Canberra - the nation's Capital

Canberra is the capital of Australia but only the eighth largest city. It is located in its own state: Capital Territory, 286 km southwest of Sydney and 669 km northeast of Melbourne. We booked a hotel for three nights.

As we leave Leeton, it's raining cats and dogs. It's the first proper rain we've seen since we left Frankland River over four months ago. It rains and storms all day. We hide in our hotel room and order food.

On the next day, my long-awaited passport is collected. On the way to the German Embassy, we pass by many different embassies, some of them beautiful and imaginative, others rather boring and quick. Like at the airport, we have to go through security checks and are legally in Germany. The lady behind her bulletproof window gives me my passport and cuts off the corners of my old one. In the afternoon, we apply for the visa that will allow us to stay in Australia for another year. In the first year, at least 88 days of farm work must be done to get the second year. So we have to list every employer, find out how many days and hours we worked, and provide a contact person with contact details. We spend the whole afternoon on it. A few seconds after submitting our request, we receive an email with a bridging visa, which will become active once the first one is over and the second one is still being processed.

On the next day, we visit the National Museum of Australia. The 200-year history of immigrants spans several floors. There is a whole floor about mining and the unique animal world. There is also a floor about the Aboriginal people. However, it feels very superficial. For example, there is a whole section about a white woman who made portraits of Aboriginal people for an art project. We remember the museum, Te Papa, in New Zealand and both of us are sure that it fit better there.
On our last day in Canberra, we visit a game excursion. Here you can find over 80 different games, from old machines to PS4, Xbox, or computer games. So we spend almost the whole day playing some kind of games, Flou is excited and tries to break records.

In the late afternoon, we visit the parliament. It is a huge white building that sits on a hill and offers a beautiful view of Canberra. We go through airport-like security checks again to admire the beautifully designed marble stairs and huge halls from the inside.

And here again the shocking difference between the indigenous people and the explorers, in front of the old Parliament House we discover tents and huts with the colors of the Aboriginal people and the words "Aboriginal Embassy" written on them.