23 Canberra Tour

November 23, 2022

This was our, “Highlights of Canberra” tour.
Our first stop was a beautiful look off from the top of Mount Ainslie. Our guide, Neil, explained the layout and planning for the city of Canberra. We drove through the grounds of the Royal Military College Duntroon and then on to the National Capital Exhibition which had a scale replica of the city of Canberra. We had an up-close look at Lake Burley Griffin, the lake which is a central part of Canberra. It was created by damming a creek which meandered through the center of the city.

After a trip through the Parliamentary Triangle, we went to the Old Parliament House - home to the, 'Museum of Australian Democracy’, where we had our own short guided tour to key parts of this magnificent building, showcasing more than 50 years of Australia’s political history.
We drove up the hill to New Parliament House for a guided tour through the Great Hall, Senate, and House of Representatives' Chambers. We observed a session of the senate which was similar to our Canadian political representatives…mature people acting like unruly students. We had a tasty lunch at the Queen's Terrace Café alongside some smartly dressed politicians and government workers.
We left the New Parliament House and drove through Canberra’s diplomatic district - first passing by, "The Lodge" - the primary official residence of the Prime Minister of Australia. We passed many embassies and took note of the Canadian Embassy. We drove by the National Arboretum and continued to the Australian War Memorial where we wandered through galleries dedicated to Australia’s role in conflict. The final part of the tour was the Memorial’s Last Post Ceremony where a dedication was made to those fallen in service for Australia.

An excellent tour, our guide, Neil, was continually giving us background information on the areas we visited as well as along our route.

We arrived back at the Cottons' to a delicious BBQ with friends of Chris and Candra. An excellent day!