Austrailian Institute Of Sport & Australia's Government

Outside the Australian Institute of Sport
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The 13th started with an 8hr 40min journey from Sydney to the capital city of Canberra. It doesn't lok that far on the map but it was our 1st taste of just how boody big this country is! The time wasnt wasted as used it to plan a lot of the next part of our trip. The day finished uneventful with us checking into our hostel and buying groceries! After the past few days of inactivity it was nice to get out and see some places of interest on the 14th. We started by visiting the Australian Institute Of Sport which is north of the city. We had a tour around the various sporting facilities (including a peek at the state of the art $18m swimming pool), got to see olympic gold medals and other memrobelia that previous students have won and we then tried our skills at different sport simulators. After, the 2 of us wandered into the nearby Canberra stadium where the Canberra Brumbys rugby team play and had a quick look round. Later, back in the city we spent the afternoon in the really distinctive New Parliment House - built into the hill with grass on its roof and a 81m sputnik like flag pole. After catching the views over the city from the roof we joined a guided tour around the massive building and learnt about the integration of art and masses of symbols in its architecture. After, we looked at the great hall tapestry - 2nd largest in the world and saw one of the only 4 surviving 1297 Magna Cartas. We also sat in the public gallery and listened to a political debate. We tried to visit the Australian war memorial which sits at the head of the Regal looking Anzac Parade, but unfotunately it had already closed. A short but interesting visit to Canberra.