Leaving Suva for Canberra

TRAVEL

By THOMAS HUKAHU
IF you had asked me in 2020, if I ever thought of studying at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, Australia, I would have taken that as a joke since that was never on my mind.
When I was browsing through prospectuses and brochures of universities in Australia as one who was interested in doing postgraduate studies in the continent Down Under as early as in the mid-1990s while I was teaching in Wewak, East Sepik, two universities stood out for me – The University of Adelaide in South Australia and University of Southern Queensland in Toowoomba, Queensland.
ANU was never on my mind.

Going to Adelaide in 2020
In 2020, I was fortunate to have qualified for an Australia Awards scholarship and used that to do a master’s degree in the Adelaide University, hence setting me up nicely for teaching in a university in our region.
Due to conversations with peers in Adelaide and consulting various sources, I found ANU appealing and considered it as a possible place to do another program of studies.
Apart from being a world-class institution in terms of research, one thing I have realised over the years while browsing through journal articles for my essays is that ANU has so much information about Papua New Guinea and other Pacific states, documents it had gathered over the years.
So, it was sensible that if I want to research our region, ANU is the place to go to.
Late last year I was informed that I had won the Mike Gore Scholarship to do the graduate certificate in science communication program at ANU, as supported by the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS).
So, on June 20, I left Suva in Fiji where I am currently based and passed through Nadi International Airport and headed for Canberra to start on the study program.
My father told us about Canberra in 1973
Even as a toddler, I knew about the Australian cities like Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory and Sydney in New South Wales because of my father.
The old man, Paul Hukahu, a former teachers’ college principal in the 1970s and senior manager in a retailing and wholesaling firm in the 1990s, was the first person who told us – the kids – about the city called Canberra.
Back in 1973, he was one of the senior teachers’ college lecturers who did a year of studies in the Australian capital.
In early 2020, before I left for Adelaide for studies, I flew him down from Wewak to share moments with me and the other relatives in Port Moresby.
I asked him about his year of studies in Canberra and he told me a thing or two that were quite educational.
Sadly, the old man passed away in late 2021 due to a prolonged medical condition and would not be able to hear me recount my experience of being in that same city that he studied in 50 years ago.

Trip starts from Suva
Fiji Airways is quite something when it comes to flight schedules and other services.
My flight started at 6.30am on Friday, June 20, at Nausori Airport in Suva, to head to the international airport in Nadi.
At Nausori, I was given two boarding passes, one for the domestic flight to Nadi and another for the Canberra flight. My luggage was also processed so that I could pick it up in Canberra.
After disembarking from the 30-minute flight, I walked over with my carry-on bag to the international terminal and when I showed my ticket to the staff serving at the counter, she informed me that I did not need to check in, I could continue directly to the boarding lounge.
Arriving at the boarding lounge, I saw that the place was completely filled with passengers, including children and toddlers with their parents.
Many were seated and many more were standing around and waiting for their flights.
Again I got the impression, as I did in January when I travelled to Adelaide, that Fiji was indeed the leading tourist destination in the region.
It was obvious that Fiji Airways was making a lot of money from the many flights it offered to Australia, New Zealand, other Pacific island states as well as Hawaii in the United States.
Moreover, it makes multiple trips daily to Australia and also makes direct flights to some of the main cities, including Adelaide and Canberra.

First glimpses of Canberra
Two days before my trip, the CPAS manager emailed me, as she had been doing to ensure that all was in order for me to travel to ANU for the study program.
She informed me that they had been having very cold days in Canberra in recent times and urged me to bring some warm clothes. That was understandable because it was now winter in the Southern Hemisphere.
To be on the safe side though, I went to a shop at Nakasi in the 9 Miles area, near where I reside, and got myself a pullover and a few other things.
However, when we got to Canberra on June 20, it was nice and sunny.
When I met with the CPAS manager in the afternoon, she told me that though it is sunny in the day, the temperature could drop to sub-zero at night.
She was right, I noticed at 3.40am on June 23 that it was -2 degrees. It was extremely cold.
Sources say Canberra is set in a region at a higher altitude than Sydney, and therefore is colder than the New South Wales capital.
While looking at information online about Canberra, I also realised – which may seem dumb for someone who has been in and out of Australia for some time now – that the Australian Capital Territory is actually a small territory within NSW.
It will therefore take you a few hours from within the capital to reach the borders and enter NSW, as at Queanbeyan in the east.
In terms of population, Canberra is also much smaller than other Australian cities; it has 467,000 people while Sydney has 5.5 million, Melbourne 5.2 million, Brisbane 2.7 million and Adelaide 1.4 million.

From airport to ANU
Exiting from the airport terminal at Canberra when we landed, I headed for the taxi stand just outside the building, and a security guard signalled for one of the cabs in line to come forward for me.
The driver was a young man from Pakistan who later told me his experience of moving about the different cities in the land Down Under, also detailing the kinds of atmosphere of each of those urban centres.
He later informed me that he was saving up for his marriage. Now, that is something.
I was dropped off beside the office of the facilities division of ANU and was handed an envelope with details about the tenancy arrangement and the keys to the apartment in Liversidge Court.
I then walked slowly with my luggage to the room. I found the apartment to be as good as a hotel room; it has a nice bed, small dinner table, a study desk with a lamp, a coffee table, lounge chair and a TV screen.
Additionally, it has a small kitchen with all the cooking utensils and cutlery, pots, toaster, a small stove and a refrigerator, and some coffee, tea, milk and sugar were placed there for my use.
Inside the toilet, a laundry machine and dryer were set up to enable a tenant to do their laundry.

First full day in Canberra
On June 22, the Saturday, I decided to go into the city.
It was sunny on that day, however, the cold could be felt.
I planned to sort a few things, including getting some detergent to sort my laundry, buy some food for the first few days and possibly get another pullover and a few T-shirts.
Canberra Civic Centre, which has many coffee shops and eateries, banks, telecom outlets as well as a Coles shop, was my planned destination.
But first, I planned to get a bus card.
I also wanted to check if I can deposit some money using the ATM at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CB).
Yes, you can deposit cash on a weekend by using the ATM here in Australia.
I managed to keep my CB account active since opening it in early 2020 when I was in Adelaide.
Over the past few years, I realised one advantage: I can use that Australian account to do online payment wherever in the region I may be in and therefore is very convenient.
While at the shopping area, I also wanted to get a new phone to ensure I was connected with the CPAS staff and people I know.
I enjoyed the nice sun and cool air.
Apart from the banking and shopping, I managed to check on a new phone and a bus card.
As in Adelaide, the best way to get around the city was to get a bus card.
For the first afternoon in Canberra and first morning to the CBD, I had to walk.
But now, after purchasing the card, I could use it to get on a bus and get to my place within five minutes.
Those are little things but can make life convenient for you in such a city.

What was the first impression?
Canberra is beautiful, but in June it is chilly.
True, the sun comes out during the day but at this time of the year the night can be ruthless with sub-zero temperatures.
But then, for me, to be here in the Australian capital and to learn in a world-class university is priceless.
We will see how things go from here.

• Next article: Winning the Mike Gore scholarship