Canberra

From Melbourne I had a 9 hour bus journey to Canberra where I was stopping for a night before heading to Port Macquarie. Lots of people had told me Canberra wasn't worth the time as there isn't anything there to see. As I arrived in late afternoon most things were shut but I did have a walk to the lake which was nice and the weather was great compared to the past few days in Melbourne. The city is full art galleries and museums which are all free and there are tons of cycle tracks in the area. I wished I'd given myself a couple of days to have a look around.

Canberra doesn't feel like a city due to a distinct lack of people. It's quiet due to the universities being away for Christmas and the buildings are all concrete boxes dotted around the very geometrical pattern of roads. Canberra is a completely artificial city with there being no natural need for it. It was decided that the capital of Australia would be situated about halfway between Sydney and Melbourne, due to state rivalry, so Canberra was formed and a river dammed to create the huge Lake Burley Griffin which sits in the middle of the city.

The complete downside to Canberra is the lack of hostels. Instead of lots of smaller hostels there is just a huge YHA. It was the nicest dorm I'd had yet as at 10 bed there was still so much space and a balcony. At $30 a night though it was the most expensive yet and I didn't get much for my money- no breakfast, swimming pool closed for refurb and the luggage storage is a mechanical locker that charges $10 for 4 hours which was very annoying especially when I only wanted 30 minutes to go to the supermarket!

From Canberra I headed to Sydney where I waited at the bus stop for 4 hours until the bus to Port Macquarie arrived. We drove over the harbour bridge as the sun was setting which provided absolutely stunning views over the hills as we drove up the coast. I'm really looking forward to visiting Sydney when all the New Years Evers and Oprah fans have gone home.