Minus seven degrees

Well, as per tradition, Dan and I were ultra un-organised. So we didn’t leave Canberra until two days after we had planned. Some of it was because of our disorganised lives, but most of it was out of our hands. Firstly we had the weather against us...

Let me explain. Normally in a campsite like EPIC, which is really designed for bigger, more independent rigs, the amenities block rarely gets used. Most of us who are long term travellers have our own shower, toilet and hot water. However that morning the showers were busier than rush hour on Bourke Street. You see, Saturday morning we all woke up to a very cold -albeit pretty- frost! And when you get freezing temperatures in a caravan park, you get lots of people standing around, scratching their heads, trying to figure out why their water isn’t working. And almost simultaneously, we all realise that our water hoses and filters have frozen solid! In fact, all of our plastic connections had split open!

Secondly we were having ongoing dramas with our bike rack.  Being a family of 5 who love going for bike rides together, we have got a big bike rack attached to the tow ball on the back of the caravan. However, a combination of the weight of our bikes, and the bounce of the caravan, our bike rack was literally cracking up. We were sure that if we put off repairing it, we would lose all our bikes down the highway somewhere.

Needless to say, we spent that morning driving around in search of a hardware store instead of packing up and leaving Canberra. After a trip to Bunnings and a purchase from their sausage sizzle, we began re-designing the bike rack.

Dan did a wonderful job and the bike rack is stronger than ever, but it did take all day to fix. We also decided that we should take a bit of the load off the poor old bike rack so Dan and the boys went to purchase another bike rack to go on the front of the van. They returned home with a fantastic surprise for me... A new bike!!!! Money is a bit tight at the moment so as much as I appreciated the gift, I tried to get Dan to take it back. Dan settled the argument by telling me that not only was my old bike really heavy, but it was embarrassing watching me ride it. It was bad enough watching me ride a big rust bucket, but it had no brakes and the gears were broken. I was secretly pleased... I love my new bike!!

We finally left Canberra after staying 11 days longer than planned! Great place but time for somewhere different..

Australia's Coldest Territory

After leaving Cooma, we travelled right through the middle of the ACT and out the other side. We stayed in a rest area about 20ks out of Canberra City Centre. The Anderson VC Rest Area is actually in New South Wales on the Federal Hwy North of the ACT.  It is a lovely little rest stop with an unusual view. It overlooks Lake George (almost empty at the moment) and the mountains behind are scattered with hundreds of wind turbines.

When we could see our breath whilst still in bed the following morning, we decided it was time to move somewhere with power.  Since leaving the coast, our heater has become our new best friend.

After a morning of school and work, we moved towards the city to Exhibition Park In Canberra (EPIC). Home of the Summernats, Harness Racing and a Farmer’s market every Saturday morning, EPIC is set on over 70 hectares of land. Whenever there are no major functions on, campers are allowed to call it home.

We only planned to stay in Canberra for a few days but the tourist attractions proved too many. We extended our stay... twice... and ended up staying here for 11 days.

Our first visit was to the miniature village of Cockington Green. Set amongst absolutely beautiful gardens, the replica buildings are stunning. From traditional English cottages to Football Stadiums complete with a streaker! The International Display shows perfect replicas of many well known buildings from around the Globe.

I think Zac loved Cockington Green Gardens more than any of us. It was the first time in his little life that he got to feel like a giant! Sam and Will loved controlling the many miniature railways and had fun competing in a race. Unfortunately for Sam he chose the slow one, and Will had a ball gloating about winning.

One evening we took the kids on a bike ride around EPIC. Sam and Will thought it was ‘awesome’ racing down the burn-out strip of the Summernats, and Zaccy got very excited when we watched the Harness Racing.

When we first arrived at EPIC the boys were excited to meet the kids next door. Two boys of similar age to Sam and Will who are travelling for a few months. The 5 boys spent hours running around outside, playing in the Autumn leaves and trying to climb the trees. Sam and Will were upset when their new friends left only to meet two new friends that afternoon.  Amanda and Mark and their kids are the first family that we have met who are doing a similar thing to us. They are from Tassie and are travelling around Australia for the next couple of years. We spent many hours drinking wine, eating cheese and comparing notes on Caravans, 4wds and Home Schooling. We are heading in the same general direction so will no doubt meet up again.

We also met up with another couple who we met originally in Genoa. Fiona and Ron (and their Feline friend – Mango) are from SA and are also travelling Oz. They are in a beautiful big 5^th wheeler which makes Dan envious every time he sees it! Hopefully we will catch up along the road somewhere so that Dan and Ron can finally play that game of golf they keep talking about.

Since going to the Info Centre, Sam and Will had been jumping out of their skins waiting to go to Questacon - the National Science Museum. They both think of themselves as Young Einsteins, and couldn’t wait to try out the many science experiments. We spent one full day there and only got to see about ¾ of the museum, so we agreed to spend another day there later in the week. 

Next visit was the Australian Institute of Sport where we had a guided tour by Sam, an aspiring young Netball player. We were shown around the grounds, in the stadiums and training areas and even got to have a go at some of the training simulators. Dan got to fulfill a lifetime goal of shooting hoops at the AIS (even if it was against his 2 year old son!!)

After a morning of being pampered – breakfast in bed, followed by Will brushing my hair and giving me a back rub – the boys decided to let me choose the days destination on Mother’s Day. It was a beautiful sunny Autumn day so we walked along Lake Burley Griffin to the National Art Gallery. I was surprised by how much Sam and Will enjoyed the artwork although it was a bit embarrassing listening to them giggle at all the Nude portraits and the Papua New Guinean statues.

The afternoon was spent keeping warm with a late lunch at the Pancake Parlour. We tried to walk off our lunch with a visit to the shopping centre, only to find that Canberra hasn’t yet caught up with the rest of the country – no Sunday trading!

The War Memorial was an eye-opener for the boys, especially Will. He surprised me by getting very emotional about the sacrifice the men and women have made for our country. The memorial is a wonderful tribute and is beautifully set out, being both educational and respectful. There is a new Children’s Discovery area where the kids can get a greater understanding of the life of a soldier. They have a helicopter that the kids can ‘fly’ and a submarine they can go into. Sam commented that the bunks in the submarine are a lot like the bunks in the caravan (only bigger!) We were lucky enough to still be there to witness the Closing Ceremony.  Visitors can stand in front of the Pool of Reflection and listen to the spine-tingling sounds of the bagpipes being played whist the sun sets over the beautiful architecture of the War Memorial.

Our last day in Canberra has been spent on a tour of Parliament House and a visit to the Australian Mint. Sam got very excited when I told him they give out free samples at the Mint. It took him a while to realise I was only joking.

After going next door to the Farmer’s Market in the morning, we will be heading North to try to find some warmer weather. We will also be meeting up with my parents and making our way to the Wintersun Festival in Port Macquarie together.

The Snowy Mountains

After a VERY slow drive towing the caravan over Brown Mountain (I could have walked faster!), we arrived at our next campsite. We are staying in a roadside rest area about 20ks north of Cooma.  We were amazed at the sudden change in terrain once we were over the mountain. We kept waiting for the Cowboys and Indians to come over the horizon on horseback.  It almost looks like the desert here. The landscape has changed from lush green farmland to a stark, dry, brown open terrain. The Snowy Mountains loom over the land below with a very powerful presence. They are beautiful to watch and change colour throughout the day.

Cooma was a small country town before the Snowy Mountain Hydro Scheme opened in 1949. Cooma became the headquarters for the Snowy Hydro Scheme and is now nicknamed “the Gateway to the Snowy Mountains”.

We are only staying here for a few days before heading to the ACT. We spent a beautiful sunny autumn day at the park in town where the kids had a great time on the playground and playing with the fallen leaves.

The boys visited the Snowy Mountain Hydro Discovery Centre with Dan while I spent a few hours with my Kindle, while Zaccy slept.

I will let Sam tell you about the visit...

“When we went to the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre, we learnt all about how they used water to make electricity. They had lots of exhibits to go to and a theatre which told you how they make electricity. The water flows into big machines and the machine spins. The electricity comes out of the machines by using magnets.”

“The electricity is then used to top up the electricity all around Australia. It was clever because they built pipes which go underground and lead to lots of power stations. The pipes link all the dams together.  They use water from the snow and built dams all over the Snowy Mountains. The snow melts and runs down the mountains and is caught in the dams and then pumped through the pipes to the power stations.”

“There was a picture of all the dams and where the pipes go. There were lots of power stations on the picture and they had two different plans. One was the Snowy Mountains system and the other was the Murray system. It took years to build and they brought lots of people in from other countries to help build it. Thousands of people helped build the system and about 260 people died. ”

“One of the exhibits they showed you how much electricity is used to power a kettle. You had to peddle a bike and go really fast. On a wall it showed you how much energy you needed and the faster you peddled the more energy you made. Will loved the bike, but he went so fast that his foot slipped off and he cut his leg! He didn’t like it after that!”

Next stop.... off to our Nation’s Capital to experience some culture and history.

A boat with no paddle.

Our next stop is the small fishing town of Bermagui on the Sapphire Coast of NSW. We stayed at the Zane Grey Tourist Park, named after an American dentist who also wrote of his experiences in the western novel ‘ An American Angler in Australia’ (1937).  The port at Bermagui, (which means “a boat with no paddle”) was established in the 1830s for the local dairy farmers and the town quickly developed into a fishing harbour. 

On our first night we walked to the harbour and watched, with amazement, two guys cleaning the biggest fish I have ever seen. It was a Marlin and the two of them only just managed to get it from their boat onto the cleaning tables. Soon we were joined by a huge crowd of people wanting to witness the size of the fish.

Easter Sunday we were woken by squeals of delight that the Easter Bunny had managed to find us in our caravan! After an Easter egg hunt and a breakfast of chocolate, we waited patiently for our friends from home to arrive. Will’s best friend from school, also named William and his mum Michaela were coming to stay with us for a few days.  They arrived in the afternoon and we met them at the harbour.

After finding Michaela and William’s accommodation and helping them to settle in, we walked back to the harbour and went to one of the best fish and chip restaurants I have been to. The Saltwater Cafe looks like a small canteen-style fish and chip shop from the front but there is a cafe in the back that serves the most delicious food! With very full tummies, we walked back to our caravan for a cuppa before going to bed.

  

The following day we went to Blue Pool, a man made rock pool set amongst the cliffs and rocks on the South East coast of Bermagui. There we played in the water, swam about and had a great time.  The two Wills had so much fun in the water together that we decided to spend whole of the next day at the beach. The boys had a fabulous time snorkelling between the rocks, surfing on the waves and playing in the sand.

It was such a good week and so wonderful to be able to share it with friends from home. We were all very sad to say goodbye to Michaela and William, so we decided to follow them to Bega so we could spend another day together. There we visited the Bega cheese factory, where we all really enjoyed the cheese tasting! Upstairs is a cheese museum and the boys had great fun exploring how cheese is made.

We spent the next couple of days catching up on work and school and seeing a bit of the countryside, before setting off again. This time we are going inland!