aussie pt 2 - canberra

21/11/14

where we parked our motorhome #1

notice the very dirty shoes, i scrubbed them clean before i flew. sigh.
these red things are awesome.

off we go now to albury,
we rode on the freeway.

we arrived in late spring going into summer, so the weather was hot, the landscape was somewhat.. barren.
this was among the bits of green we saw.
and those fluffy clouds..

they don't make hills like that in malaysia.

same sceneries all the way, for about 5 hours.
the little black flecks in the distance are cows. mooo.
we got to see sheep and horses too, some up close.

when the cows are done munching and when the weather gets too hot,
you can see them gathering in flocks under the shade of trees.
just lying down trying to cool off, so cute.

for as far as the eyes can see..

stopped over to change drivers,
and this is what i meant when i say i don't get good pictures unless i take them myself.

house beneath the valley

more cows. so many cows. running, eating, resting.
makes you stop wondering whether australia really has that much beef and milk to export all over the world.

i got behind the wheel of the 'ice truck', yes.
they drive on the same side of the road as us there.

stopped over at rollonin cafe, bowning for coffee.
best thing about not having a strict itinerary is, you get to stop wherever you want, whenever you want.
this was an unplanned excursion, we didn't even know this place exists :)

this cafe has ponies at the sides.
how do you know that they are ponies, not horses?
;)

i only ordered cappucino while in aussie.
never had them back at home.

in which my atuk gets excited feeding a pony.
(i got to feed them too)

winery. unfortunately the grapes mature in march-april.

and no, i didn't get a taste.

house of parliament, canberra.

that's a kangaroo and an emu on their jata negara.
poor koala is left out.

we can safely assume that this is where tun dr mahathir gets the idea to construct putrajaya as we know it today.

yeah, jumping shots, so lame, but who cares.

the title is misleading.

more than half of the photos in this post are taken in albury or on the way to canberra ;P

woke up in a tourist park.

didn't get to explore it the night before since we arrived very, very late

and were given specific instruction not to make any NOISE.

so the next morning,

i showered, ate nasi with sambal and leftover pizza, and took pictures.

the place was lovely.

we pushed off for canberra at 10 am - quite late.

melbourne and albury is 3 hours in front of malaysia,

and sunrise is at 6 am.

once we get into the freeway, all the way

and i literally meant all the way

from albury to canberra,

there were farms and land and ponds

and cows and bales of hay and horses

sometimes sheep

i took so many pictures i felt like a sniper

i was on a moving vehicle, 

i didn't have time to think about compositions.

it's all i can do to make sure i get pictures that are horizontal.

it was bazooka

but i think some of the pictures turned out alright.

i fell asleep and woke up, still to see the same landscape.

just how vast the country is.

we stopped over to get coffee in bowning.

this place feels uncharted, it's so deep in the middle of nowhere.

but people were there, of course.

coffee was nice, got to see ponies.

after awhile stopped again at a winery.

didn't stop for long because the grapes aren't mature yet.

so off we go again.

arrived in canberra around 3pm.

the city feels very rich, as in rich people.

think diplomats and expats.

it is the administrative city of australia,

much like putrajaya is to malaysia.

so i guess it has the same feeling.

we only stopped at the parliament house,

where we got a crash course in australian democratic proceedings.

much like malaysia, they have MPs and senates.

some things are different too but i can't be bothered enough to remember them.

we got to the top of the building,

took pictures with the prominent flag mast.

now, why was canberra chosen to be the capital city of australia?

why not sydney or melbourne, both better known worldwide?

apparently, sydney and melbourne fought over it a hundred years ago,

but due to that rivalry another city needs to be chosen.

and thus - canberra!

interesting isn't it?

we went to eat at a turkish restaurant (breakfast, lunch, and dinner, again)

and prayed at a mosque.

then we set off for shellharbour.

i stayed awake until 7pm and then lulled by the rocking of the ship,

eh, the ice truck

i fell asleep instantly.

it was a long day in the ice truck that day.



p/s: pictures are all unedited, because i'm too lazy.
these are all mine though, so if you take 'em you better ask for permission first.
all the blue skies are thanks to my beloved CPL filter,
you make my sky bluer :P