what it might have contained! The 'Treasures Gallery' at the National Library lived up to its name, with fascinating exhibits such as original 17th century Dutch maps (showing just tiny fragments of the Australian coastline), Captain Cook's log from his Endeavour voyage and the original manuscript of Waltzing Matilda. The Mint provided several hours entertainment watching the production of coins, alas no free samples on the tour.

One of the few places we had to pay for a tour was the Australian Institute of Sport, but the obvious disinterest of the 'guide', who was presumably fulfilling one of his duties as a resident athlete (in his case an AFL footballer, not what we would consider a good use of our tax money), and the limited access to the actual training facilities, made this a lowlight of our Canberra experience. More interesting were several CSIRO facilities, including the telescopes at Mt Stromlo that were burnt out 10 years ago and the 'Deep Space Complex' at Tidbinbilla, providing services to NASA monitoring various missions to Mars and beyond.

The ACT doesn't just provide indoor interest, we had 4 days bush walking in Namadgi National Park, and played golf at 8 different golf courses. All in all, we have thoroughly enjoyed our 4 weeks in Australia's Capital Territory,and could easily spend more time in a future visit.