Aussie Break Part 4

   12/6/2014

Overlooking Tamworth

We returned to Sydney via an inland route which took us through the outskirts of Brisbane, overnighting in Tenterfield, Tamworth and Dubbo, and, from there, taking Bells Line of Road through the Blue Mountains, back to Glenhaven.

Apart from some interestingly diverse countryside, and the colder climate, there was not a great deal to see….

 Now this “Big Guitar” highlights the fact that Tamworth considers itself the “Country and Western” capital of Australia, if not the world!

We had a few days rest in Sydney, doing the washing, and a quick shop for provisions, before Et & Lin dropped us off in Parramatta, where we picked up our little red Hyundai Getz. ($26 p/d for two weeks)

Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains was our destination for the first 2 days, day one of which was completely clouded over. 

Sulphur crested cockatoos in the Holiday Park

No wonder they say......Tie you kangaroo down sport!!

We woke up to a clear day, with the mists settled down in the valleys, making for some beautiful scenery.  There are 3 tourist “trips” which depart from Scenic World, by way of a sky train, a cable car into the valley, and a very steep Rail car, also descending into the valley, but not linking up with the cable car.

Aptly named 'Mary's Lookout"

 We had no desire to spend a fortune, just to descend 100mts into the whiteout below, so chose, instead, to do the 4/5km cliff walk from the campsite, via Scenic World , around to 3 Sisters, and back, which was great!

Three Sisters

Three Sisters in the last rays of sun

 Our route down to Canberra, took us through Goulburn……….

You guessed it! They are really big on Merino Sheep! Yes, thats Mary standing in front of what is actually a double story shop selling Merino wool products!

 Canberra is a purpose designed and built Capital city, started from scratch, on a site selected in 1908. It also incorporated an international competition to design the city, which was won by US architect, Walter Burley Griffin.  The land (ACT  - Australian Capital Territory)  was bought in 1913, and after a slow start, Parliament first convened there in 1927. It was really only after WW2, that the Capital blossomed. Today, the ACT still only has a population of around 320 000, where the main “Industry” is bureaucracy, a slowly developing private sector, some sheep farming, and Lonely Planet reports that it is also the porn capital of Australia!

Apart from the architectural layout, we also wished to visit the National Museum of Australia, as well as the Australian War Memorial.

To be honest, we were looking forward to the National Museum of Australia, of “where our stories are told” reputation, but left feeling disappointed. The layout, signage, and flow were poor and disjointed, despite the interesting Aboriginal artifacts on view.

By contrast, the Australian War Memorial is very impressive, standing at the foot of Mt Ainslee, looking all the way down ANZAC Parade, over Lake Burley Griffin, to the Parliamentary buildings.

It houses a fine collection of art works, old aircraft, and memorabilia, as well as the “Hall of Memory”, the resting place of an unknown Australian soldier from WW1, and the Roll of Honour of all Australians who lost their lives in global conflicts….. from the Boer wars in South Africa , to the recent war in Iraq.

  The aircraft hall showed video and sound re-enactments of battles using real footage....very impressive!

An artist's impression of the Battle of Tobruk where many SA and Australian POW' were captured

The beautiful domed roof of the Hall of Memory

The tomb of the Unknown Australian soldier WW1

The Roll of Honour for Australians lost in WW1


 Looking down the Anzac Parade, to the Parliament buildings, one cannot help but think that the quality of the architecture greatly exceeds the quality of parliamentary debate from within!!

Unfortunately, that is not a uniquely Australian tendency, as we see an equal amount of childish rubbish emanating from South African, and even British Parliament!