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Canberra: The Nation's Capital
I left Sydney in the morning, fighting my way through rush-hour traffic, and still getting used to driving on the left in my big, lumbering Holden. I got out onto a freeway and started to leave the city behind, coming into the open countryside of New South Wales. It was here that I began to see the first kangaroo carcasses by the side of the road - one more thing to worry about as I drove along at 120 kph. The wildlife slaughter on Australian highways was truly one of the most disturbing aspects of travelling in this country.
Early in the afternoon I reached Canberra, a small inland city that is the capital of Australia. Halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, Canberra had the cool, crisp dry air of late autumn, which felt strange to my Northern Hemisphere sensibility in May. The trees surrounding Lake Burley Griffin were bright yellow, orange, and red, blending into the rolling hills surrounding the city.
I climbed to the top of Parliament House, a building that is set into the side of a hill, with a wide, grassy rooftop. The Australian flag fluttered above in the breeze, a cool breeze that felt so different from the sultry heat of Sydney. The building forms a natural hill and from the top of it I could see the the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, and I stopped in at a guard booth to ask which one was Mount Kosciusko, the highest mountain in Australia. One of the guards explained to me that I was still too far away to see "Kozzie," as it is known affectionately to Australians. At 7,316 feet, the mountain is big enough to get a fair amount of snow in the winter, although it rises gradually above the surrounding countryside and is not visible until you get right up to it.
I drove that afternoon to Jindabyne, a small ski resort at the base of Kozzie, that was still completely empty due to the earliness of the season. I got a room in a backpackers' motel and went out for dinner at the town's only pub. Pub food is an Australian institution, and in many small towns, the pub is the only place that serves food. Dinner usually starts around 6:00, and food is ordered at the bar. The main courses are good hearty fare, such as steaks, cutlets, or fish grilled on a large barbecue. There is usually a steam table full of a variety of mushy vegetables, some stale bread and a few sauces. Pub food is not great, but it's hot and filling, and often the only meal in town.
Next up: Mount Kosciuszko, the highest mountain in Australia.
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