Canberra bike ride

I haven't been riding (or blogging) much - had a couple of weeks of feeling a little poorly for various reasons - but today we had a fantastic ride on the old Federal Highway. Wonderful scenery, hardly any cars - and although it was a bit of a push for the first 20 minutes, the rest of the ride was wonderful. 

Beyond Floriade - part 2

After our Black Mountain visit, we checked out the Australian National Botanic Gardens. I didn't realise that the gardens are considered one of the best places to see Australian native plants. It's also pretty good for certain kinds of Australian wildlife. 

Eastern waterdragon

Spot the wildlife (21?)

Fuschia Heath

Yellow telopea

Telopea

Isopognon animonfolius

Beyond Floriade

After some patchy weather, Sunday was a glorious day. We checked out Black Mountain, with a walk around the hill to see wildflowers and then a trip up to the viewing platforms of the Telstra Tower. 

Canberra snow!

It snowed on Friday and we could see it on the Brindabellas. It wasn't until Saturday that we could go looking to get up close to some ACT snow. Cool!

Canberra wildlife

A wonderful afternoon here in the nation's capital. Escaping the Floriade frenzy currently happening in the city centre, we went for a walk in Mulligan's Flat. Wildlife count - a small mob of kangas, six sleepy lizards, and two echidnas. Having been appreciating US wildlife for the last three weeks (prairie dogs, chipmunks, squirrels, elks, deer, big horn desert sheep, and sea otters - pics forthcoming) it was great to see some exciting Australian wildlife so close to home. 

We then went on to Tallagandra Hill winery for tasting and sales (especially the tempranillo) and admiring the black faced Dorper lambs, and then home via Murrumbateman Winery (one of Canberra's oldest).