Two months down under

G'day mates. If you have been a follower of our blog, you know that on our last trip before retirement, Jannose and I went on a cruise to Alaska. On the ship, we met a couple from Australia, Greg and Marilyn. We had lots in common. The 7 days on the cruise went by very quickly and before we said goodbye, we said we would meet up again.

Well, that happened in China last year. They joined up with us for the three week portion of our China tour. At the end of that tour, they asked when we were coming to Australia. We said one day.

Well, after being home for about three weeks, we started thinking that, perhaps a visit to Australia might as well take place as soon as possible. We contacted them. they were a bit surprised but Marilyn was excited enough to start helping us out with the planning. We got a flight via Air Tahiti Nui which gave us two extra stops with our ticket. That meant that we could go to Auckland and Papeete. But I digress.

We flew into Sydney. That was a bit of a problem as Greg and Marilyn live in Melbourne. but we thought we would just catch a connector flight and they could pick us up at the airport. Didn't happen. They flew up to Sydney, rented a vehicle and we did a six day tour travelling from Sydney to Melbourne. We have picked out some pictures to give you a chance to see a bit of the country. By the way, two months isn't even close enough to see half the country.
First stop were the Blue Mountains and then Canberra, the capital.

A view of the Blue Mountains. The blue haze in the sky
comes from the Eucalyptus trees there.

A waterfall near the top of the cliff area.

This is the walkway that one uses to make the
10 kilometer trek from one side to the other.

You had to go down to the bottom of the valley
in order to traverse the valley and climb up the other side.

We weren't able to do the whole thing. A combination of the heat,
our first day after a 17 hour flight, and excitement did us in.

The Three Sisters. We have a Three Sisters Mountain
area near Canmore. This was much steeper.

Next, we headed up to a forest area and came upon the

first bridge built by convicts in Australia. (1833)

Then it was off to Canberra, the capital city. Our first stop was the War Museum. What a fantastic place!! Marilyn was a great tour guide and planner.

If you have seen the movie Gallipoli, you will recognize this sculpture.
The Aussies believe that it was this battle which helped
to give them recognition by Britain.
Sound familiar with regards to Vimy Ridge?

A Wall of Remembrance with names of soldiers and poppies.
Notice how different they are around the world.

In 1927, Will Longstaff, an artist, was at the Menin Gate Ceremony which we
attended on our last school trip. He was so taken by the ceremony
that he did this painting to commemorate the event. All around
the Arch are the helmeted spirits of the soldiers whose names are on
the walls.

The Last Post to close the Museum every day.

We then went to a huge tower which overlooked the city to get an idea of the structure of Canberra. The city was planned with separate sectors and lots of green space.

Then, it was off to Government House for a tour and self-guided visit of the grounds.

Here is the Legislative Chamber where elected members sit. The
Prime Minister and his Cabinet sit on the left side on the
green bench. When they speak, they get up and walk to the
podium on the large table in front. No hiding behind desks.

This is the Senate Chamber.

The Rotunda of this building. Beautiful.

The flag of Australia on top of this structure. Greg needs
a bit more fibre in his diet.

Off to a museum of Australian History. Interesting sculptures at the entrance.

The first car made in Australia, the Holden. One of my rental cars was
an '08 Holden, 50th anniversary vehicle.