Canberra

March 18, 2024 to March 20, 2024

Monday the 18th of March

Another late and lazy start because we were only meeting Graham Smith in Sutton at noon. As it turns out he met us about five kilometers north of the village and we cycled together until the bakery in Sutton where we enjoyed a light lunch .

After that it was great to have Graham as our guide as he lead us on the best route to our digs in Canberra.

Later that afternoon Graham picked us up in his car and gave an interesting and informative tour of Canberra. He clearly loves the city and I can imagine it must be a great city in which to live. It is modern, cleverly laid out and has some great cycle paths.

Looking northwards from south of the lake at Red Hill.

The view from the top of the arboretum. Graham in the red shirt.

Tuesday the 19th of March

Our digs, which is a repurposed student residence, is cheap and utilitarian but as such is rather noisy. So I didn't sleep particularly well last night. Consequently we had a late start on a day that we should have been out a couple of hours earlier.

We reached the Botanic Gardens at around ten and had a few really enjoable hours amongst the plants and the birds we found there. It is definitely worth a visit even if you aren't into birds and botany.

The rain forest section, the Botanic Garden's pride and joy. Best bit for birding.

A good mockup of Australia's Red Center.

I think this goanna is a Rosenberg's Monitor (Varanus rosenbergi). Edit: thanks to Bill S i now know that it is an Australian Water Dragon (Intellagama lesueurii).

A female Superb Fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus). Very drab compared to the male but still a delight to watch as they work busily in the leaf litter looking for food.

Male Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris).

We made our way back to our digs via the lake. Canberra has some lovely and seemingly underused bicycle paths and it was a pleasant ride.

The afternoon was spent on the usual chores - laundry, groceries and catching up on correspondence etc.

Wednesday the 20th of March

Another night of poor sleep. I really can't wait to be back in the tent. Neither Leigh nor I handle cities well but at least we will be back on the road tomorrow.

We had planned to visit a number of places in Canberra today but due to us feeling so tired all we could manage was a few hours at the National Museum. A lot of money has been spent on it but I must admit that I struggled a bit. I guess I am getting too old for for a constant audio-visual bombardment and given my tired state to start off with it was a bit too much for me.

This old Holden FJ was at the entrance to the museum.

The hall dedicated to Australia's first people was a bit less hectic. The parallels between the modern history of Australia and South Africa lie not too far apart.

Not easy to read, even when zoomed in, but some of the text is below.

I'm not racist but... I don't know why Aboriginal people can't look after their houses property and I'm not racist but ... Aboriginal people weren't doing anything with the land before we came and I'm not racist but ... they never even wore any clothes before we came and I'm not racist but ... you can't tell me that the government doesn't look after them and I'm not racist but ... my taxes are paying for their food and I'm not racist but ...

On a lighter note, we ended off our stay with a lovely dinner with Ian and Cora Wallis who live just a kilometer away from our digs. Ian has had some amazing experiences cycling all around the world and Cora has joined him on many of them. The conversation didn't just stick to cycle touring and we veered off to discuss diverse topics. They're a lovely couple but we eventually had to drag ourselves away so that we could be ready to hit the road to Yass tomorrow. My big regret is we spent so much time talking that I forgot to take a photo of all of us for my journal.

Today's ride: 56 km (35 miles)
Total: 502 km (312 miles)

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Angela NaefHello, We live in the country near Orange NSW, and would love to host you if you are coming this way and if the timing works out. We have a big crowd coming the 28th thru the 1st of April, so it would be difficult during those days but good any other time. We have a steep road in and a steep gravel driveway, but we have a Ute, so we can pick you up from somewhere if it works out. For our location look for Patina Wines. You can email me at anjinaef@gmail.com Look forward to hearing from you, happy cycling!
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9 months ago

Jean-Marc StrydomTo Angela NaefHi Angela. Thanks for the invitation.
We would love to take you up on it.
There is a good chance we could pass by Orange. We're currently in Yass and heading northwards but have no clear idea of our route yet. My only concern is that we might clash with your busy dates. If you don't mind, I'll come back to you in a couple of days time once we find out how we're progressing.
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9 months ago

Angela NaefTo Jean-Marc StrydomSounds good!
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9 months ago