- Posted by liammclennan on April 4, 2009
I arrived early this morning in Canberra; the nations capital. This is my first stop on the way to Code Camp Oz 09 in Wagga Wagga. According to the locals, when using the name in conversation, it is just Wagga. Apparently it is not sufficiently nice to warrant saying it twice.
The first thing I observed on the approach to Canberra airport was a characteristically filthy looking quarry. Moving past that I noticed that the dominant flora is brown grass and hearty outback eucalyps. It was at that moment that it occurred to me that despite supposedly being one of Australia's major cities Canberra is effectively a large outback town. It is the only place I have ever been where people proudly display their government security lanyards, as though they are the accessory to rule them all. I'm not sure I could handle too long in a town entirely populated by public servants. You can't order food at a restaurant without filling in three copies of each of the drink, mains and dessert menus.
From the centre of the city I walked to parliment house. If Kim Beazly had done that walk a few times he might have become prime minister. Parliment house was impressive. The hightlight was when I asked a staff member in the senate if that was where Kevin Rudd ate his ear wax. Other than that I found Canberra quite dull and I could not wait to leave. I picked up my vehicle half an hour early and headed for Wagga, trusting in the directions given to me by the charming ladies of the Canberra information centre. After two hours without seeing a sign for Wagga Wagga I panicked and headed for a service station to check that I was heading the right way on the Hume highway. Fortunately I was.
The trip to Wagga took around 3 hours. I am now setup in my average hotel room, enjoying an average cup of tea, and procrastinating so that I don't have to work on my talk that I have to give tomorrow morning. When the rain stops I intend to find myself a hearty, country pub meal.
