June 16th (Tuesday) - Day 107 - Sydney and Canberra
We had an hour to kill once we checked out, so walked down to the harbour and back. We got to the bus station really early so I tried my luck and managed to wangle 2 Greyhound baseball caps (SCORE!). The bus to Canberra was about 4 hours. The scenery on the way was really impressive. Miles of flat plains with huge mountains rolling out in the distance. We didn't arrive until 4 so once we checked in we did not have much time before it got dark. We went out for a quick walk but did not get too far. We ended up in a shopping centre but it was all closing. We grabbed some stuff for dinner and then had a really quiet night in the hostel.

June 17th (Wednesday) - Day 108 - Canberra
We only had one day in Canberra so got up early to get as much in as we could. It was a really cold crisp morning (going to have to get used to that). Our first stop was the Parliament building. We did not realise how far away capital hill was from the city centre so it took us ages to get to. We got a bit distracted too. We had to walk past the man made lake so we had a play with the ducks and took some pics. Also on the way we saw a few embassy's including the British one. We then got diverted by some road works and then ended up on a road close to the hill but no way to get back on track. So all in all it took us ages to reach. Once there you walk up a mall, the first thing that you notice is how the building is set into the hill with grass growing over the top. They had a really cool water feature out the front. Once through security you walk into a huge foyer mainly made of marble. We got on a tour as soon as we could but as parliament was sitting the tour was much shorter than normal. The lady giving the tour was really odd to. She hated anyone near us talking while she was and she told a number of people to shut up, including some MPs! She walked us past the great hall and round the back to the entrance to the senate. She explained what the clocks meant and what it means when the lights on it flash, then she left. The lights meant that the Mps were being called for a vote. As the lights were currently flashing we went to watch it, but it was over by the time we got in. We stayed to watch the next vote. One MP spoke about an amendment he wanted to make, the opposition then said why it was so bad, then they voted on it. The vote was a draw so we left. We then went up to the roof and saw the whole of Canberra. The building was so well designed because at the bottom of the hill you could see the old parliament building and in a complete straight line with that you could see the war memorial miles in the distance. After that we left and headed down capital hill. It was already 1pm. We wandered around the parliamentary zone for a bit and decided to visit the high court of Australia. This also had a cool water feature outside. We walked through the doors and the first thing you notice is the 25 metre high atrium. We wanted to be quick but each court you went into the people wanted to talk all about it and then talk to you. It was impressive to see but not much to talk about. We then decided to walk to the war memorial. We thought it would take 30 minutes; but took almost 2 hours it was so far away. On the way we walked through a random sculpture garden. One of them had heads sticking out of the water surrounded by mist. Very odd. The mall up to war memorial had a number of smaller tributes. Once we got there we found out it was also a museum. I wanted to look around but Sarah was not overly keen. I got her to last about 30 minutes in the end! It was then a long walk back to the hostel. We wanted to see more but just did not have time. We went out for a meal and had a lazy evening in the hostel after hours of walking.

June 18th (Thursday) - Day 109 - Canberra and Melbourne
Our bus was not until 1 so we went back to the shopping centre to have a good look around and invest in some winter clothes. The bus was 11 hours but it went by really quickly; partly because we are used to 11 hour bus journeys and partly because the driver showed 3 films - If anyone is remotely interested they showed 'Night at the Museum' (the one where Ben Stiller takes over a museum at night and wins the day). Cant remember the name of the next one but it's the one where Vin Diesel becomes a nanny and wins the day) and finally 'Meet Dave' (The one were Eddy Murphy is an alien and wins the day)). We arrived in Melbourne at 10, checked into the hostel. Went to check out the hostel and the bar before calling it a day.