Hi,
Just thought would keep you up to date as both myself and Dooley73 have been a bit quiet lately!
I have just returned from a holiday down under (I took my mum so she knows the places that I will be talking about in the future). We did a bit of a tour, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne.
For those of you who have not been to Canberra yet and are heading out that way I would like to say that it's pretty nice. Not as hustle and bustle as any other Australian cities though, so if that's your thing you may be disapponted. In fact one day we were there we enquired at our hotel reception as to where everybody was as it was very quiet out & about. I was advised though that as it is winter, most Canberrans hibernate and stay home! I am sure that summer will bring out a totally different character to the place. On the plus side rush hour is a non-event if you compare to the UK and Sydney or Melbourne.
The ski resorts are pretty close (2 - 3 hours drive although I only made it as far as Cooma) I saw Kangaroos in the snow and no-one in the UK believes me!
I found the Westfield shopping mall which seems ok although I think I prefer the shopping in the city centre, even if it is reminiscent of Broadmead shopping centre in Bristol! I also found the Brand depot near the airport (outlet mall) which was pretty good.
My only criticism of the city is that it appears to lack a centre or heart of some sort.No Southgate or Lygon St (as in Melbourne) and no Harbour as in Sydney.
The lake (Burley Griffin)is beautiful especially when there is a clear blue sky but little going on there with the exception of Marias (Very nice) coffee trailer near the Carillon. Maybe this will be different in Spring through to autumn
It is always different when you visit a city as a tourist compared to actually living somewhere. I am looking forward to giving it a go, I still have no idea which areas to head for although Kingston/Griffith would appear better located for Johns' job in Fyshwick than our original idea of Belconnen. Although I think if we stay in the area we may head out to the country a little way. Yass in particular seemed nice as we drove through but is apx 30 - 40 min drive outside of Canberra CBD.
Our visas have been approved and John is heading off on Saturday. I won't be joining him until November so it's summer all year for me (if you count the months of June & July that are traditionally thought of as summer in the UK, more monsoon season at the moment!).
So if you are out there already or intend to go soon please get in touch and maybe we could meet up over a beer or barbie in the not too distant future.
Would love to hear from you.
I have photos too if anyone is interested but I have no idea how to put them on here. So if you are interested drop me a line to
hmt8952@hotmail.com and I'll e-mail some to you of Canberra and surrounds.
