Cuddly Koalas

A trip to Canberra Zoo today. I was spoiled for choice with regards of which animal to blip - but since the Koala was awake for the few seconds we were there I thought I would share him with you - before he fell asleep again.

We followed this with a trip to the gorgeous Botanical Gardens. The native gum in Australia loses its bark in a dramatic fashion, and is left with a stark white trunk that my kids call a 'skeleton tree' - Also no matter where you are in Canberra you can smell the Eucalyptus trees. The botanics were busy - since this is Good Friday there were a lot of family picnics and a couple of weddings (can't see the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens allowing that sort of Malarky!).

I love Botanical Gardens, my personal fav is Logan Gardens in Poolewe (honeymoon!!) but this one could be a close second.

Finally we took a drive up to the Observatory at Mt Stromlo. The observatory was wiped out during the bush fires of 2003 (shortly before our last visit) - and the Stromlo Forest Park only has acres of baby trees. However the Observatory is a fascinating place. They burnt out observatory and its HUGE telescope remains can still be seen and are quite eerie. The panoramic views are stunning. In fact I was SO busy trying to pick a suitable blip I didn't notice about 20 Kangaroos right beside me ! I was VERY tempted to include them in a blip - but the Koala won out !

At the foot of Mt Stromlo they are building a whole Suburb. Hundreds of acres of roads already completed complete with working traffic lights and timber framed houses going up. Coming from a city where green field sites are impossible to find it just re-emphasised how big Australia is, how vast the empty spaces are and how much money is being ploughed in,

Enjoy your Easter weekend !