Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve – Canberra – ACT – Australia – October 2020

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ACT, Australia, canberra, Kangaroos, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is about a forty-minute drive from the centre of Canberra and I had never been there which is rather embarrassing considering I have lived in Canberra for over fifteen-years. So, with Covid-19 not allowing me any international travel, my list of local sights to visit is long. And this is one place on my list. I did an internet search to find out a little more about the reserve and Wikipedia tells me the name Tidbinbilla is derived from the Aboriginal word ‘Jedbinbilla‘ meaning a place where boys become men.

I went with a couple of friends and when we arrived we had a nice surprise in that entrance fees were suspended from August to end of the year to encourage more visitors to return. Guess it worked (even though we didn’t know there were no fees).

It was a pretty hot day and Tidbinbilla has twenty-three different walking trails but we decided on a rather easy walk and chose the Birrigai Time Trail which takes around 75 minutes from start to finish. At first the walking trail is wide enough for a ranger’s car and then the trail becomes less wide as it heads off into the bush with man-made bridges allowing easy access over ponds.

Tidbinbilla has extensive Australian wildlife including birds/reptiles and many different mammal species. When we arrived we all said we wanted to definitely see a koala and platypus and also an emu and kangaroo. Within five minutes we saw a huge emu by the side of the road but too far away for me to capture with my phone; shame! Then my friend pointed out two kangaroos under a tree and I took many photos of them as thought that might be all we would see. But as we walked over a small uprise we saw tens and tens of kangaroos resting under trees and some just checking out the crazy humans holding small rectangular items in front of them (I guess it’s what we all do these days if we don’t bring our proper cameras). Unfortunately no koala or platypus were sighted on this occasion.

On this particular day, the skies were pretty spectacular; a vivid blue with interesting cloud formations; looked a little bit like a sky writing plane had been through.

Then more kangaroos…no matter how many I see I still really enjoy seeing them; so beautiful.

Along our walk we saw many rounded granite boulders or rock formations. I must say these were pretty spectacular and so enjoyable to view.

Tidbinbilla Reserve is such an enjoyable day out and if you wanted a strenuous walk there are plenty of difficult treks but I think for our day it was lovely just to enjoy the typical Aussie bush and scenery and take in the sights.

Canola Fields – New South Wales – Australia – September 2020

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Australia, Canola fields, day out with friends, Harden-Murrumburrah, New South Wales

A few Sunday’s ago, my friends and I took a day trip out of Canberra to see the Canola fields on the way to lunch in a town called Harden-Murrumburrah in New South Wales.

Whilst living in China and during my travels, I have seen similar fields but of Rapeseeds; mostly they were not in full bloom as it was not at the right time of the year. On this particular day here in Australia the flowers were in full bloom so the yellow colour was vibrant; unfortunately the weather wasn’t at its best and grey clouds loomed over us nearly the whole day.

As we were driving, we would stop every few kilometres as we would see fields either close by the road or in the distance and hopped out of the car to take (too many) photos.

I loved the contrast of the green fields and the Canola and the Canola fields alongside country roads – my favourite!

We stopped at a country pub in Murrumburrah and whilst there were no vegan dishes, I ate my ‘go to’ bowl of chips, it was a nice experience to sit down and relax over a glass of wine with my friends Wayne and Jef.

The owner, after we told her we were looking for the Canola fields, gave us directions to where she said were the best fields. We took her advise and drove the loop before heading home. It was worth the extra twenty-minutes or so as the sun was trying its best to make its way out of the clouds which gave us better opportunities for photos.

I intend to do quite a bit more full-day and weekend-long trips (a bit like my blogging friend Marion at her lovetravelling blog) as it’s a great way for me to pursue my love of travel whilst Australia’s current domestic and international travel restrictions are in place.