Gungahlin apparently means little 'rocky hill' or 'white man's house'. I didn't see many hills or rocks....so the second one might be more appropriate.
The streets here are apparently named after industrialist and pioneers.
It was a pretty miserable foggy morning when we arrived in Gungahlin, but the first thing that struck me was how bloody big it had become. I literally haven't been here for more than a decade, and at that time, I think here were about five shops there. Now its massive...
I must admit the marketplace sign did fill me with dread and bad flashbacks of Conder food poisoning....but thankfully this shopping precinct is a bit more worthy of the title 'marketplace'.
I was very excited to find a sock shop (yes they still exist!!!) plus lots of asian supermarkets...
Unfortunately, Little Siam which I have on good authority is the place to eat was shut, so we just grabbed some takeway sushi and headed down to Yerrabi pond which I had seen from the other side on previous adventures.
I just love it down here - if I were to move to Gungahlin this is definitely where I would like to live...possibly on James Kirk St cause I am lame like that. OK so there are still some ridiculously large houses, but it feels really spacious down here. There is also a great community/peaceful feel to the place with people sitting out on the balconies and reading, or having afternoon tea. Gorgeous.
We were apparently very lucky to see the pelicans here before they travel onwards to escape the winter months. It was gorgeous standing in the sun at what is called Soroptimist point and watching them.
But its not just the park and the pond, there are some great looking eateries popping up around here along the promenade. I am determined to go back and try the Indian restaurant in particular, I have heard some amazing things about the food there.
Most unexpectedly though there is now an art gallery here as well, with some really impressive and interesting artwork from local artists. I highly recommend popping in if you are in the area. Its called the Strayleaf gallery.
If you like ponds (not the Dr Who kind) you can rest assured there are also always more to be found in Gungahlin....they really do park design well here. Even on a busy corner...
Anyway, so I think Gungahlin has definitely won me over. An epic adventure. And the suburb is not even finished...the below is all supposed to be streets so more to come!
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