Day 4 - An AI Assisted 10 Day Tour in New South Wales Australia

We narrowed down the ChatGPT list of things to do in Canberra before heading out for the day. There is a lot to do and see in this area, but again, we are picking and choosing. Our first stop was the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. First established as a reserve in the 1930’s, it’s been part of aboriginal culture since antiquity. In 2003, bush fires destroyed much of the reserve and killed most of the Koala’s. It has recovered with help and stewardship of the park rangers. The reserve is 54 square kilometres and you could spend years exploring it all. On the drive to the reserve, we were early enough to see kangaroos. Watched a few females with their joey’s, very cool! When we got to the reserve we chose a couple of walks in areas protected by predator fence. The first walk was a 2 km walk in the Sanctuary. Extraordinarily peaceful with tons of birds and again stunningly beautiful. Saw a rare Musk duck, quite solitary and rare to see according to a local who was bird watching in the area. Next stop was to the Eucalyptus Walk, to see koala’s. Again, this is a protected from predators. As you walk in, the reserve has built a stand for the koala’s to shade front the sun. There were 4 in the immediate area and we got a lot of great pictures.

We spent the morning in the reserve and then headed back to Canberra for some lunch and a visit to the Australian War Memorial. Cathy and I visited the Canadian War Museum about 3 years ago, and it was interesting to see the Australian view of the 1st and 2nd world wars. It was very informative and presented a pretty unbiased picture of their contributions. In these troubled times, it was a stark reminder of how easily the world could once again erupt into global conflict. The photo below is a plaque near the end of the displays for WW2.

Tomorrow is a travel day. Off to Katoomba for a couple of nights