Canberra Feb 2013

Melbourne is only a day's drive from the Australian Capital Territory, Canberra.  It's like our Washington, D. C.; not really a state, but a government seat of the country and the capital of the country.  It's where the Parliament is and the laws are made.

The Parliament Building.  We were camped down the hill just about 1/4 mile from here in a tiny park. 

Remember, they drive on the left here.

The Captain Cook Jet, a fountain that spouts water straight up into the air.

We visited the Glassworks, thinking it might be a glass factory.  But it is an old glass foundry that is rented out by artists to create art glass, which is then displayed for sale in the lobby area.  Only 2 artists were in the day we visited, so it was a mellow day, but some of the stuff on display was pretty cool.

Lots of eucalyptus trees lined the streets in Canberra.  

A vehicle that used to ply the back roads of Australia in days gone by.  The mechanic on board lived in this colorful traveling workshop and the truck was saved from the junkyard by someone who actually remembered this thing lumbering into his town.  Now it is a front display in the Australian Museum.

The tractor that pulled the above truck when it wasn't under its own power.  Quite the eclectic vehicle.

I just love the shaggy bark on these eucalyptus trees.

A view from the Australian War Memorial.  It is reminiscent of looking down the avenue with the reflecting pools from the Washington Monument in Washington D.C.

Inside the war memorial, they have rooms with planes and submarines and all kinds of artifacts from the wars.  There were so many rooms, I felt like I was trapped and lost inside.  Kind of scary when you can't find your way out of a building.  It happened in the Australian Museum, too.  Every EXIT sign took me outside, not back to the front of the museum, so I just walked around the outside back to the lobby.

We walked all over this territory and toured the Australian Mint.  My eyes just aren't able to appreciate the minute differences in the coins that make them so special and rare, but our guide had a great sense of humor so I enjoyed the tour anyway.  Guess I'll stick to the plastic paper money.

We stayed a couple of days in our little hideaway park in the middle of the government seat.  We left for Sydney, another day's drive and enjoyed the scenery up the back of the Great Dividing Range and along the shore.