Canberra

Well we arrived in chilly Canberra to a lovely sunny day. We set up camp at the Exhibition Park show grounds.  Pretty reasonable rate  plus it has power water and amenities.  We pulled up next to another van with kids, in the hope they were nice people and our kids could have someone to play with.  Lucky for us, they were.  Kids had a ball playing with the Ellis kids.  So great to meet and make new friends.  Spent a lot of time chatting and finding out about their van and some helpful advice too.

First stop on our first day was Parliament House.  Had a really informative tour, learnt a lot about Australian politics that we didn't even know.  Kids were really well behave, didn't quite understand all of it but enjoyed it anyway.  Charlotte even thought to ask a question to our guide about the sand timers in the house of representatives.  Charlotte was a bit put out that she didn't get to see Julia Gillard, poor kid thought we would!  The budget was on a few days later but we didn't go back for it.

Had a great drive around Canberra.  It's been years since Mark and I have been to Canberra, lots has changed.  It certainly is an interesting city, but not a very big one, not like Sydney or Melbourne.  We were driving through Ainsley when Mark got all excited because apparently that's where James Hird used to play.  Much to his disgust Jake asked who that was, oops, Mark was very offended.  Then mark proclaimed that there should be a plaque erected in celebration of James Hird.  he didn't appreciate it when I roared with laughter.....:)

Where we were staying is right at the race ground.  The first night we were there the trots were on, so Mark took the kids while I cooked dinner.   They thought it was great.  Mark went back later and put a bet on, won $9 but lost $10.  Better luck next time!

The next day we took the kids to Questacon.  What a fantastic day.  Jake and Charlotte had a ball running around trying everything.  It was more suited to Charlotte and kids a bit older but Jake still loved it but he didn't really slow down to understand much of it.  We went to two shows.  One on the wheel and movement, the other on light and colour.  The guys running it were very quirky and entertained me to no end!  The kids  both loved the Earthquake and the roller coaster simulators.  Well worth a visit.

On Monday we caught up on some school work and then went to the Australian Mint to see how money was made.  We first watched a video on the mint, including it's history and how it runs.  Then we walked around the viewing areas and watched the workers from above.  The kids favourite was watching this giant robot called Titan lift heavy containers of coins and tip them onto a conveyor belt.  There were lots of interesting displays and notice boards to read, Mark could have spent hours there, but the animals got restless!!!!  The kids got to make there own souvenir coin.  They loved it, but not very economical, you put a $3 in but only get $1 back.  Didn't seem to add up, guess that's how they make their money.

Then we packed up the bikes and took them down to lake Burley Griffin.  What a fantastic area for bike riding.  We went on a lovely long ride.  The kids did a great job getting used to their new bikes.  No major tumbles thank goodness.

We got up the next morning and the kids played with the Ellis children again and the adults did a little more chatting.  We packed up the awning, as the wind had started up.  Then we went shopping to get some more supplies for the van.

We left Canberra after lunch to head to Mittagong.

It was bloody freezing in Canberra!!!!!



Fun at Questacon