Lake Burley Griffin - Canberra: The Lake to Lake ride will start here
The filling of Lake Burley Griffin in 1963 made a huge difference to Canberra. In the 50 years the lake has been here, numerous places and spaces have been built, grown and shaped around its shore. For good reason they attract visitors, including a lot of cyclists, from all over. The lake's traffic free paths and scenery are draw-cards all year round. The extensive Canberra bike way network also makes it easy to cycle out of town in any direction, including several different exits which lead to Melbourne. Following are a few photos I have taken around, above and near Lake Burley Griffin to give some impression of why it is so much a part of Canberra's fabric.
The Lake-to-Lake tour will begin at this lake in Canberra, and finish at Melbourne's favourite lake in Albert Park which is about 1000 km away by a bike friendly route. Lake Burley Griffin sweeps through and around central Canberra. Bike paths follow its shoreline and link to an extensive network throughout and beyond the city.Next year will be Lake Burley Griffin's 50th birthday.
Misty, mid-autumn morning view of Lake Burley Griffin and Commonwealth Ave Bridge. The cyclist is on the path and direction to Queanbeyan and beyond to the village of Captains Flat. From Captains Flat, it is possible to weave a backroads and bikeway route right through to Melbourne's Albert Park Lake which is about a 1000 km ride from Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin.
Yes...just in case you forget which country Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin is in, we had it labelled.The Lake-to-Lake ride will be a similar distance to rides such as London to Zurich, or Portland to Sacramento, or Bangkok to Saigon, or Manhattan to Quebec City, or Edinburgh to Plymouth.
Lake Burley Griffin is a water axis amid a triangle of avenues on a grand scale. The precincts around the lake contain many national institutions popular with tourists and are easily accessed by bicycle.
Hired segways are a popular way of seeing the sights around Canberra's Lake Burley Griffin. They aren't quite as good at jumping gutters as bikes. Or as good as a touring bike on the backroads to Melbourne. Looks like fun though.
Puzzling sculptures in Questacon's science garden by the lake. So is there an outside surface and an inside surface on this twisted metal strip? Or is it just one surface?
One of several small wharves around Lake Burley Griffin. There are blessedly few motorised craft on the lake. Just a couple of small, quiet cruise launches.
Bird's eye view of central Canberra and Lake Burley Griffin courtesy of a work flight to Sydney. The Lake-to-Lake ride to Melbourne will depart in the direction to the left of this photo to avoid some major hills associated with the ranges toward the top of the photo. The lake was formed by damming the Molonglo River. The first day's ride will follow the Molonglo River valley through to the small village of Captains Flat.
Created in 1989 by Ken Cato to help Melbourne bid for the Olympic Games, this sculpture is located on the Lake Burley Griffin shore area near Questacon. A bicycle sculpture near the lake with a link to Melbourne...a must for this journal.
View toward the eastern end of the lake known as the Jerrabomberra Wetlands. The bike path winds through this wetland. The hills beyond are in the direction of the first day's ride toward Melbourne on this tour. And there's that balloon again.
The bike path passes through the Jerrabomberra wetlands at the upstream end of the lake. This is one of the bikeway exits toward Melbourne. It's a haven for birds and bird-watchers.
The Lake-to-Lake tour will start on, end on and cross land which has been continuously occupied by Aboriginal people for more than 20,000 years. The descendants of traditional owners live in Canberra, Melbourne and throughout the Snowy-Monaro, and Gippsland. Australian Aboriginal culture is the world's oldest, continuous living culture. This flag is in Reconciliation Place adjacent to Lake Burley Griffin in the Parliamentary precinct.
