Canberra has so many walks on offer and one I had been meaning to explore was about half an hour drive from my home. Jerrabomberra Wetlands is a refuge to several protected species and is a habitat for local birds and also for species migrating from the northern hemisphere and also from inland Australia. It’s a truly lovely place to visit and is looked after by the Woodlands and Wetlands Trust with wonderful views of Telstra Tower, Canberra’s iconic telecommunications tower.
There are three route options; Kellys Swamp Loop, The Woodlands Walk and The Billabong Walk – as the walks are not long, I decided to do all three on the day I visited and it was well worth my time. My first sighting was a mob of kangaroos. I always love seeing kangaroos in the wild, they are either resting on their sides or standing up and staring right at you. My photos are not that great as they were a bit far away and I only took my mobile phone to capture photos.
The different walks are very easy without any inclines. There is no way to get lost as the dirt paths are well set out and well worn and throughout the reeds there is a corrugated iron pathway; making it very easy to walk along.
There are no dogs allowed at this location, which is completely understandable. I read that one particular bird Latham’s Snipe (an endangered waterbird) flies directly from Japan (Hokkaido) to arrive at these wetlands; how amazing is that. And I also read that other wildlife that call this environment home are water rats, turtles, water dragons and platypus. I must say I missed all these species but did see a few ducks and other birds.
One of the things I particularly love about a bushland walk are the trees and these wetlands have plenty to see and photograph; some I managed to capture with the sun shining through in the background.
I just happened to choose a day when there were very few other visitors. I saw a few people riding their mountain bikes along the pathways and some other walkers but was so lucky to really have the place to myself. No noise just the chirping of the birds; loved it. Something else I really love are the reflections of anything on water but especially trees and I was lucky it was great weather to capture these reflections.
And there were a couple of old buildings I saw on my walk, one I am sure is not used as it was just old and worn and near the water but the other one is actually not on the wetlands but on neighbouring property and I think it’s used for storage of tools or hay, not really sure as didn’t walk up close.
Such a lovely morning out and an absolute treasure in the heart of Canberra!
The other night it was my Chinese friend Peter’s 30th birthday so we decided to go out to dinner and Peter chose a new restaurant in Canberra which is about a five minute drive from my home.
It’s a Chinese restaurant, quite casual and with an unusual name Chic Gourmet which if I had heard the name before we went I would not of thought it was Chinese cuisine…I guess I am so used to names with a Chinese connection!!
Peter ordered all the meat dishes and started off with the hand-made signature pan fried pork buns, hand-made pork wontons in a spicy sauce and a dish of stewed duck with beer and chilli oil. It’s a real shame those wontons were not vegan as I must say they looked fabulous.
Every dish really arrived very nicely presented and as with the majority of Chinese restaurants; food arrived quickly.
Every time we go out with Peter, he always orders what we think are way too many dishes but they seems to get eaten, every time! This evening there was five of us and I was the only one not eating meat so there was quite a bit of food to be eaten even lots of vegetable dishes.
And just when we thought the dishes had finished Katie ordered both her and I a bowl of traditional Peking style slow cooked pear and white fungus soup for dessert. I thought this was very sweet of her as she had brought a cake from the local cake shop and as it wasn’t vegan she wanted to ensure I had something to eat. Not my favourite dessert I must say but I took a few sips.
And as you do when you are with much younger people, you find out about Apps (beautycam) that makes your skin look fabulously smooth and adds ears and other things to photos, so we engaged in some frivolity for a little while before ending the very lovely evening.
Finally…we can travel…well domestically anyway. My friend and I decided to drive about two hours out of Canberra to a beautiful area of New South Wales called the Southern Highlands which is also considered a wine region. My lovely friend Sharon booked us a couple of rooms at Links House in Bowral. Bowral is the largest town in the Southern Highlands and is known for its antique shops, cafes, house & garden stores and expensive homes similar to other areas in the Southern Highlands.
We drove up the side lane and parked the car and walked into the hotel. We were greeted by the owner who offered us a small glass of locally made port. Sharon indulged but because I don’t like red wine I declined. We were shown our rooms which were lovely with a country style; heated, clean and most importantly; a comfortable bed!
We spent the next hour or so with a friend and his family in their beautiful home; an old schoolhouse – and so beautifully decorated. No photos unfortunately as didn’t think it appropriate to be snapping at the home of people I have only just met!!! Then Sharon, David and I went out to lunch at Centennial Vineyards, a local winery, located in the same suburb as our hotel (but more on that in an upcoming post).
We met in the lounge area of our hotel which had a lovely fire and comfortable chairs.
By this time we were feeling a little tired so moved back into the lounge area near the fire for a chat before heading off to our rooms where I promptly fell straight asleep.
My walk took about an hour and whilst it was hard to see many of the homes from the street (I am definitely one of those people who loves to peer into other people’s homes!!), I could see driveways and parts of homes along from the footpath.
The gardens were beautifully maintained also and one even had little ducks walking along the grass; very country I must say.
Bowral has always been a place I would love to live but unfortunately now it’s way out of my price range…ah well it’s a lovely place to visit overnight or even for a few days.
We enjoyed a lovely breakfast at our hotel and then it was time to check out and head back to Canberra. On our way home we stopped at another country town called Mittagong to look at the shops – I love the stores selling all things fabulous like facial creams/soaps and candles – a little bit expensive but gorgeous. Sharon and I ended up buying a few things in one particular shop and I bought a present for my friends Ray and Nat who helped look after my dogs whilst I was away. I bought them a jigger – now I had no idea it was called this but you might, it’s the stainless steel measuring cup used to measure alcoholic spirits…so I learnt something (mindless) whilst away. 
We also went into a fabulous bread shop. I must say I love good bread but whilst I didn’t buy any bread I did buy an Indian vegan pie to take home which I have since eaten and it was very good; great pastry!
So as you can see we had a lovely time away and as it’s so close to Canberra it’s an easy place to visit regularly. I must return soon!
I love walking around Canberra; well anywhere really but because I live here in Canberra it’s nice to find new walks for both me and my dogs. The other day I happened to be driving in a nearby suburb called Watson (named after our third Prime Minister) and came across a great parkland where in parts dogs are allowed off-lead. I drove straight home, picked up the dogs and returned. Watson Woodlands is actually eighteen hectares but there is a cleared parkland contained on one side of the road with lovely ponds, ducks, walkways and beautiful Eucalyptus trees scattered around.
This area of the parkland has two walkways one out in the open with a well worn pathway and the other underneath a canopy of trees. I love both walks but most people with dogs walk along the well worn path so I usually walk this way as it’s nice for my dogs to see and play with the other dogs. The walk takes about twenty-five minutes one way then you turn around and walk back; simple!
Another of my other favourite walks is the reasonably lengthy circular walk around Lake Ginninderra. It takes about an hour and twenty minutes at a normal walking pace and my smaller dog Axel and I do the walk when we can.
The approximate seven-kilometre walk is reasonably flat and paved the whole way. There is a variety of birdlife; swans, ducks and waterbirds and bbq areas, a large and small enclosed dog park and a lovely running stream which flows into the lake.
I love this walk as the trees are beautiful and it’s wonderful to see so many people out and about walking/playing or having picnics.
And the final walk I want to mention today is a forty-five minute walk around Yerribi Ponds which is about a fifteen minute drive from my home. Similar to Lake Ginninderra, Yerribi Ponds has a paved pathway around the whole of the lake making walking and bike riding very easy. It’s another walk that I can take my dogs but they must stay on a leash.
There is also a large variety of birdlife along the ponds and many young children like to feed the birds and fish.
At one particular point along the walk there is some great street art created by John Voir which is found on pillars or columns that support the roadway. 
I find these ponds very children friendly as there is so much for children to do; an adventure playground, basketball court, double tandem flying fox and a pirate ship under a huge shade cloth. There is also a swing (Liberty Swing) that can be used by children in wheelchairs; now isn’t that just so lovely.
And when the sun goes down, the weather gets cooler and the scenery changes; looking differently to what it did during the day but equally as lovely I think. Time to go home – even the local men fishing decide to make it a day albeit without any catches!
You must be logged in to post a comment.