I felt that, having lived in Australia for four years now, it was about time I visited Canberra so we packed up the van and headed off on a little trip. We decided to go via Kangaroo Valley where I had been promised I could see wombats, I've seen plenty of dead ones and some in the zoo but never a living, breathing wild one so off we set.
The schlep through Sydney was horrendous as usual (only another year until the tunnel opens) but after that it was plain sailing to Moss Vale Showground. We had wanted to stay in Kangaroo Valley itself but couldn't because dogs were not allowed and we had Monty with us so, Moss Vale it was. We had stayed at this showground before but they had added nice shiny new amenities blocks since our last visit, at $25 a night for a powered site it is pretty reasonable so close to Sydney.
I was itching to get to the wombats so we drove into Kangaroo Valley along beautiful winding roads, there were warnings about taking caravans along some of the routes so maybe it was just as well we couldn't camp there. It is a gorgeous area, very green and expensive looking, it would be possible to commute to Sydney from there so the prices were high in the real estate office windows. We were far too early for wombat bothering as they come out at dusk so we had dinner in the, appropriately named, Friendly Inn - good food, excellent garden and wonderful view.

 When the sun finally started to fade we drove to Bendeela Recreation Ground and there they were, wombats bumbling around everywhere. They are huge and live in massive holes, they don't seem bothered by the people either although we were all keeping a sensible distance away so not to alarm them. Monty had to stay in the car because the recreation ground did not allow dogs but it looked like a wonderful place to camp, really quiet with kangaroos, a lake to take the kayaks on and, of course the nightly wombat show.
The next day we drove for a couple of hours to Bungendore, just outside Canberra. The showground is beautifully kept with shady sites under trees and only $15 a night unpowered. The caretakers were really friendly and told us where we could find doggy day care for Monty when we went into Canberra, then in the middle of the afternoon they brought round complimentary scones and cream for all the campers - what service! 
Bungendore was a smart little town with a few very nice shops and we could have entertained ourselves there for a few days even if we didn't have Canberra to look at.
Canberra was only a short drive away and we dropped Monty at Zonza Pet Boarding, $30 for the day was worth it to know he would be in a nice cool kennel.
 Even if there had been no signs we would have known when we passed from New South Wales into the Australian Capital Territory, suddenly the roads were wonderfully smooth with no pot holes and there were police cars everywhere. We had timed our visit for a few days before Christmas and it really paid off. The car parks were empty and we pretty much had the place to ourselves because parliament had stopped sitting for the holiday and Canberra had almost entirely emptied as the residents headed off to the coast.
New Parliament House was beautiful, modern but thoughtfully designed in a mix of marble and traditional parquet flooring with visitor friendly staff and information boards at every turn. The House of Representatives and Senate Room are built with large public galleries because school groups are encouraged to visit, remote schools are even government funded to make the trip.
 The New Parliament House was completed in 1988 because the growing Australian population required more MPs and they simply outgrew the old building but it is still there and was a wonderful place to visit. It is a white deco building (a bit like the Hoover Building for the UK readers). Again there were free guided tours and helpful staff on hand and I loved it. The whole place has been kept as it was when it was last in use and the overwhelming impression was of how masculine and small the offices were. The typing pools were tiny and there was an ash tray by every typewriter and the Prime Minister's office was decorated as it was when Bob Hawke was in residence, all dark wood panelling and beige and brown accessories, but it was tiny, my office at the school was bigger! 

 Our last visit in Canberra was the War Memorial which is just sensational. It is a huge, peaceful building which looks across parkland to New Parliament House. After looking around we went into the World War 1 museum which is the best I have ever seen and, as a retired history teacher, I have been to a few! All the interactive displays worked, the information boards made sense and the exhibition was huge. We were in there for a couple of hours and as we exited were faced with a door saying World War 2 this way, we will save that for another day.