From Sydney to Canberra and Back!

For our return trip to Sydney we decided to take the tourist route via Kings Highway to Batesman Bay and the Princess Highway via Wollongong to Sydney. This is a 7 hour drive, not including stops. If you decide to take this route, you have to leave early or split it up into a two-day trip. We decided to leave early since we only had one day to see and enjoy Sydney. The tourist route will lead you through several National Parks, but the best stop is probably Pebble Beach. A great place to swim or just enjoy the flora and fauna. One of the locals gave us a tip that Pebble Beach is a good place to spot kangaroos. When we got there we didn’t see any kangaroo at all. I was a little disappointed but since I was there anyway I took some pictures of the beach and some beautiful white flowers (no idea what kind of flowers). On my way back to the car I met an old guy who was sitting on top of the stairs. We entered into a conversation and after a while he found at that I was there to see the kangaroos. Lucky for me he knew where to find the national symbol of Australia. They were hiding just around the corner in the shadow of the trees. I really felt lucky and I shot as many photo’s possible. The kangaroos on Pebble Beach differ from the ones I saw in Canberra. They are smaller and not that shy. Sometimes I had the feeling that they were posing for me. One of the kangaroos came so close that I could actually touch him (it was definitely a male kangaroo!). It looks like they are used to humans, which of course is a bad thing.

Our visit at Pebble Beach took a little longer than expected. It was almost 3 pm when we left the beach. Not enough time to take some of the tourist routes you will find along Princess Highway. We stopped for diner in Wollongong. We found ourselves a nice tapas bar (Diggies Bar) at the beach. Unfortunately the sun was already gone when we arrived, but we could still see the beach and hear the relaxing sound of the ocean waves. I can imagine that is a great place to have dinner at the end of a warm and sunny day. We ordered a selection of tapas, which were all very tasty, and a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time to really enjoy this place because Sydney was still another hour away. It was almost 11 pm when we arrived at our hotel (for more details see review Sofitel Sydney Wentworth). We were really tired, but we didn’t want to go to bed. We only had a day and a half to see as much as possible from Sydney.

After a long, long, very long flight we finally arrived at Sydney. For the first time down under, what a thrill. While the wheels of the 747’s main landing gear touched the ground, I silently whistled the Men at work song ‘Land down under’. Unfortunately we couldn’t spend too much time in Sydney because we had to go to Canberra. After a good breakfast and a couple of espressos we picked up our car. We decided to take the Remembrance Driveway which starts in Macquarie Place, Sydney and ends at the Australian War Memorial & Remembrance Park in Canberra. The Remembrance Driveway is a system of memorial parks, rest areas etc. to honour those who served in the Australian Defence Forces and those who are still continue to serve around the world. The rest areas and memorial parks are named after the Australian World War II and Vietnam War Victoria Cross recipients. More information about these Victoria Cross recipients can be found in the Australian War Memorial museum. If you are not in a hurry, you can take the tourist routes you will see from time to time. These routes will bring you into historical towns like Goulburn and Berrima. It’s approximately a 4 to 5 hour drive from Sydney to Canberra. It took us 7 hours, but I have to say we stopped almost for every photo spot. The results of this photo safari are included.

When we got to the hotel (for more details see review Sofitel Sydney Wentworth) we dropped the suitcases in our room and walked to the Circular Quay to see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge. The Opera House is even more fantastic if you can see it with your own eyes. We wandered around until 2 in the morning before we called it a night. The next day we got up at 6 am (we were going to have more than enough time to sleep on our flight back to the Netherlands). After a copious breakfast we started our one day sightseeing tour. First we went to the Botanical Gardens to enjoy the flora and fauna. The south-west corner of the Botanical Garden is the home of the flying foxes. A flying fox is a large fruit eating bat with a wingspan of one meter or even more. It is quite impressive to see them fly from one tree to the other. After we visited the bats we walked to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair. From that point you have a great view on the Sydney Harbour and the Opera House. We found ourselves a bench to enjoy everything. Unfortunately a group of Japanese tourist decided to use us as their personal photographer. From Mrs Macquarie’s Chair we walked to the Opera House. We were ready to soak ourselves into the atmosphere of Sydney and all its tourist hotspots like the Sydney and Darling Harbour, the Rock, the Harbour Bridge and last but not least the beautiful and picturesque Queen Victoria Building. When we got back in our hotel (it was almost 8 pm) we felt very, very tired but a quick refreshing shower got us back on our feet. We were ready for the Sydney by night part of the tour. But first we had to stop for dinner. We decided to go to Peter Doyle @ the Quay. This was not our first choice, but all the other nice looking restaurants had a waiting list. We got ourselves a nice place outside so we could enjoy the view on the Harbour Bridge and Opera House by night. The dinner we had was good, but unfortunately we got lousy service (see review Peter Doyle @ the Quay). But it didn’t spoil our night. We stayed at the harbour to enjoy the view of city until 2 in the morning. Next morning we got up at 5 am. No time to waist because we only had a few hours left. We decided to go back to Mrs Macquarie’s Chair to see the new start of another beautiful day in Australia. While we were sitting there I heard the U2 song ‘It’s a beautiful day’. That was also the moment that I promised myself to come back to Australia as soon as possible. Only next time our stay needs to be a little (if not much) longer because a week is simply not enough to enjoy this part of Australia to its fullest. When we got back, we picked up some souvenirs, had breakfast and got back to the airport. Ready for the long, long very long journey back to the Netherlands.

After coming back from kangaroo hunting (with a camera) we were hungry, thirsty and didn’t want to spend too much time on finding a place to eat. We decide to go for pub food. The first pub we saw was King O’Malley’s Irish Pub, King O’Malley’s is a typical Irish pub with a good variety of beers on tap, good pub food and live music on some nights (Thursdays till Sunday).

The golden rule for pub food is to keep it as simple as possible. Fish and chips (AUD 16,90) in that case is always a good choice. Not much that can go wrong with that dish. We combined it a couple of cold draft Carlton’s. The food was simple but absolutely delicious and the live music was fantastic. I recommend King O'Malleys Irish Pub for anyone who is looking for good pub food, cold beer, great music and friendly service. A great place to relax, have a beer and meet the locals. O'Malleys is located in the centre of Canberra.

Belluci’s Trattoria Manuka serves Italian cuisine with an Australian twist. The restaurant is located in Manuka, according to our host one of the trendy neighbourhoods in Canberra with lots of bars and restaurants. Belluci’s Trattoria Manuka has a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. The place offers inside and outside seating. The place reminded me of an old Belgian Café in summertime where they can open the windows when the temperature outside allows it. With the large bay windows open, even the people who are having dinner inside can have that outdoor dining feeling.

The menu offers all kind of great dishes. We had the lamb chops with risotto (entree normally comes with couscous) and the Linguine di Mare which we combined with a crisp but fruity Sauvignon Blanc (Clifford Buy). We finished our meal with citrus tart and a very good espresso.

The food is above average with many nice specials on offer (look for the board in the back of the restaurant). We were lucky that they could fit us in despite us not having a reservation. I think reservations are recommended of you don’t want to wait or want a specific table (outside).

Overall I can definitely recommend Belluci’s for a nice informal dinner.

Gus Café is a place were you can order simple food. Price wise it’s pretty much the same as most cafes in the city centre (average). The service however was a below average. We had to wait a long time before we could order. Not to mention the time we had to wait for our drinks and dinner. Apparently the staff isn’t that fast because it definitely wasn’t very busy that evening. We ordered beef stew with spuds. I didn’t expected too much of it but I hade to say that it was delicious although the portions are a little small. Unfortunately they don’t have beer on tap. Everything comes out of a bottle. Beer on tap is not the only thing they don’t have. If you have to use the toilet you have to get a key inside and go to another building.

It appears to be very popular place, because every time we passed it during that week he place was packed.
Gus’ Café is a regular meeting place for the locals and visitors/tourists. It has a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere. It is also a great place to watch people walk by. Although it wasn’t bad at all I would recommend to go to another place to have diner. There a much better places to go to in Canberra.

When I made the reservation for the Novotel Canberra I wasn’t informed about the renovation that was going on. Big surprise when I got there. A part of the parking garage was used as a storage room for construction materials. The reception was moved to the 1st floor and there were cloth sheets everywhere to keep the dust out. Since I wasn’t in the hotel during the day (got out before 8 o’clock and normally didn’t get back before 17.00), it wasn’t too much of a nuisance for me. But I would have appreciated it if someone at least had informed me about the ongoing renovation.

My room had two queen size beds with enough space left for a lounge chair and a working desk including high speed Internet access (AUS$ 27,50 per day) and an in-room safe. The bed was very comfortable. One of the best I have ever had, although the New York Palace still tops this list.
The room had a good size flat screen LCD TV, mini-bar, tea and coffee making facilities, closet and a safe. The in-room safe was large enough to accommodate my laptop, photo gear and other valuables. The bathroom had all the necessary amenities. The only problem was that I couldn’t take a shower without getting everything in the bathroom wet. The glass doors simply weren’t large enough to keep the water in the bath/shower.
Housekeeping wasn’t the best I have ever experienced. On the first day they even forgot to clean my room. Overall I would rate housekeeping as average. The same as the hotel staff. I didn’t experienced any issues with them but they just didn’t give me the feeling that I was a guest in their hotel. To them I was more the person who kept them from exchanging the latest gossips. Most of the time they were so busy with each other that they simply didn’t notice (or they simply didn’t care) the guests that were waiting at the desk.

Breakfast (full American) was included in the rate and was not too bad. The variety of the breakfast was good although the freshness of the fruit could use some improvement and it would have been nice to see some variety from day to day. The best thing about breakfast was the Nespresso coffee machine. For hotel standards the coffee was excellent.
The hotel has a valet an self parking option. I had the self parking (AUS$ 15 per day) and, although I am used to very small parking spot, sometimes it was quite an effort to park my car without scraping it against the pillars or the car that was parked next to me. The parking spot are extremely small, even for European standards. Although I had self parking, I had to turn over my keys. Not sure what the reason for this was.

The last thing I want to mention are the elevators. There are only two elevators for the complete hotel. Sometimes it took me more than 15 minutes to get from my room to street level.
Checking out took some time because the bill contained all kind of items that I didn’t use. I paid the bill with my credit card, I had to pay 1,5% extra for this. This is the first time that I am charged for using a credit card. A new trend?

Pros & cons of the hotel.
Pros: Nice rooms with very comfortable beds. Excellent coffee and central location (in the centre of Canberra but far enough from the noisy bars and clubs).

Cons: The ongoing renovation, extremely slow elevators, attitude of the staff and the 1.5 surcharge for using my credit card.

Wouldn’t recommended for now (because of the ongoing renovations) but I would return when the construction is finished!

Website:
http://www.novotelcanberra.com.au/

We made the reservation for the Sofitel Sydney per telephone, got a flat rate that included full American breakfast. Before making the reservation we checked some reviews of the Sofitel. Some of them where mentioning the construction site near the hotel (at Bligh Street). When we checked in, we requested a room as far away as possible from the construction site. Guess what we got? A room with frontrowseats to view the construction site activities. Since we where staying there during the weekend, I was hoping it wouldn’t cause too much problems. Boy was I wrong. When we got back in our room (2 am) they were setting up a scaffold! At that time we were simply too tired to complain. Next day we got up around 8 a.m., just in time to see the start of a new workingday at the construction site. This time the big noisy machines were included in the festivities. Lucky for us we had a full day planned outside of the hotel. Since the site is just a hole in the ground (March 2009), constructionactivity/noise can be expected for the rest of the year. Keep this in minde before making resrvations.

As for the hotel itself, the lobby is beautiful decorated. The first thing that caught my attention however was not what I saw, but what I smelled. The lobby was filled with a scent that reminded me of one of the fragrance I use (Hugh Parsons 99, Regent Street).
Our room had a small queen size bed with a small working desk including high speed Internet access (27,50 AUD per day) and an in-room safe. The bed was not very comfortable. The mattresses felt worn-out and the bed and duvet smelled a little musty. Not something I expect from a Accor hotel (which are usually known for their comfortable beds).
The room had a small flat screen LCD TV, mini-bar, tea and coffee making facilities, closet and a safe. The in-room safe was large enough to accommodate a laptop, photo gear and other valuables.
Bureau met internet access AU$24.95.
The bathroom had all the necessary amenities but was extremely small. First I couldn’t find it because I thought the swing doors gave access to a closet. Wrong thinking, it was the bathroom (yeehaw). One of the best things about the bathroom was the shower. It was excellent with lots of room. This is what every hotel should do if there is not enough room for a shower and bathtub.
Funny detail was the option to select different kind of lights in the room. You could choose between night light, reading light, floor light etc. Nice detail that makes it possible to select the light you need (functional or cosy).

The staff was very professional, helpful an attentive. We really felt that we were a guest of the Sofitel.
Breakfast (full American) was included in the rate and I have to say that this was excellent. The variety of the breakfast was very good. They had a wide variety of pastries, breads, juices, cold meats, cheeses and cereals. Besides that they had all sorts of fresh fruits, tasty desserts etc., etc. The hot part of the breakfast was cooked to order. This breakfast was the best I had in quite a while.
The location of the hotel was perfect for our short stay in Sydney. The Rock, Opera House, Harbour Bridge, Darling Harbour, Circular Quay, Botanic Gardens, CBD shopping and a wide variety of restaurants and bars. Everything within walking distance but far enough away from the noise and hustle.

The hotel has a valetparking option (33 AUD per night) altough the valet is not so valet. You can’t leave your car in front of the hotel. You have to bring it to the parking garage (back-side of the hotel) where one of the parking attendants will park it for you. Same thing if you need your car. You have to go to the parkinggarage to handover the claimticket while somebody else is getting your car. It more like a combination of self- and valetparking. You can use both the escalator and the elvator to go to the parkinggararge.
Checking out was fast and easy and they were even interested in our experiences. I paid the bill with my credit card, I had to pay 1,5% extra for this. This is the second time I am charged for using a credit card (firts time at the Novotel Canberra). A new trend or is this e new policy at Accor hotels?

Pros & cons of the hotel.
Pros: Excellent breakfast, central location (everything within walking distance) and very professional staff.

Cons: Noise from the construction site, small rooms and the 1,5% surcharge for using my creditcard.

Would recommend it, but make sure you have a room as far away from the construction site as possible.

The kangaroo, one of Australia’s most iconic animals. Apparently they are considered a plague in the Australian Capital Territory, but for us it is still very exiting to see kangaroos. Especially when you see lots of them in the wild. After a tip from one of the locals, we went to Lanyon Drive (go south on ALT 23, take the exit to Jerrabomberra, after you pass the big 80 km/h signs you will see them on your left, you can park your car on the left at Hoover road). Make sure you are there at least half an hour before sunset. If you want to get closer to the kangaroos, you can go to the end of Hoover Road. Be careful however, before you know you will see them real close (on the windscreen of your car). On the left you will find several gates you can use to walk into the field. If you enter the fields, be aware of snakes. We highly recommend this place for kangaroo watching. We will let the photos speak for themselves.