Kirribilli House open day

The week ended with a hot and sunny weekend, so we'd planned to go cycling in the national park to the south of Sydney. However, we then heard that the annual open day at Kirribilli House was on Sunday, so we changed our plans and decided to go there instead to have a good 'sticky beak' at the official properties - Kirribilli House is the PM's residence in Sydney and next door is Admiralty House, the residence of the Governor-General.

We arrived about 30 mins before the opening time and joined the queue which wasn't too long at that stage. By the time we got into the grounds it was still reasonably quiet, so we managed to tour both properties and then enjoyed the grounds, overlooking the harbour and opposite the Opera House. By the time we left the queues into both properties were much longer.

Kirribilli House is quite a small property and we followed a route around the downstairs rooms, including 'Kev's' study, the dining room and lounge. Besides the lovely position above the harbour, it's a comfortable and informal looking place which must be a great place to escape to, although we don't believe that the Rudd family use it as much as John Howard did.

In contrast, Admiralty House is a more formal building with some large rooms and clearly set out to cater for larger parties and functions, but still a comfortable looking place with some great views. The grounds around the properties were also wonderfully kept in the style of a Victorian garden and the day gave 'the commoners' an opportunity to enjoy the space.

There are some more photos from the visit here.