Finding the good in Canberra!

Moving on, slightly reluctantly from Melbourne, I headed to Canberra. Canberra is situated in an area called the Australian Capital Territory. It became the country's capital in 1911 but building and development work was a slow process continuing to the present day. The first Parliament House was completed in 1927 and Lake Burley Griffin, which the city is designed around, was completed in 1963.

I visited the National Capital Exhibition which provided me with all of this information, through interesting exhibits, photos and video presentations. I had no idea before I came to Canberra that it was designed so specifically for a purpose and that it is so recent.

Many feel Canberra hasn't got much to offer and that it lacks character. It certainly lacks historical buildings however it doesn't lack history, albeit more recent history. There are also some up and coming 'hipster' areas which might bring more backpackers in. Generally if you aren't interested in museums, history, art or hiking in the bush then there's maybe not much for you.

There are numerous museums, exhibitions and galleries most of which are free. Aside from the National Capital Exhibition, there is the Australian War Memorial Museum, which is a beautiful dome-shaped building full of names and poppies, the National Australian Museum, which is massive and has a very well-planned open space outside (ask the guides to explain it to you), each installation or structure had a meaning, and the National Gallery which is full of mostly modern art and Australian art. In this area is also the high court of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery, all of which sit on the beautiful Lake Burley Griffin.

The Old and New Parliament Houses are also landmarks not just in Canberra but Australia. The Old Parliament House is now a museum for Australian political history and democracy, while the New Parliament House which sits on a hill makes for good photos of the straight line down to the Old Parliament House, ANZAC parade, the War Memorial and lastly Mount Ainslie at the end. There are also botanic gardens and numerous national parks and city nature parks and creeks for swimming.

During my visit there was a multicultural festival, so the city was full of people. Apparently it's not normally like that. There was delicious food from many countries and music. I particularly enjoyed the aboriginal performances with their singing and dancing which imitate animals and the elements.

Canberra has a few of vegan cafés and I met two vegan girls while I was there. There was also a student atmosphere during weekdays in Civic (the main city centre) as it was the beginning of term for the universities including the well-known ANU - Australian National University. ANU runs weekly free lectures for the public. I also enjoyed a bit of eccentricity at the Phoenix pub's monthly open-mic 'poetry' evening.

Vegan cupcakes (the ones on the right half) YUM!

Melbourne - every day is different

The famous blue tennis court, under blue skies and accompanied by the Yarra river and botanic parks are welcome escapes from Melbourne's busy shopping areas and high rises. Despite it being a big, bustling city, I loved it.

A view of Melbourne from the path along the Yarra River.

There are no days of boredom. From the museums, art galleries and exhibitions in the state library and arts precinct to very cheap places to eat (mostly vegetarian and Hare Krishna), to cheap entertainment such as watching the tennis or short documentaries on the big screen at Federation Square while relaxing in a deckchair, open-mic nights and free weekly cinema at Southgate (which I never got to). There's also the Queen Victoria market, which often has leftover fruit & veg lying around afterwards for the taking.

I stayed in an Air BnB a couple of nights right across from Southern Cross station, which was on the 29th floor and had a shared pool and sauna. Clean and cheap hostels in Melbourne are hard to come by. My best experience was at King Street Backpackers which was also by Southern Cross station and provided free wifi and breakfast. Many of the hostels are full of 'longtermers' who are working in the city on their working holiday visa which can make it very cliquey and difficult to meet people.

Melbourne is a big city but feels like a small one. The tram system makes everywhere very accessible and people talk to you and help you rather than always seeming like they are in a rush.

There are some delightful 'bohemian' nooks such as Fitzroy and Brunswick, packed full of vegetarian cafes, coffee shops with scruffy sofas, 'op shops' and vintage clothing shops. You can gaze out the window of a coffee shop watching the eclectic characters and fashions go by.

St Kilda, Brighton and Port Melbourne are seaside suburbs with chilly South Pacific waters, countless gelato shops and lots of sunbathers during summer. I stayed until after 10pm to watch the fairy penguins coming home to their nests under the rocks of the pier. There were a lot of spectators waiting and volunteers in luminous vests to advise us not to sit on the rocks or use flash photography.

When the penguins appeared (one by one, in contrast to Philip Island where they return in a group), small groups huddled around them, often not more than a metre, trying to take un-blurred photos in the dark without flash. I have to admit I was part of that huddle. And I got maybe one photo that isn't blurred. Nor is it a clear photo. But they seemed undeterred by us and slowly flapped around before hobbling between the rocks. Then another huddle appears and I quickly join that huddle!

I also did an overnight road trip with my brother to the Twelve Apostles. Here giant limestone columns stick up out of the crashing waves. Apparently there never were actually twelve but it was just a name given to them. The number of columns increases due to erosion of the cliffs creating arches and new creations when they break off from the land, or decreases due to collapsing columns. We stayed over at a very clean hostel in Port Campbell and watching the Australian Open final with a whiskey and wine!

The Twelve Apostles

Later I went on a day tour run by Bunyip to Wilson's Promonotory or 'Wilson's Prom' as the locals call it. It was very beautiful, white sand silicon beaches, giant blue waves crashing in, cliffs and small mountains to climb. I can imagine it would be a beautiful place to spend a weekend camping, but for a day trip it was quite rushed.

Wilson's Prom. Photo taken from the top of Mount Bishop