During my last weeks in Australia, I was lucky enough to enough the hospitality of Phil and Liz, who live over the harbour bridge north of Sydney's downtown area. I know Phil's brother, Steve, from Prince Edward Island - gotta love that good old PEI network! Phil and Liz welcomed me into their home (which felt more like an estate than a house) and plied me with good food, lovely wine, excellent conversation and, most important, great company.
On a hot and sunny summer's day, we headed up to the Blue Mountains, about 2 hours west of Sydney. The Blue Mountains got their name because the ecalyptus oil from the trees makes a mystical blue haze over the sweeping hills. The colours were amazing: shades of blue sky, green trees and red earth. We hiked to Pulpit Rock, about three hours round-trip, and had a lovely lunch on the outcrop overlooking the mountains. Phil and Liz are my kind of people in that they like to be active and get back to nature but also take pleasure in stopping at the pub or a tearoom for a little post-bushwalk reward.
I also had the opportunity to visit Patrick, my US Marine friend, in Canberra so I hopped on the bus at Central Station and was soon in Australia's capital city. Hardly a hotspot on the backpacker trail, the bus was quiet and full of white-haired people dozing. Canberra is a designed city, built on former sheep paddock and situated halfway between Sydney and Melbourne: the democratic solution to rival bids between those cities for status as nation's capital. I enjoyed the symmetry and grandness of Canberra. The roads are wide, trees and parks abound, and there is much history and culture to take in.
Patrick is not only an officer but also a gentleman and he escorted me around to many of the sites: Parliament House, the War Memorial, the Telstra Tower, etc. We rented kayaks and paddled around Lake Burley Griffin, lazily read our books on a blanket in the park and had a quiet beer in Manuka on a sunny Saturday afternoon. I found Canberra's calm and unhurried atmosphere very soothing, especially as I anticipate noisy chaos in South-East Asia very soon. It was also lovely to spend some quality time with a handsome gentleman, trading "war" stories, sharing food and enjoying each other's company. All too soon, my two days in Canberra were over and I was back on the bus to Sydney.
On my last night in Australia, I meant to go home early to pack and sleep. But Rachel insisted that I come out to Coogee one last time for beach and bbq. I'm so glad I complied. She and her Aussie-Italian boy-toy made a feast to remember for a group of us at the picnic area next to the beach. Rachel mixed up her famous sangria, topped off with Australia's famous Bundaberg Rum, while Pete made a Greek salad and grilled a rump of beef, all the while with a cigarette dangling from his mouth. The rest of the crew were Irish lad and lasses who shared stories of their own travels. I was comforted at seeing Rachel again after many weeks apart and didn't want to leave. At sunset, I had to tear myself away to head back to Liz and Phil's to finalize my packing and get a few hours sleep.
Farewell to Australia...I have had an amazing six months Down Under. But now isn't the time to be sad because I will be back in April to explore the West Coast and Red Centre. In the meantime, I'm off to Singapore and my entree to Asia. Yikes! More stories from the road to follow - lots of love to everyone back home.
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