Saturday 30 June 2018

11 - Canberra



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.