March 25, 2020

Reunited with my east coast sisters

Chiara Di AUSTRALIA & PACIFIC, TRAVEL Australia, Batemans Bay, Braidwood, Canberra, Road Trip, Wanderlust 0 Comments

A few weeks ago I visited Canberra for the first time and caught up with two of my best girls from my time in Brisbane.

Shanna and I flew in Friday night and were greeted by Kelly at the airport who has been living in Canberra for as long as I have been back in Perth. It was a very warm welcome, like no time had passed.

Kelly spoilt us with a cheese board and wine and we caught up on as much as possible before calling it a night.

After a much needed sleep in we were on the road to Batemans Bay on the New South Wales south coast. We stopped in the quaint town of Braidwood for a wander, coffee and lunch. Being in a country town called for a good ole Aussie pie from the local bakery.

The drive from Braidwood to Batemans Bay took us around the windy roads of fire affected forests and land. Sad to witness but great to see rebirth already coming through.

After checking in to our overnight accommodation we were recommended to visit Lilli Pilli Beach which was a nice bay surrounded by granite rocks on one side and forest on the other. It was very overcast and too cool an afternoon for a swim but very beautiful.

We had dinner along the marina at Sam’s Pizzeria, sharing a bottle of red and dined on pizza and pasta. We tried to find some nightlife post-dinner but it wasn’t really what Batemans had to offer so we had a quiet night in.

The next morning we grabbed a coffee and went to Denhams Beach, one of the closest beaches to the bay and again more of a secluded beach. It was a beautiful sunny morning so the girls did some fitness and then we went for a lovely swim.

After check-out we stopped in the nearby town of Mogo to support the local shops and for a bakery snack. We then decided to have a proper lunch back in Braidwood at Casanova’s Food and Drink, which we had spotted the day before but arrived at closing time.

Once back in Canberra we Netflixed and chilled before heading to Brod Burger and Capital Brewing Co for dinner. I ordered the single cheese burger which was delicious and plenty for me after all the carb eating of the day. I opted out of beer as I decided to do dry March which I am so close to completing.

After dinner we walked through Canberra city in search of a speakeasy bar but were out of luck and made our way to gelato instead. It’s a very small and quiet town.

We started our last day in Canberra with a hike up Mount Ainslie which is 842m high and took around 45 minutes each way. It wasn’t too difficult a journey with a path the whole way around but got a bit sticky with humidity.

After the hike we rewarded ourselves with brunch at vegan cafe Sweet Bones. I chose one of the healthiest, lightest options (the Buddha Bowl) as my stomach wasn’t feeling the best, but Kelly got a mac and cheese wrap which was delicious.

That afternoon we wandered the free exhibitions of the National Gallery of Australia, having a little fun with photography along the way. The gallery had a mix of Australian, Asian, Pacific, European and American art. The Yayoi Kusama bright yellow room with black dots and mirrored reflections (cover image) was particularly cool.

We sat along Lake Burley Griffin at Kingston and enjoyed the last of our great chats before heading to the airport for home time.

The rest of my 2020 wanders have been postponed for now but I can’t wait to get back out there on more wanders once coronavirus settles.

Until then keep safe and stay well.

LWL xxx