Canberra

Day 47

First order of business today was to move to another van park - somewhere a little more 'family friendly'.  While packing up to leave, our stay in this park was capped off by an old guy who drove straight into our car's bullbar trying to 'get around'.  No damage to us, but he had a busted headlight.  Strange place.

Finding another park took a little time as it was school holidays and quite a few parks were full.  We finally found a nice park in Queanbeyan.  Once settled and lunch finished, it was time to see some of Canberra.

There is plenty to see and do here and we decided to head to Questacon first.  This is a science centre designed primarily for kids - big and little.  We spent the whole afternoon there.  It was fantastic with so many things to touch, play and learn from.  A highlight for Mitch was experiencing Free Fall.  Here he is, suited up and ready to drop...

Day 48

The Australian War Memorial was our destination today, and what an incredible place.  We wanted to get as much time here as possible, given the limitations of young children, so we broke the day into two parts.

First up we took a guided tour that gave us a great overview of some of the highlights in the memorial.  Included in the tour was an insight into the Korean War where Stewie's new best friend (Uncle Stan) served.

The kids also learnt about Australia's most recent Victoria Cross recipient - Trooper Donaldson - and Mitch in particular was quite taken by his story of bravery.

There are several sound and vision displays throughout the memorial and we watched several.  Most remarkable was a re-enactment of an aerial 'dog fight' which was quite graphic, particularly for the kids.  However, it did give them (and us) a greater appreciation of what can really go on in a war.  An example of this was when Maggie turned to me after the show and asked, with great concern, whether Mitch would have to go to war.  Obviously the thought filled her with absolute dread.

We took a break after the shows and enjoyed lunch at the front of the memorial with this great view back to parliament house...

Back inside for round two and we visited kids 'Discovery Corner' where we got to sit inside a real submarine shell and try out the control panels...

and look in the periscope...

In the submarine, the highlight for the kids was a drawer you could pull out to get a whiff of what the sailors smelt like on board.  Apparently they only got to shower once a week, except for the cook who had one every day for hygiene purposes.  You can imagine what the smell was like!

After this we had a quick look at exhibits for World War 1 and 2...

Outside we visited the Wall of Honour...

You could easily spend a few days at this place to take it all in, but given our time and children constraints, we will have to come back another time.  Mitch left with a better understanding of the proper place for guns and weapons - he says he still likes them, but they are not glorified objects in his mind any more.  He knows they have a time and place and preferably aren't required.  A bit like war itself.

Day 49

Another day exploring Canberra with the first stop being the Royal Australian Mint...

Although it wasn't operating when we visited, it was very interesting all the same and we got to press our own $1 coin...

We reversed our lunch spot today, eating in front of Parliament House (the new one) with a view back towards the Australian War Memorial.  Here we are at the front...

After lunch we headed into parliament house for a look around.  The grand hall wasn't being used today, but we got a good view of the beautiful tapestry in the hall...

We visited the upper and lower houses (no pollies in sight)...

and went right up the top onto the grass for a great view (the War Memorial is off in the distance)...

Maggie and Stewart sat down and had a little chat and rest...

After leaving parliament house, we felt compelled to go in search of K.Rudd, but alas he wasn't home and the gates were locked...

We could see The Captain Cook Memorial Fountain in Lake Burley Griffin blasting away as we drove away from The Lodge so went for a closer look before heading out of town in search of a winery.  We decided to go straight to Brindabella Hills as it is highly recommended.  We weren't disappointed and restocked (just a little).  Before leaving, the winemaker talked to us about the grapes and some of the intricacies of wine making.  We also got to taste some of the wine grapes - very different to table grapes.  Many of the other places we have visited to date have already harvested their grapes, so this was a bonus and a great finish to the day.

Day 50

Today it was time to catch up with some more family.  Dennis (Steve's cousin, son of Shirley and Stan) and Suzanne Hayes were our wonderful hosts for the day.  Steve hadn't seen his relatives in quite a while and enjoyed catching up with them all...

I had only met most of them briefly before, so it was nice to spend some time getting to know everyone a bit better.  Plus, the kids got to meet more of our extended family which they love doing.  We ended up staying for dinner as well - thanks again Dennis and Sue.

Day 51  Canberra to Wee Jasper

Finally it was time to leave Canberra, but not before we had a turn on the paddle boats at Lake Burley Griffin.  We hired them for half and hour (more than enough) and headed out on the lake.  The girls beat the boys to the bridge and back, plus no-one fell in (bonus!).  Here's the boys trying hard...

...and my beautiful side kick...

After the mornings 'paddle' we stocked up on supplies - which can be a nightmare with a caravan in tow as it is usually very difficult to find a park.  This time was no different and we had to wheel a trolly about 1 km back to the van!

Time to farewell Canberra - it was a lot of fun and we didn't get to see and do everything we wanted to here, but time to move on. 

We headed straight to Wee Jasper from Canberra for some bush scenery.  Wee Jasper is a bush reserve and what a great camping spot.  We drove into the reserve, picked a spot right next to the creek and got the campfire going before sunset.  Heaven.