https://www.stevedrice.net/ 2026-04-30T02:23:28+00:00 https://www.stevedrice.net/ https://www.stevedrice.net/_media/wiki/dokuwiki.svg text/html 2015-10-02T20:10:44+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.stevedrice.net/travel/australia/journal2/introduction Australia Journal - Flying Visit Introduction A few weeks ago I was sitting at my desk minding my own business when Eamon, our Project Manager, came up to me and asked “Fancy a trip to Australia?” to which, obviously, I replied “Sure, when?” text/html 2015-10-02T20:10:45+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.stevedrice.net/travel/australia/journal2/part1 Sydney to Canberra Before leaving the airport I picked up some red bull from W H Smith (a taste of home!) and a coke just in case. It was this part of the journey that was the most worrying to me after such a long period of travelling with another there hours (or so) drive to get to Canberra. text/html 2015-10-02T20:10:46+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.stevedrice.net/travel/australia/journal2/part2 Training I cannot say I had been impressed with Canberra when I had visited with my mother previously. It is a planned city centred around two large circular road structures - One with the parliament building at the middle and the other centring on the business district/shopping area. I remember it was hard to find anywhere to eat because the zoning is such that restaruants can only be found in certain areas. The whole place is so well planned it struck as being very artificial and, hate to … text/html 2015-10-02T20:10:46+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.stevedrice.net/travel/australia/journal2/part2half A Brief Visit to Canberra [View of the War Memorial in Canberra (near the hotel)] I started my brief visit by walking down to the local post office (I am a stamp/coin collector) then headed through the shops of the town centre towards the artificial lake in the middle of the city. Unfortunately, they don't really intend you to walk the way I was walking so I ended up having to jay-walk across some rather large roads. I ended up in the middle of the second of the two giant circles that define… text/html 2015-10-02T20:10:45+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.stevedrice.net/travel/australia/journal2/part3 Canberra to Sydney So, the motorway (the M23/M31) directly goes from Canberra to Sydney but, of course, I could not simply take the direct route but I did not want to take too long - The trip down from Sydney probably took me about 8 hours but I wanted to make the most of my last full day in Australia by spending at least a bit of time in Sydney. So, I decided to take a slight detour to Yass which is slightly to the west of the main roads and probably added a couple of hours to my trip but mad… text/html 2015-10-02T20:10:45+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.stevedrice.net/travel/australia/journal2/part4 A Brief Visit to Sydney [Harbour Rocks Hotel Entrance] The Harbour Rocks Hotel is a “boutique hotel” that was recommended by Eamon at work. It is quite nice and fantastically located. Not very large, it is in an old warehouse (or something) with a lot of exposed wood. [Room at Harbour Rocks Hotel, Sydney] My room is much smaller than in Canberra but quite nice indeed. My back window looks out over a small courtyard. It is a shame I will only be here one night. I did not have a lot of … text/html 2015-10-02T20:10:46+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.stevedrice.net/travel/australia/journal2/part5 Flight Back I was a bit worried about my bags. They are quite heavy now and as I waited in the very long queue at the check in I saw many people being turned away because they were over the limit. Luckily, I was fine and after 45 minutes in the line I had a nice chat with the check-in clerk (who I met again later at the gate itself) who set me all up for the return trip. I seem to have been here before text/html 2015-10-02T20:10:47+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://www.stevedrice.net/travel/australia/journal2/sidebar * Australia Journal - Flying Visit * Sydney to Canberra * Training * A Brief Visit to Canberra * Canberra to Sydney * A Brief Visit to Sydney * Flight Back