Well even though it was a very cold night in the van the weather overall is getting a lot warmer with mid to high 20’s forecast for the week and perhaps some rain in the weekend.
While we were packing up we started chatting to a couple (Bob and Chrissy, Around-Oz.com) who had come into the camp late afternoon of the previous day and turns out they are field reporters for the Caravan World Magazine so they were very interesting to talk to with heaps of helpful information and advice on travelling and web sites (Island Wanderers) to look up and the like. It was a shame in a way that we were moving on as they would have been good company. They also let us onto a little secret about the camp area in that there are actually power points available for travelers to use but you have to know where to look them as they are not marked.
Then it was back on the road to Canberra which was only some 67km away. We were traveling on a secondary road as opposed to the main highway for most of the way and there was a fair bit of road works but it was no drama as we were not in a hurry and we arrived at the camp around lunch time. The camp area is part of Exhibition Park (this is similar to our show grounds) which is about 7km from the centre of Canberra and is where shows and markets are held. This weekend there is actually a caravan and outdoor leisure show and a Saturday market on.
After lunch and setup we decided to go and see a few things as although we are booked in for 4 nights there is a heap to see and we do not want to stress too much about getting around the items we are interested in.
First stop was a drive through the centre of Canberra to a lookout on Red Hill where we got an excellent view across the city and parliament buildings to Anzac Parade (the red roads). Then it was down the hill to the Carillon which is a tower with bells (53 of them) that talented musicians play at various times. When not part of a scheduled performance the bells toll out the 15 minute parts of the hour like a very big grandfather clock. The Carillon is a very impressive structure on a small island in the lake.
While in the area we checked out the memorial to the 700 (current) Australian police that have been killed in the line of duty and then visited Blundell’s Cottage which was built around 1860 on the original farm that existed before the lake and Canberra was created.
Thursday was a very special day as it was Carol’s birthday so Ross went all out and within the constraints of the caravan managed to front up with an excellent cake, complete with candle. Carol was soooo appreciative…
Our plan for the day was to visit the War Memorial and then the National Film and Sound Archive but we ended up spending 6 hours at the War Memorial as it is just so big, really well set out with so much to see with the view down ANZAC Parade something that emphasizes so well the planning that has gone into the design of this city. It is also a very special place with all the names of Australians killed in the various conflicts they have been involved in including those prior to the creation of the federation – some 102 thousand in total. The wall the names and some marked with poppies dedicated to those who fell in WWI was the most moving, some 60 thousand alone.
The War Memorial has a huge amount of artwork in many forms along with weaponry, artifacts, memorabilia and excellent audio/visual displays. What is most notable is that as the memorial was initially built to honour those who fell in WWI but it was not finished until 1941 which was of course mid WWII. Much of the detail around WWI is in the form of very detailed dioramas covering the most significant battles and loss of life whereas later conflicts are more audio/visual although there is a WWI dogfight c/o our Peter Jackson skills in the aircraft section which is amazing. Of note was the number if school groups who were at the facility. This is obviously an integral part of the education of the youth of Oz as evidenced by the large number who were there involved in wreath laying and working on assignments and learning in general which we thought was fantastic.
After an exhausting day (both with pain in our lower back from standing all day) we returned to camp and after a quick freshen up we headed out to celebrate Carol’s birthday at a local club (Tradies) and we had an excellent time.
The food was great, a few drinks, played the pokies but the most entertainment came from the group of Aussies we ended up sitting next to during the Thursday night raffle draw. Very nice people who happened to have a huge number of tickets in the draw that they had bought with the club “play money” that they had accumulated over the prior weekend.
Well they (especially Don) won nearly all the prizes on offer (at least 8) with first prize being a 27” LCD TV and they were very pleased with themselves. Our measly ticket ($2 worth, 20 numbers in total) did not win anything but it was of no consequence as the conversation and entertainment provided by their good luck was priceless and made for an excellent night out.
