A must stop for me was the Australian War Memorial Museum. The building and its records are a great tribute to Australians and their participation in the many conflicts of war. We took a free guided tour and I would highly recommend this. As a visually impaired person I found the tour especially helpful. There are many, many written accounts and Lyle would have been exhausted if he had tried to read them all for me. As it was, our knowledgeable guide chose highlights and I thought it made for a much more informed experience. I was especially interested in the records of World War II as my father was part of the RAAF (Royal Australian Air Force) in the 1940’s in New Guinea. We had his service number and were able to find 44 pages of information about him.
Another must see on the tourist list would be a tour of the Old Parliament Buildings. These are no longer in use but are open to visitors and once again we took the free guided tour. This was much better than just wandering aimlessly through the various rooms and chambers. As an Australian born myself, I think that I was surprised at how much of the history had evolved during the period of my own lifetime.
Another stop on the tourist list was the Australian Institute of Sports. We took the tour. Unfortunately we had chosen to do this on a Sunday and most of the athletes were on a regular day off so we didn’t see much action. However, the tour of the building site was impressive and it was obvious how much Australians value sports as a part of their lives. We noted the names of a few athletes to watch for in the Paris Olympics.
We had our eight year-old granddaughter with us in Canberra and so some of our time needed to be spent with a focus on childhood activities. One of these was the pod playground at the Arboretum. What a fantastic place for kids! Lexi had a great time on all the equipment and Lyle and I loved the setting. The Arboretum is set in a valley to the north of the city and the views are amazing.
Also to the north of the city is the Walk-In Aviary. This was an enormous amount of fun, although perhaps not recommended if you don’t like birds. When we entered the netted area, the squawking of the lorikeets was almost deafening. The admission included a small plate of cut up apple, and when we held these out the birds landed on our arms and hands to feed. A few of the birds even landed on my head. It was a lot of fun and a chance for me to see the colourful birds close up. I am always grateful when I can “see” wildlife of any form at close range.
There are three pictures with this post. The first two were taken at the aviary with the birds and the last one is of Lyle and me outside at the Arboretum.
Sue with lorikeet
Sue feeding a lorikeet
Sue and Lyle at the Arboretum
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