Visit to Australia's Capital: Canberra

When people in Australia talk about their capital, Canberra, (pronounced CAN Bruh) they don’t express a lot of excitement about it.  They even joke that the Prime Minister lives in Sydney instead of Canberra because “there isn’t anything there.”  We decided that even if this was so, we still needed to make a visit and see what this place was all about.  A few months ago, Erin started looking into things and organized a trip for us in mid-October.  She heard about this amazing festival called, Floriade, and said we should go while it was on.   We also discovered that there were many other key things we could see so we were eager for our short getaway.  Canberra is in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) which is still part of New South Wales.  

Unfortunately, Luke was unable to go on this little road trip, too, but Erin and I hired a car and we were on our way.  Canberra is an easy 3 - 3 ½ drive from Sydney.  We left on a Friday morning so that we had plenty of time to get to the United States Embassy and check things out before they closed. 

When we arrived in Canberra, we drove directly to Embassy Drive.   We drove around and checked out all of the beautiful buildings for each country.  We were very excited to pull up and see the American flag waving in front of our own outstanding Embassy.  We pulled up to a gate and were immediately directed to park out on the street and then told to walk up to the small gated building in front to speak to someone.   When we walked up, we were greeted by a friendly Australian gentleman who asked us if we had an appointment with someone.  For some very random reason I felt the need to blurt out, “Well, no, but we live in Sydney currently but we’re obviously from America so we were hoping we could come in to take a tour and see our Embassy.”  I wish you could just hear me saying it because when I said, “obviously” I sounded like a complete moron!  So Erin tried asking him again if we could just come in to check things out.  He gave us a weird look and said that they don’t do that and there aren’t any tours.  So my plan B was to tell him I was expecting and that I was hoping to get some important paperwork on what to do for getting the baby its passport, etc.  Once again we were denied and he said that isn’t something they take care of there.  We were so disappointed!  But he did allow us to take a picture by the sign and of the building itself. 

 On our drive to Canberra, we came across this...

 USA! USA! USA!

We drove around a bit more, checked into our hotel, and then walked around the city.  We ended up doing a little shopping and getting pedicures before we got back to the hotel for a delicious dinner. 

The next morning we slept in, had a delicious brekky at a little café close by, and then walked to Floriade to check out this festival.   http://www.floriadeaustralia.com/home  This event is held in a large park each year.  The flower displays were gorgeous!  My favorite flowers have always been tulips so I was so happy to see so many there in addition to many other colorful arrangements.  If you were in the ferris wheel, you would be able to see the designs and pictures that they made. 

As we walked around, we found an area where you could plant flowers in a hanging basket for FREE!  Each person could choose three and they had everything else you needed.  Erin and I were so happy to be doing something so fun and FREE!  Everyone hung their basket on this large tree (shown below) and then you were able to just come back by to pick up your basket on your way out. 

The next area we came to was full of gnomes!  And guess what?  You could paint your OWN gnome so of course we did.  We spent a lot more time doing this than we had planned but it was still a good time.  Next, we walked around some more and then took a 45 minute ferry ride that slowly went around and gave us the background on the area. 

When we got back we picked up our gnomes and hanging plants and walked back to the hotel.  We would recommend attending Floriade to everyone!  It was similar to all of your typical festivals; good people watching, food vendors, fairy floss (cotton candy), craft booths, etc.  but it also had several unique qualities that made it a must do!  I can’t wait to go back next year with Luke and the baby. 

As I’m sure you saw on the news, the Queen made her visit to Australia recently.  She actually was in Canberra the weekend after us.  We were at Floriade the last weekend it was opened for this year but they opened it one more weekend exclusively for the Queen to see.  They even had to bring in several new flowers to replace any dying or old ones.  I think she had to love it, too!

After a long and exhausting day of walking and being in the heat, we were ready for an early dinner so we could just get back to the hotel to relax.  After dinner we drove up to the Black Mountain Tower to check out the 360 degree views of Canberra from the observation tower.  When we got back to the hotel we had another competitive game of Skip Bo and went to sleep. 

Sunday morning we went to the Royal Australian Mint.  It was very interesting to see where the coins were made and what changes they’ve made since the beginning.  It sparked my interest in visiting the Mint in Kansas City when I am home to visit next! 

I think Canberra has more to offer than the Aussies let on…or maybe it’s because I was in tourist mode since I don’t live there!  J  Either way, it was worth the visit and I think Luke will agree when he goes with me next time. 

 Ah, tulips! My favorite!!

 A Bonsai Tree exhibit

 Easiest planting I've ever done!

 Ta Da!!

 The tree!

 Erin is so fun!!!!!

 More beautiful flowers!

 Some gnomes others painted

 Before...

 After!

 More gnomes

 

 

 

 Coins in the staircase going up

 It was a Sunday so no workers in action.

 

5 Sleeps in New Zealand: Part 2

Early the next morning I walked outside to see the beautiful Franz Josef Glacier on the mountains surrounding us. Yvelle and Erin left for a half day hike up the glacier. (pronounced glah-see-air in New Zealand)  They were doing this with a tour group just up the road from where we stayed.  Unfortunately, this was on my list of, “You can’t do this if you are pregnant.” I was bummed but glad that I found out before I booked my ticket to join them.  I was able to still do a hike that morning by myself that lead me almost up to the base of the glacier.  The girls had a great time and loved the experience!  I hope to still do the half day glacier hike with Luke if we go back to New Zealand another time. 

 My hike

 That's as close to the glacier as I got to get! Still beautiful views all morning!!!

Here is Erin’s explanation of the glacier hike experience:

“They gave us big woolly socks, giant climbing boots, rain jackets, and a pack to go around our waist with ‘crampons’ in it.  Crampons are spikes that attach to your boots to help you climb on the ice.  Once we were all geared up we got on the tour bus and headed out on a ten minute ride to the base of the glacier park.  From there we took about a 15 minute walk through the rainforest to arrive at a clearing where it was mainly just rocks and sediment all the way to the base of the glacier.  At that point we had 40 people on our tour – so the guides broke us into three groups.  A fast group, a middle group, and a slow group.  We had a 2.2 kilometer (1 mile) walk to the terminal face of the glacier. Terminal face means the ‘end of the glacier.’  Once we reached the terminal face, that’s when the climbing began.  We had to climb a giant rock pile and it was nearly a 45 degree climb the entire way.  That climb lasted about 30 minutes.  I was SWEATING.  Once we got to the top we took a break, sat down, and got our crampons attached to our boots.  Now we were ready for the ice!  We walked out into the glacier and we were immediately in the middle of these giant canyons of ice.  It was spectacular.  Being down in it looked totally different than looking at it from far away.  When we were standing up high and looking down on the glacier, the ice looked dirty and dusty and not very pretty.  When we started climbing in the glacier, down in the nooks and crannies, that’s when it was pretty and clean and we could see the blue ice.  We hiked in there for about an hour and we eventually got to a cave of blue ice.  We went in there and took a bunch of pictures.  After about 50 pictures of ourselves in the glacier we headed back out into the sunshine to eat the lunch we had brought with us.  We stood there and ate while everyone else took turns with photos.  Then the group headed back, climbing through the ice and hiking over it.  At one point we had to go through a very slim canyon. The guide told us to walk in slowly, lean on our right side, and just slide across the ice on our right side.  It wasn’t vertical enough of a space for us to get through it in a standing position – so that’s what we did.  We slid in there like a bunch of crazy people, sliding sideways through giant canyons of ice.  It was pretty cool but kind of scary.  Once we got back to the top of the rocks, we took off our crampons and headed back down the rock pile.  After we got back to the base – it was another 1 mile walk back to the rainforest and then ANOTHER hike through the rainforest.  Finally we reached the parking lot where a bus picked us up and took us back to town.” Thanks for this report, Erin!  Here are some of Erin and Yvelle's pictures, too.

 The girls giving a shout out to me! Thanks!

 

We departed for another long drive to our next destination, Queenstown.  This one took us about 5 ½ hours.  We continued to enjoy the endless views around us as well as the millions and millions of sheep that reside in this country. 

Once we arrived in Queenstown, we got to stay at the Hilton, thanks to Erin’s points.  Phenomenal location!!!  Early the next morning we drove over to the Kawarau Bridge for Erin to bungy jump!  She made the decision to do this months and months ago and the day had finally come!  I have to admit that I have always wanted to skydive but not bungy jump.  On this particular day I was relieved to have this added to my “You can’t do this if you are pregnant.” list.  ;)  When Luke lived in Australia 10 years ago, he did both activities in the same day!  Crazy!!! 

As we pulled up to the “Kawarau Bungy Centre- AJ Hackett Bungy,” you could feel the excitement in every person there whether you were jumping or not.  AJ Hackett was one of the founders of bungee jumping and this location was the world’s first!  Erin was one of the first several jumpers for the day to do the 43 meter jump.  (about 142 feet!)  I think I was more nervous than she.  J 

After Erin’s daring experience we headed back to town for lunch, to take the gondola to the top of the mountain, and to check out the Skyline Luge (like a bobsled/go cart).  We arrived to find an extremely long line to do this and then yep, you guessed it, add that to my “You can’t do this if you are pregnant” list.  But it was ok because right after that moment, Yvelle decided that she couldn’t leave New Zealand without bungy jumping, too!  So we eagerly drove back for round 2 of bungy jumping.  Another successful jump!!!

 The sun setting as we drove into Queenstown

 Our hotel balcony

 "Pre Bungy"

 Erin getting ready on the bridge

 The boat that retrieves the jumpers

She did it!

 Yvelle's turn

 Love road trips!

Please, please, please put Queenstown on your “to see” list if you go to New Zealand.  Many things about New Zealand remind me of Colorado and this little mountain town in a valley is definitely one of them!  I only wish we could’ve spent a few more days right here.  But we ventured on so we could make it to Christchurch before it became another late, late night.  About seven hours later we were there.  We had another great place to stay and we made it in plenty of time for a delicious Thai dinner.

 

 This water truly looked blue-green and sparkly! :)

 Checking out the forest

 Rock formations that we thought were sacred for the Mauri people...a shop owner up the road told us travelers stop along the road and build them.  There was a few mile stretch of these different rock formations stacked up!

 This sign was outside of our Thai restaurant in Christchurch.  Must be a pretty big deal if they are taking bookings now!!  HA!

Erin cooked us a delicious brekky in the morning.  We had our own little kitchen in the room so we took advantage before getting back on the road.  We took a brief drive around this large city and the horrific earthquake damage was still quite sad and evident.  We drove on and started passing many vineyards and wineries.  We made our first stop of the afternoon at the Mud House Winery for the first wine tasting of the trip.  New Zealand has many great wineries all over so we were glad to finally make it to one.  The girls enjoyed their wine as I enjoyed my water that the woman so politely poured in a wine glass for me to make it more exciting.  Then I walked around the shop while they tasted some more.  We continued on and later came upon some very interesting black sandy beaches before heading to Picton to catch the ferry back to Wellington for our last night in New Zealand.  We stayed up late playing Skip Bo…a game that Erin and I are both WAY too competitive at when we play each other!  J  Ha!!!!! 

 Black sand beaches

 The sand was fine and soft just like the white sandy beaches I've been on!

 Loved our nightly sunset pictures

On our last morning, Erin and I got up early and went for a walk to check out the Botanical Gardens and other areas of Wellington.  When we got back, we all reorganized our bags and checked out of the hotel.  The perfect weather Erin and I had all morning long quickly changed to cold, windy, and rainy.  We made one last trip to check out the free and extremely interesting New Zealand museum, Te Paupa, before heading to the airport. 

 Botanical Gardens

 My favorite- tulips!

 There money is very similar to the Australian money.  Lots of coins including the $2 coin $1 coin

The World Rugby Cup was taking place at the same time we were there.  We stumbled upon a team checking into a hotel so I attempted to take a few pictures though I had no clue who they were!  Sometimes I wish Rugby was a bigger deal in the US.  It's very poplular on this side of the world.  And in case you didn’t know, the New Zealand All Blacks ended up winning the whole thing!  The Aussies were not happy!!!

We covered a lot of ground on this trip but we could have easily spent another week just exploring the rest of the South Island a little longer.  We all have numerous things on our list that we hope to experience if we get a second opportunity to make this visit again, including a visit to the North Island, too.  I am so glad I had these eventful and much needed 6 days and 5 “sleeps” in New Zealand!