Trip to Canberra

Drove a total of more than 625km in a day yesterday (23 Sep) to and fro Canberra- a record! To put things in perspective, it shd be equivalent to a return trip to and fro KL. Canberra is about 290km from Sydney whilst Melbourne is about 850km from Sydney.

Haz and I had not planned to spend just 1 day in Canberra. We had planned to spend the night at Chee Kim's place in Wagga Wagga but had decided against it after dinner in Canberra @ around 2030 as Wagga is 2 1/2 hours away (based on traveling at 110km/h). It was further than I had thought - 1 1/2 hr. We made the decision based on the fact that we had driven our 10 year-old Kia and was not sure whether if it can take the long journey to Wagga and then the next day's drive back to Sydney. Haha.. So, Haz and I decided to stay for the night at Canberra instead to continue our visit the next day.

What happened next surprised us! All hotels/motels/hostels were fully booked! Nothing within the radius of Canberra had any room available. What did we decide to do? We decided to drive back as it was just past 9pm and we had visited most of the places to interest in Canberra after all. And so, we made the long drive back to Sydney in our trusted Kia Mentor.. Haha.. All in all, >625km were driven and we got home at 1am (Sun) after starting the trip at 530am (Sat). Amazing!

Let me bring you through where we visited in our first trip to the Capital of Australia, Canberra!

Lake George is in the background (some distance away) - a lookout on the way to Canberra on the Federal Highway about 30 km away from Canberra.

The Visitors Centre should always be the first stop. Buy a $2 map of Canberra and allow the friendly staff tell you where go and what to do.

First stop after breakfast is Floriade 2007 - a spring time festival of flowers in full bloom. Virtually a huge park of colourful flowers in full bloom starting during mid Sep. It was the very first weekend of the festival and there were lots of flower lovers and tourists.

Awesome festival to go to if you are in Canberra during spring time!

Australia National Museum is our next stop. The futuristic museum is really impressive with lots of information and innovative exhibits on show. Both Haz and I were starting to suffer the lethargy of waking up early such that we did not spend much time at the museum. Off to our next stop!

Australia's Parliament House. Very impressive design once again! Just amazed me how rich Australia is! Its vast base of natural resources definitely allows it to splurge! It replaces the next attraction we visited down the road - The Old Parliament House. Interestingly, it is the only place where we had to pay admission - $2.

National Gallery of Australia was our last stop for the day as everything closes @ 5pm! It is a gallery showing creative and artistic exhibits. Pretty abstract art pieces and both Haz and I couldn't appreciate much.. Haha..

After that, we drove around Canberra, stopping by all the embassies around the area. More than 50 embassies are situated in the whole of Canberra. How can we miss the chance to pose outside the Singapore High Commission aka Embassy. The other embassies were designed to reflect its distinct architecture/culture/history.

Chee Kim and his girlfriend, Yuzhu, met up with us after Haz and I tried Koko Black! This newly opened chocolate cafe was highly recommended by Darren! It opens in Melbourne too. Chocolate lovers, this is a must try! It is quite hard as it is located in the newly opened wing of the Canberra Centre. But once you taste its specialities, anything with chocolate, you will definitely be addicted and want to try more! Haha..

I tried Iced Chocolate and Haz tried Belgian Chocolate Mousse Martini. Unbelivably rich!

We then met up Chee Kim and Yuzhu for dinner at Abell's Kopitiam, ordering its Malaysian speciality dishes. Apparently, it was highly recommended in 8 Days - as per Yuzhu. Not bad not bad! The spicy dishes we ordered did not disappoint; Seafood laksa, Curry Ayam Pedas and Assam Prawns. The nonya coconut pancake dessert was my favourite! Price is reasonable and thanks Chee Kim for the treat!

After dinner, Haz and I went on a futile search for available hotel/motel rooms and we undertook a challenging drive back in pitch black darkness on most parts of the highway. Thanks to Haz for keeping me company throughout the 3+hrs drive (with a stopover for coffee and short breaks) and we safely made it home! We will be back in Canberra to finish up our proposed itinerary - Australian Royal Mint, Telstra Tower and Old Bus Depot Sunday market!

Another trip with Haz is planned for next week as it would be a long weekend with Australia Labour Day (1 Oct) falling on the Monday. Till our next road trip, stay tune!