WOX Travel Contest | Week 1 : Tidbinbilla: The Forest Reserve and Gibraltar Falls

Hi Steemins- Are you ready to read about yet another trip of mine? Yes, this is in response to @o1eh's contest post to the WOX Travel Contest, Week 1

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I'm in India right now, but Tidbinbilla—the Forest Reserve and Gibraltar Falls—is a famous tourist spot in ACT, Australia.

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So we decided to go to Tidbinbilla, the famous forest reserve, a 30-minute drive (about 40 km) from my house. My wife and I started with another couple at 10.30 in the morning and reached the reception center at 11.

We gathered information, collected our guide map, and moved to the entrance. The entry was free, so we saved $80 for the four of us. Incidentally, the entry was free until January 2021, but was extended later to encourage tourists to return to public places. But then came a time when all tourist centers in Australia were closed, and we had to come back to India as my contract was over.

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We did this trip on August 29th, 2020. It was about an 8-hour trip and done at the cost of only gasoline since we took our home-cooked food to eat, and there was no entry fee or parking fee!

By the way, we were scheduled to go on a hot air balloon trip, but we gave up the idea. The state advisory about COVID-19 and social distancing rules did not allow us to go on that trip.

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We parked our car, incidentally, the parking was free, and there was no entry fee. We moved to the information center, but before entering the main hall, we used hand sanitizer and waited for a few minutes to maintain social distance.

The tourist center in itself was a treat to watch, with a number of facilities available, including a souvenir and gift shop, coffee, and a restaurant.

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Back at Tidbinbilla, we reached a point where we could see koalas, but unfortunately, we could see only two on top of tall trees. I'm sure you're sad, but the truth is that bushfires in 2019 and 2020 have killed a lot of animals in this part of the world.

Some animals were taken to other places, but almost 3 billion animals lost their lives, including kangaroos, koalas, and various other species, including frogs, bunnies, and insects.

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ᵀʰᵉʸ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵐᵉᵐᵒʳᶦᵃˡ ˢᵗᵒⁿᵉˢ ᶠᵒʳ ᵈᵉᵖᵃʳᵗᵉᵈ ˢᵒᵘˡˢ

There I heard and read that the forest authorities of Australia were trying their best to ensure the safe return of endangered species back into the forest to ensure their natural habitation.

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We took to the walking trail, which is an absolute circle taking us back to where we had started from, and came out of the walking area. We headed to this great, lovely ground, with a thin stream of water flowing through it.

ᶦᵐᵃᵍᵉ ᵐᶦⁿᵉ

ᴾᵘᵇˡᶦᶜ ᵈᶦˢᵖˡᵃʸ ᵒᶠ ᵃᶠᶠᵉᶜᵗᶦᵒⁿ

People were sitting, basking in the sun, eating, playing, and even running around with their children. And yes, the description will not be complete if I do not mention the PDA (public display of affection).

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We sat there for about an hour, eating, drinking, and watching, then finally decided to go to the famous Gibraltar Falls, about 10 kilometers from the tourist center of Tidbinbilla. It was a lovely circular route with "one car at a time narrow bridges," but everything was in good fun. I did my best to keep their identity hidden, though.

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We reached Gibraltar Falls in about twelve minutes, and wow, that's a breath-taking spot.

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Gibraltar Falls is a waterfall located on Gibraltar Creek near Canberra, Australia. Water falling from a height of 50 meters appears to be quite spectacular.

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We went up on the rocks and also went down to the point where the water was falling. We didn't go down to the spot where water was falling about 50 meters below, but up to the point allowed by authorities as it was too risky, dangerous, and slippery at certain points.

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It was amazing walking down on rocks cut into a walking path, but I must admit it was a walk to keep track of our steps so we didn't roll down without walking. The return journey was steep but easier than going down.

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We stopped outside near the car park, sat there for some time, and took our evening tea. After a pleasant day's travel, we returned home at 6.45 p.m.
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I wanted to include more images, but more than 100 images in one post would be too many. You know what I mean!

ᴬˡˡ ᶦᵐᵃᵍᵉˢ ᶠʳᵒᵐ ᵐʸ ᶜᵃᵐᵉʳᵃ ˢᵒⁿʸ ᶜʸᵇᵉʳˢʰᵒᵗ ᵒʳ ᵖʰᵒⁿᵉ

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