Mount Stromlo Observatory

Both the kids were awake just before 5am this morning. Eli was laughing and smiling (when all we wanted was sleep) and his sister joined his awakedness not long afterwards.

Given the hopelessness of the situation I took the two of them kangaroo spotting at nearby Mount Stromlo which is only a 10 minute drive from our house. The place is noteable as it is the site of the Stromlo Observatory which used to have the largest telescope in the Southern hemisphere (the 4th largest in the World). It is still home of the Australian National University school of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Unfortunately the site was severly damaged by the firestorm that tore through Canberra in 2003 destroying five telescopes on the site and as a result much of the work previously done there has been moved to Siding Spring.

Despite it being so early in the day, there were already a number of cyclists who had impressively conquored the steep incline to the top of the Mount, presumably in order to beat the heat of the sun.

We were lucky enough to spot quite a number of kangaroos much to Audrey and Eli's delight making our quest a success. Eli flaked out in the car on the way home.

Early morning kangaroo spotting on Mount Stromlo