I've got soul but I'm not a soldier

School is in full swing and it is hard to believe that I already have two weeks behind me (more on that next post), it's even harder to believe that I'm ready to welcome some familiar faces from home Down Under! My dad, sister and Dale "The Mail" Elmore are set to arrive in just under 36 hours, and as you can imagine I can't wait. More on those adventures to come...

For now I'll take you on my trip to the nation's capital.

Canberra - February 27-28th, 2009

I had been back in Sydney for less than 3 days when I decided to once again hit the road. This time I elected to go to the capital of Australia, Canberra. This time I also elected to travel alone, with my main stop being to the Australian Institute of Sport.

First things first I'd like to say there is a lot to be said for travelling on your own. I don't want to take anything away from my previous travels as they've been amazing and Kim and Kristine have been great to travel with but the solo thing definitely gives you the real backpacker feel (albeit it was for two days one night). I had planned literally nothing leading up to the trip aside from booking my train ticket and organizing a meeting at the AIS.

I got off the train and I couldn't help but feel like I was in the middle of nowhere. Canberra is probably the weirdest city I've ever been in (in a good way) as everything is fairly new and seemingly strategically planned. I took a bus from the train station to the city centre in hopes that a) I would stumble upon the hostel and b) that they would have rooms left. I managed to find it quite easily considering I had no address or map of the city.

I checked in, had lunch and hopped on the bus to the AIS. Thanks to my friend Linnae at Rogers I was put in touch with a fellow Canadian, Rachel Parry who is the General Manager of Corporate Communications at the Australian Sports Commission. I arrived at the AIS facilities where I met Rachel and she provided me with a great overview of the Australia Governments involvement in sport in Australia. After the crash course info session, Rachel toured me around the Australia Institute of Sports facilities. The AIS was founded after the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games where Australia failed to win a gold medal. This was seen as quite the embarrassment so the Australian government funded the institute as a training centre for elite sport. Of all the Australian's that went to 2008 Beijing Games, 60% had at one point or another trained at the AIS facilities. Rachel referred to the AIS as Australia's "Gold Medal Factory" and rightfully so, the Australian's won more medals per capita than any other nation at the 2008 games. The facilities themselves are quite simply astonishing. From underwater viewing areas in the pool, to cutting edge technologies and breakthroughs in sport the AIS truly is a world class facility. I was lucky enough to see a few members of the 2008 Beijing Games Men's swimming team who took home silver and bronze medals at the games preparing to practice. What was probably the most shocking thing to see was the gymnastics area where girls as young as 8 years old were training twice a day in hopes of one day making the games, a dream that is still at least 8 years away. I was fortunate to learn a lot about sport in Australia and the importance of the Olympic games to the nation. Special thanks to Rachel who was fresh off a visit of the Vancouver 2010 sites, but still took time out of her busy schedule to show me around.

I headed back to the city centre and bummed around the area before heading back to the hostel and calling it a night.

The next morning I took an hour walk to National Museum of Australia. The museum is probably less than 5 years old and is absolutely amazing and the best part of it all, it was free. I roamed around the museum for a couple of hours which was at times a bit creepy as I seemed to be the only person in the massive facilities. I finished up and headed back to the city to visit the Australian War Memorial.

I don't consider myself a history buff or a war enthusiast which is why I was a little reluctant to head to the war memorial. I was recommended by a friend who told me it was spectacular, and it definitely did not disappoint. After arriving I wandered around the never ending rooms before finally meeting in the lobby for a guided tour. The tour lasted an hour and a half and was absolutely amazing. I learned a lot about Australia's involvement in the war from World War I right through to the Iraq war. They have put together an amazing series of exhibits and it truly is a tribute to everyone who has served the country of Australia. In total I spent nearly four hours in a place I had planned on staying one or two. If you go to Canberra for no other reason, go for the War Memorial.

I took a stroll down the ANZAC Parade before I finally headed to the train station. I had two jam packed days in Canberra and although the city is a tad strange it definitely was great to see. I would be lying if I didn't say one of the best things about Canberra is nearly everything is FREE (this is definitely the Winnipegger in me!), but either way I had a great time and headed back to Sydney with a lot more knowledge than I left with.

Until next time,

kc