Woke up at 6:30 this morning to catch the Greyhound to from Sydney to Canberra - a little over three hours. I slipped out of the room as quietly as I could (let it be known that I am not stealthy), bought some milk to complement the single-serving bowl of cornflakes I bought yesterday, had my breakfast and left the lovely hostel I'm definitely visiting again. The bus had a half-hour delay, but that didn't matter, since I could read a paper in that time (yes, I've taken up the habit of buying a local paper, in my case the Daily Telegraph). The bus was not even half full, so I had all the space in the world (as far as that's possible on a bus) and we left for Canberra.
The bus ride was good. Not because the bus was that amazing (think standard Dutch tour bus), but because the scenery was. At one point I looked out and I could've sworn I was in the hills of Limburg. Exact same picture. And then ten minutes later the scenery had changed to a slightly hilly land with only a few trees and some patches of grazing cows. It wasn't completely clear, but I still could see pretty far and I did not see a house for miles and miles. Nothing at all. No sign of inhabitants save a fence running alongside the road. And then... then I passed a windmill. Simple old bunch of steel poles. And then it suddenly hit me: 'I'm McLeod's Daughters country'. And I had to smile. It's not completely true, of course, but it was close enough for me to feel almost like I felt when I could see Adelaide from the plane - lucky and insanely happy to just be here. It was wonderful.
So about 20km later we pulled into the bus terminal and a new adventure had begun. I call it Nearly Homeless Eric. I decided to call ahead to the few hostels that Canberra offered (according to the Lonely Planet), instead of just turning up - Canberra's quite large and I don't feel like hauling all my things for hours. So I called the YHA. Completely full. I called another hostel. Got the YHA (they had merged last year). Called a third hostel. Got the YHA again (they'd gone out of business and calls were rerouted). Called a pub with rooms. Full. To make a long story short: everything was booked full. Let this be a warning to anyone who wants to stay in Canberra: book well ahead! The cheapest option available for me was, believe it or not, the Formule 1 hotel, which is six km out of the city and about 60 dollars. I booked and waited for the bus that would take me to this not-so-desirable accommodation (at that point I didn't really care - I had a bed to sleep in and I was happy with that). I called the YHA to see if I could get a room tomorrow, the girl on the other end remembered me and lo! she told me they'd had some cancellations and they could put me up for the night! I do have to move to a different room tomorrow, but I don't care at all, since I'm smack-dab in the centre at what essentially is one of the better hostels in the city. This is the third YHA and up to now they've all been great. Everything turned out all right in the end, but I regard this as my first adventure abroad.
Tomorrow..... I've gotten the suggestion that I'd hire a bike and go around Canberra that way. Sounds good, since I did want to try my hand at the left-hand side of the road anyway. The weather is promising (sunny with a few clouds and about 22 degrees) and I just need a route and then I'm off. I'll check back tomorrow to give an update on my second adventure: Eric On The Wrong Side Of The Road.
Good to see your getting around. Try and see The National Museum of Australia for some good old Australiana.