Canberra Parks...

In Weston Park we saw this thought-provoking memorial to the SIEV X (Suspected Illegal Entry Vehicle), a dilapidated Indonesian fishing boat carrying more the 400 asylum seekers en route to Christmas Island which sunk during a storm in international waters in 2001. It was a bonus to spot this kookaburra.

This artwork outlines the shape of the boat, which was much too small to carry so many people. Each of the 353 poles was decorated by schools, churches and community groups to depict the 146 children, 142 women and 65 men who died while trying to seek out a better life.

Our next stop was the National Arboretum with over 44,000 trees from over 100 countries growing throughout the huge site.

In addition to the amazing views, I especially enjoyed Nest III, an eagle’s nest made out of found objects.

We wandered through the National Bonsai and Penjing Museum, which features 80 trees of bonsai, the Japanese art form, and penjing, the ancient Chinese art.