Entry 11 – Canberra. 16/6/18 – 1/7/18
Day two at Goulburn had a predicted maximum of 4 degrees,
add the wind chill effect and it felt very uncomfortable to be outside. Even the
electric blow heater we were utilizing in the caravan was struggling to combat
the debilitating coldness. We studied all the information we had obtained from
the Goulburn visitor information centre, picking out half a dozen locations we
thought sounded inviting. Hoping for a distraction from the cold we spent a day
of driving to the various publicised locations which unfortunately transpired
into a disappointing day with all but access to a national park, closed even
though the provided information showed they were operating. It was winter, we
were struggling with the psychological aspect dealing with the cold and were in
need of a “pick me up!”
We decided to abandon plans for exploration of areas that sounded
promising on the outer perimeters of Canberra and relocate to Canberra where
many delightful indoor activities were available. So - it was bye to Goulburn
with memories of “The Big Marino, the church that promised so much without
obstruction of a locked door?? And the historic court house still in use as
Goulburn’s current court house.”
We set camp at the Canberra show grounds, (Exhibition Park)
a comfortable central location. We were expecting an extended time line at this
location and we decided to erect the caravans attached annex to help combat the
cold and provide a “wet room.” Many years had passed since we last utilised the
full annex and it was an asset during our time at Canberra. It was cold, so, so
cold and still it was reiterated to us why we enjoy the city of “Canberra,”
with so many things on offer to keep you occupied. Plenty of places at no cost
with the only negative distraction, it cost for parking everywhere, even the
shopping centres. We quickly accepted the parking fees and got on with the
enjoyment Canberra offered.
During our stay at Canberra we first visited the High Court
due to its web site showing the court was sitting during our first week in
Canberra, where the public were permitted to view proceedings. What the web
site didn’t show was it was actually sitting in Perth, W.A. for the week. We
did enjoy a reasonable amount of time spent viewing provided information about
significant court rulings over the last century, viewing the building and court
rooms.
Wondering around the National Portrait Gallery and National
Gallery of Australia we found our bodies were only able to sustain a session of
about 1 ½ hours due to the atmospheric conditions utilised to preserve the art
work in these buildings before we found the need to seek out some fresh air.
Canberra is a cold location during winter, it was winter, we
experienced many minus degree mornings waking to icy conditions reaching down
to a low of minus 6 degrees.
A day spent at the National Museum of Australia was highly
enjoyable where we would have liked more than the 4 hours we had allocated.
There were a couple of special short-term displays, one with original
recordings titled “Baudin’s Voyagers 1800 – 1804 of the French explorer’s
records exploring Australia.
The other short-term display was titled, “Faith and Culture
in Islam.” Another interesting display.
Another experience at the museum was titled “Space Descent,
Virtual Reality.” You sat in the pilot’s seat of a Russian built Soyuz capsule
in a journey from the International Space Station, descending to Earth. It did
cost $10 each and was certainly a different enjoyable experience.
We were daily assessing the weather conditions along with
available activities for guidance with the days chosen forays.
On Lake Burley Griffin we spent time listening to a
performance at the National Carillon (Bell Tower containing 55 bells,) and walked
around the central circuit of Lake Burley Griffin (full circuit about 7-hour
walk) and spent time walking amongst the outdoor sculptures at the National
Gallery.
Gold Creek Village was another interesting location with
many viewing options, examples Cockington Green Gardens, National Dinosaur
Museum and Canberra walk in Aviary. It was a commercialised precinct where we
thought you could easily spend a couple of days. We chose to spend time in the
Aviary and even then, it was quite difficult obtaining some well-defined bird
pic’s, reiterating how special it is when we manage a good bird picture out in
the big open spaces of the bush.
Time at the Australian National Botanic Gardens was very
rewarding, good for the body and soul with plenty of walking, fantastic
scenery, divine bush smells, a broad range of Australian bush settings, leaving
us looking forward to another visit. There were rainforest settings, Central
Australia settings and even some Tasmania settings.
During several of our prior visits to Canberra we had spent time
at the Australian War Memorial. Our research showed there was a virtual reality
immersion on offer 22nd June to 22nd July where you got
to view via a VR headset and headphones a digital experience at the “Battle of
Hamel, 4 July 1918,” viewing the action from the perspective of the military
personnel participants. We thoroughly enjoyed this experience and it was at no
cost. We ended up spending the whole day at the War Memorial enjoying reviewing
previous items and some new things. During world war two Mary’s dad served time
in “bomber command,” participating in excess of 30 bombing missions before they
relieved him from this duty. Casualty rates were so high they were not expected
to last the hypothetical 30 missions required in bomber command. None of his
fellow Aussie mates returned from bomber runs and he never talked about the war
prior his death.
28th June was the last seating day at parliament
prior to an extended break. We thought this to be a good time to view
parliament. We watched question time in the House of Representatives and laws
being passed in the Senate. Both were entertaining like a circus performance.
Time spent at the mint was an enjoyable experience.
We had now been to Canberra several times, enjoying each
visit and our latest two weeks were no different to previous visits. We prefer
the bush settings and if we needed to spend time in an Australian City our
choice would unquestionably be Canberra.
Our primary reason for this visit was to welcome the arrival
of our new granddaughter. Another special time in life.
All was good on the Canberra home front and it was time to
head north seeking out some more hospitable weather and naturally with some
beautiful scenery.
