Category Archives: Travel

Floriade

Floriade is a festival of flowers in Canberra every spring. It features many tulips but includes a range of other flowers as well.

The last time I visited Floriade was probably at least twenty years ago. It was as impressive as I remember it.

My dad and I visited Canberra last weekend and stayed with my brother, sister-in-law and nephew. We decided to go to Canberra so my dad could attend and present a short speech at the 90th anniversary of the church we attended when he was the minister from 1975 – 1980. It was also the church where Andrew and I were married in 1990. It was fun to be back there and catch up with a few people I hadn’t seen for many years.

We also enjoyed Saturday night Jazz on the lawn, hearing David preach on Sunday morning and the views from the National Arboretum.

Canberra Zoo

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I visited the Canberra Zoo with some of my family to celebrate my great nephew’s 3rd birthday. It was a beautiful day and everyone had a great time, especially the three year old. I was able to see several familiar Australian animals but a good selection of foreigners as well! Above is a snow leopard and below are the lions we could hear roaring from all over the park.

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The wallabies and fairy penguins were cute as always. dsc_3367fairypenguinssc

The fur of the dingoes was surprisingly soft and a beautiful colour

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The giraffe was the favourite of the birthday boy and one of the animals we were able to see up really close.

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There is also a reptile area and aquarium.

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‘New’ Parliament House

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When I lived in Canberra, the current Parliament House was being built. I remember touring the old parliament house as a student and as a teacher. I remember when designs were submitted for a new parliament house and when construction began. The photo below is taken from the new looking over the old towards the War Memorial and Mt Ainslie, site of cross country runs when I was in highschool.

from parliament house

Parliament house is now 26 years old and its modern design is very different to the old parliament house opened in 1927 and the Canadian houses of parliament rebuilt and opened in 1926. Today I walked around inside for the first time. It is an amazing building filled with beautiful wood, stone and architectural features.

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Above is the members hall featuring marble pillars designed to look like gum trees.

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The colours in the senate and house of representatives are the traditional red and green also seen in Britain and Canada but the Australian red is more of a red-ochre and the green a grey-green seen in the plants and rock of the Australian bush.

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I didn’t take a photo of the outside but you can see several views on the education site here.

More colours of Australia

Lake Placid

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A month or so ago Andrew and I spent a weekend in Lake Placid. It is only three hours away from Ottawa and is a very pretty little town. We were there as the colours were changing and saw some hills blanketed in autumn tones as we drove there and back home.
The colours were not all golden as you can see in these photos of Mirror lake at dusk. The town of Lake Placid surrounds this little lake and many stunning homes and businesses such as the restaurant below have lake side views.

Lake Placid has hosted two winter olympics so there are sporting venues and historic sites everywhere you look. We were impressed by the front of Lake Placid Highschool (it looks a little fancier than our children’s highschool!) but we thought the concrete running track could use a little work. After walking a bit further we were able to read the sign explaining that it was the olympic speed skating track!
We spent several hours hiking up Round Mountain hoping that maybe the sun would break through by the time we reached the top. It did not.

On the way back from our hike we stopped to stare at the Olympic Jumping Complex.

After we were back in Ottawa I was reading an article listing the most attractive towns in the US in autumn and not surprisingly Lake Placid was one of them. It would be fun to go back and see it in another season.
Chubb River Heather Telford

Bush fire sunset

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While the intensely coloured sky is a dramatic and beautiful sight the reason for it still a cause for concern.

We made further preparations today as hot, dry and windy weather conditions are expected tomorrow.

Blue Mountains bush fires

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I am staying with my parents in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney at present and the area is in the midst of a bush fire emergency. When I returned to Australia last week I was looking forward to experiencing many of the Australian sights, sounds, tastes and smells I have missed over the thirteen years I have been in Canada. I had no idea I would encounter anything like the current bush fire crisis.

Driving home last Thursday, October 17th, I took the following photos:

When we arrived home we talked to my parent’s neighbour about the closest fire. He assured us that it was not travelling in our direction nor would it when the wind changed later that day. The damage caused by that fire and the many others still burning is extensive. Hundreds of homes have been lost. There is a constant smell of smoke in the air and the sound of sirens and helicopters close by. The view from my parents home on Thursday is below. When I looked out today it was no longer so dramatic but the threat is still serious as the temperatures and wind speeds forecast for the next few days are very high. We have spent time clearing the yard and roof of dry leaves and preparing for a possible evacuation.