Oct. 5th
So why Wollongong? Of all places, what drew us to this location when we could have just made a bee line to Canberra? Well, back when I was thinking about studying abroad, the University of Wollongong was actually my first choice school! I was enamored by the water features and ponds, of all things. I know, a silly reason to choose a university, but it also did have a good biology program. Looking back, I’m glad I went to Murdoch instead because I met some great people, and I got to see a part of the country that few Americans visit due to its remoteness. Still, I wanted to see what I may have experienced had fate rolled the dice differently.
We woke up quite early and made our way to the University. Doing so was easier said than done, due to some confusing roads and bad directions from the Garmin. Eventually, we made it to campus and attempted to snag a geocache or two at the school. Doing so was a great way to see the grounds, including a lovely botanical gardens that was part of the school. We also saw some of the beautiful water features that had caught my eye to begin with. I imagined the school would have been much larger, but I also think that we may not have seen more than a fraction of it. It actually did remind me a lot of Murdoch, though it’s hard to say how. Perhaps the architecture was similar. It felt about the same size, too. Very comfortable, though as a four year student, I think I’d have preferred something larger (like U of I, go figure!).
After wandering around and finding a single geocache, we were back on the road again, en route to Canberra. I’d heard a lot of things about the capitol of Australia, and none of them were really good. Essentially, the running opinion is that Canberra is boring. Its main purpose is governmental, it’s a preplanned city with very little history and rather sterile architechture, and there isn’t much to do there. I had no idea what to expect, but I like to form my own opinions. What a shame it would be to miss out on any city while we were here! We HAD to see Canberra.
As cities go, this one was right on par with what Nathan and I both wanted. There were things to see and do, and it was DESERTED! Really, it seemed like the only people around were public servants and a few occasional tourists. It was easy to get around in this geometrically-planned city, and we found our way to our hotel quite easily. We had a reservation at a University housing area, and while waiting to check in, I noticed that I somehow chipped a tooth! It didn’t hurt at all, but it was rather surprising and unnerving . I’m not sure how that happened, but all the tooth chattering from sleeping in the car probably didn’t help matters any.
We checked into our room, which was actually a nice suite with a bathroom and living area. We dropped off our things and headed out the door to do some exploring. We opted to do it all by foot, and Canberra proved to be a rather pedestrian friendly city, much to our delight! There were lots of manicured park areas and bike trails on which one could also walk. We headed over the bridge, noticing a Ferris wheel and wondering what that was about (we’d find out later that a private plane crashed into a Ferris wheel the next day while people were riding it, and we assume it was that one – how scary!). We did some light geocaching and found two. Unfortunately, the pen we used to sign logs exploded in the pocket of my new jeans, so that was a mess. Still, that didn’t deter us from delving further into the sights of Canberra.
Our first stop was the art museum, the National Gallery of Australia. It was an impressive place featuring all manner of art, including Indigenous pieces. One of my favorite displays was a series of light bulbs whose filaments were sculpted to form all manner of shapes including physical objects and states that would glow intensely at random intervals. We spent a lot of time there, and I really enjoyed it!
After that, we hoofed it down to the House of Parliament where we learned more about Australian political structure and got to climb to the grass-covered roof and view the surrounding countryside. We got some great pictures of the town and could see the war memorial directly across the lake from us. One of the neat things about Canberra is that they made it a point to incorporate native plants into the area, so there is no shortage of greenery. Many of the roofs are planted with grasses, as well, and the city in general tries to be as green as it can. It felt clean and fresh and comfortable here. And we rather liked it!
Once we’d had enough of the House of Parliament, we walked over to the War Memorial. It appeared there had just been a service, and it was an absolute madhouse, so we saw what we could and then walked back to our hotel, going through some peaceful residential neighborhoods and seeing a lot of exotic birds up close. I could really see living in Canberra. It just felt good. I think, coupled with Alice Springs, this was one of the best cities on our trip!
Exhausted from quite a bit of walking, we made it back to our room where I showered and got ready for dinner. We walked down to the CBD where we found a nice sushi restaurant. It was a pleasant meal, and it was good to have some food in our stomachs again. After that, we found a pub (which we found out later was known for being rather rough and occasionally dangerous) and had a drink. At one point, a strange woman came up to me and asked me to accompany her to the bathroom. I really didn’t feel comfortable about it, but I did anyway because she seemed scared of something. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t all there, and I made sure to make eye contact with people along the way just in case I needed help, but she left me alone after she was done and, weirded out, Nate and I hurried to finish our drinks and get outta there. That was rough enough for me!
