23/2 Monday. Picked up a hire car and set off on our two week circular road trip via Canberra , Sydney, Batemans Bay and round the southern Victoria coast back to Melbourne. Stayed first night in Wangaratta catching up with Al and his parents.
24/2 on the road to Canberra. We had booked a motel for the night at a place called Yass, a little town on the road to Canberra. Big mistake as although the room was very clean and well equipped, it was tiny! Booked out early next morning and drove on to Canberra and a wonderful new hotel near the centre. We spent the afternoon seeing the sights and as parliament was sitting, we booked tickets to watch 2pm question time. PM, Tony Abbot being berated by the opposition! Parliament House is a fantastic building, partly built into the side of a hill so gives a low profile in the landscape apart from the enormous 4 legged flag pole atop the building which is visible from surrounding areas. Question time brought most of Australia's MPs together for one hour to argue the issues of the day. We then visited the National War Memorial to witness the daily playing of 'the Last Post' held at 5 pm every day.

25/2 David returned to the National War Memorial while I visited the botanical gardens and the 200 metre high Telstra tower built on a hill next to the gardens.
Fantastic views of the area surrounding Canberra. Hit the road early afternoon for the 3 hour drive to Sydney.