Australian Capital TerritoryDIARY/PHOTO JOURNAL - Page 23
Week 28 - September 24, 2018 - September 30, 2018
We were on the move this week as we traveled from Sydney to Australia's capital, Canberra, and then back to the south coast and on down to Victoria.
We dashed into the Australian Capital Territory and our stop in Canberra was a short one as the city is not so much a 'tourist' city as Sydney or Melbourne; however, there were a couple of museums we wanted to visit and the National Museum of Australia was top on our list. We were fortunate that the museum had just opened up an exhibition called "Rome" that was on loan from the British Museum and contained many artifacts from over 2,000 years ago.
Australian Capital Territory
Some of the interesting marble sculptures
A child's shoe
A marble relief with recognizable adornment objects
Gerson holding a 'soldier's weapon'
Amazing marble carving for a sarcophagus
Loved this inscription written circa 2nd-4th century
We had a nice lunch overlooking the
lake and were able to squeak into an archive room that is only open for 15
minutes, once a day. The room was filled with Aboriginal tools, weapons
and other artifacts and I was surprised to see how similar the tools and weapons
resemble those used by our American Indians.
Lunch view
Aboriginal tools and weapons
School in 1971 - those beautiful faces
Canberra might not be obviously interesting but it does have its charms in many museums, green spaces, walking parks, etc. Also, it opens its Parliament House to tourists and we had a bit of a walk-around the building. I was impressed with the lovely building and how the walls were lined with portraits of significant Australian figures as well as many governmental documents, artifacts, etc.
Parliament House
Inside the Parliament House
Courtyard Queen
View to the old Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial
Cool statues adorn the drive to the War Memorial
A copy of the Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples
We compressed our time in Canberra so we could enjoy
the area and still make it to our camp near the coast. We wanted to take
advantage of the forecasted good weather and the sunshine gifted us with a
spectacular day visiting the Beecroft Peninsula, Point Perpendicular Lighthouse
and we even spotted a whale literally 'flipping out'.
Point Perpendicular and its Lighthouse
Point Perpendicular cliffs were intimidating
Humpback whale having fun flipping over
Walking along Beecroft Peninsula
We stayed near Huskisson and Jervis Bay and spent the
morning taking in the sun, reading, walking, tinkering and just catching our
breath.
Reading and just enjoying Jervis Bay
Lone SUP'r and Gerson enjoying the same world
Seaman's grave preserved - Cinderoo pays her respects
That afternoon, we pulled into
Eurobodalla National Park to a little gem of a campground at Mystery Bay.
This area quickly became one of our favorites as it was camp anywhere you find a
space and the beach was our neighbor. We spent the rest of the day
exploring and as the neighboring children said, "adventuring" along the beach
and around the rocks. With the low tide, land bridges, rock outcroppings,
tide pools, caves and small beaches emerged for us to investigate.
Mystery Bay
Cinderoo is the white spot in the middle of the trees
The rock formations were beautiful, some looked like petrified wood
Cave and small beach exposed
Gerson strolling along the low-tide accessible areas
Mystery Bay's beauty is no mystery
Gerson in his happy place - bonfire, wine, cheese and beach
We had a night visitor - friendly owl
The following day we were off for a
drive along the coast and into the State of Victoria! We stayed in Mallacoota,
but the day was all about the cruise through the beautiful landscape.
Views along the way
Cool bridge crossings
So many 'ahhh' moments
Lunch at a little Route 66 themed diner was a nice surprise - Cinderoo fits
right in with the classics
This week we went from New South Wales to Australia
Capital Territory to New South Wales and into Victoria. Lots of border
crossings and lots of beautiful places.