AU2007 - Canberra: Day 2

This morning, we had a quick tour around the Australian National University before driving 3 hours back to Wollongong.

 

 

Before we hit the Hume Highway again, we had a quick stop at Cockington Green Gardens. Family owned and operated, Cockington offers fascinating display of meticulously crafted miniature buildings set within beautifully landscaped gardens.

 

 

 

Originally displaying the best and unusual styles of Great Britain, the gardens had expanded to include International exhibits from 21 countries, sponsored by the respective embassies in Canberra.

 

 

Interesting displays include the Borobudur Temple in Indonesia, …

 

 

… the Borgund Stave Church of Norway, …

 

 

… the St Mark’s Church of Croatia, …

 

 

… the El Capitolio of Venezuela, …

 

 

… the Australian gold mining scenes, …

 

 

the Lynton and Lynmouth Cliff Railway of Great Britain, …

 

 

… the Pueblito Paisa of Colombia, …

 

 

… the Escena del Quijote of Spain, …

 

 

… the temple and pagoda of Korea, ...

 

 

… the Grotto Constantia of South Africa, …

 

 

… the Tenochtitlan Aztec Temple of Mexico, …

 

 

… the Machu Picchu of Peru, …

 

 

… the Leanders Tower (Kiz Kulesi) of Turkey, …

 

 

… the Treasury (El Khazneh) of Jordan, …

 

 

… the Karlstejn Castle of Czech Republic, …

 

 

… and many others.

 

 

Visitors could also hop on the Cockington Green Gardens Railway miniature steam train that encircles the International Displays.

 

 

 

All in all, it was a relaxing and fun-filled weekend getaway.

AU2007 - Canberra: Day 1

For a short weekend getaway, we decided to drive down to Canberra to visit some friends as well as to join in the Australian’s celebration of Spring. Departing from Wollongong, we drive down the Hume Highway passing by a million year old lake, Lake George.

 

 

Lake George is renowned for its emptying and filling on a cyclical basis. With the lake empty when we passed by, it looks more like an empty field than a lake.

 

 

Anyway, driving further down, we arrived into Canberra, the capital city of Australia. The first attraction that we visited there was the Royal Australian Mint.

 

 

The Mint manufactures circulating coins for Australia as well as medals, medallions, seals and tokens for both private and public sectors. They also produces coins for other countries. Here, we get to check out the ancient Australian 1 cent and 2 cent gold (copper)coins, …

 

 

… the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games medal, …

 

 

… the Ocean Series 1 dollar coins, and …

 

 

… special edition 1 dollar coins for the year of the Pig.

 

 

Next, we drove over to the Floraide, Australia’s Celebration of Spring. Being the biggest flower festival in Australia, each spring, Canberra’s Commonwealth Park is transformed into a tapestry of colour with more than a million bulbs and annuals in bloom.

 

 

Visitors get to wander around the themed garden beds and enjoy the day with entertainment, food, horticultural activities and festivities.

 

 

Also on show were sand sculptures …

 

 

… and showcase gardens.

 

 

Soon enough, its time for dinner at the Canberra Centre, initially opened as Monaro Mall back in 1963 as Australia’s first fully enclosed air-conditioned space comprising of many retailers under one roof.

 

 

After dinner, we begin our night exploration to check out the breathtaking views of Canberra. First stop was at the International Flag Display. Colourfully acknowledging the United Nations and those that maintain a diplomatic presence in the national capital, the 90 plus flags fly from two offset rows of flagpoles along the promenade between the High Court and the National Library on the southern shore of Lake Burley Griffin.

 

 

Next, we checked out the Australian War Memorial, trying to spot for kangaroos.

 

 

Unfortunately, no kangaroos were spotted. Moving on, our last stop for the night was Mount Ainslie, Canberra’s highest surrounding vantage point.

 

 

Here, we caught a spectacular panoramic bird’s eye view of Canberra, before driving back to YHA for the night.