Around The World In 80 Waves

After my stay in the Blue Mountains I am heading down towards the south coast of Australia and my route takes me towards Australian Capital Territory which like Washington DC in the USA is a separate state set up for the seats of government.

Canberra is the artificial capital of Australia and the centre of lots of political intrigue, particularly of late because the prime minister has been usurped by the previous incumbent, in a bit of pay back for them doing the same, and a general election has been called for September.

Incidentally on that it is illegal not to vote here which whilst heavy handed does push people to get involved in the process of selecting their government.

Canberra like all capitals has a number of civic buildings and sculpted landscapes. This lake is in the centre and for some reason they have decided that they need a giant water fountain spurting out of the middle of it.

Around the edge of the lake there are a number of small plinths. Each of these depicts the Australians of the year, whom the country is most proud of at the time.

They could be military personnel, scientists, sports stars, or media celebrities.

This picture shows the current favourites, but I can’t say I have heard of any of them.

To be fair it hasn’t been the best year sporting-wise for any of their cricket or rugby teams to merit a mention!

Not far away is the National Library which is a very impressive building just across the grass from the lake.

I don’t have time to go in and check it out but am grateful for their free car park whilst I explore the city on a windy and cold Sunday afternoon.

I have to check out the parliament building on the way out of town. There is an old parliament building nearby which must have been replaced some time in the sixties or seventies, because the current one is a very modern design, and notably isn’t guarded like Fort Knox unlike the equivalents in the United Kingdom and the United States of America.

At least it appears not because they don’t mind when I drive the van right up to the front door to take some pictures.

I have been invited to spend a weekend up in the Blue Mountains with Adam and Rossana. It will take a few hours to drive up there from Sydney,and I will be pushing on separately so I have been given Spyda as a copilot for this trip.

As you can see he was safely harnessed and belted in for the journey. However Spyda is becoming a bit obsessed with Uncle Rob and was only interested on sitting on my knees whilst I am driving along, even if this results in near asphyxiation for him. (He is sulking here because I put him back!) Thankfully the van is an automatic and I don’t mind while we cruise along the motorway.

The journey flies by though and is doesn’t feel like long before we all arrive at their house in Mount Victoria.

I love it. It is a perfect bolt hole well out of everybody’s way and it gives me and excuse to unleash my pyromania on the open fire. I’ve got a roaring fire in minutes.

Adam and I take a tour of the surrounding area checking out all the amazing scenery in the area. Here he is posing in front of Govetts Leap. It is glorious up here in the mountains and the dogs love it too.

Once the sun goes down Adam cooks us a fantastic roast beef dinner which we enjoy with some great red wine around the fire, whilst watching the Godfather parts I and II on consecutive nights.

There was no horse’s head in my bed the following morning, but I have to admit it was a bit nippy in the van when I woke up because it was only 3C outside, and not much warmer in the van.

We take a trip to the local garden centre to stock up on firewood on the Sunday and I cant resist such an easy opportunity to get barrelled whilst there, even if it is with corrugated iron.

Getting pitted. Hell yeah!!!

I love it!

As you can tell from this shot taken at Turners Beach in Yamba

On a separate vein I have been reading about this bloke who surfs while playing his ukulele. I’m not sure I am personally ready to combine the two just yet!

The weather has taken a turn for the worse so I decide to do a quick burn down the Pacific Highway from Crescent Head and I am back at Adam and Rosanna’s place.

As you can see my two disciples are eager to know everything I have been up to.

All my technology works here, which is rare on this trip, so I take the opportunity to catch up a bit.