Day 300 – Milestone Day. Hard to believe we have been away
from home this long
Wednesday
25 October – Finished “So What If I’m Broken” by Anna
McPartlin. I enjoyed this book but it wasn’t what I was expecting. From the
title I was expecting a quite heavy storyline based on unpleasant topics, but
it was surprisingly light and the characters were well written and intertwined.
Sutton – Canberra
We woke to the falling rain this morning, but when we got up
to go to the loo you could hardly notice that there had been any precipitation.
I read finishing my book and then got up, cleaning up and making breakfast
before heading for a shower.
Once I was back, we packed lunch then I rang a caravan park
in Batemans Bay to head to on Saturday. With our onward journey sorted we were
ready to head back into Canberra, passing over the state border once again.
We followed the GPS instructions, navigating to Australian
Way Memorial and parking underground. As the day was now clear and rain free, I
decided that it would be best to walk ANZAC Parade first in case it was raining
after finishing in the museum.
I took photos of the various statues in the forecourt before
we began our walk down the eastern side of the road. We wandered past the
various monuments to various figures in war; Navy, RAAF, nurses, peace keepers
and then we moved to the Western side and made our way back towards the War
Memorial, this time taking in the monuments to various war efforts. The
intricacy and detail in some is just mind blowing and a very fitting tribute
commemorating those involved.
Once back at the start, we entered the building, being given
a run down of what to see and where to head. We made our way into the space
containing the eternal flame and reflection pool to check out the view and then
it was into the WW1 museum.
We wandered around the various exhibits looking at the
different artifacts, photographs and the large, scale model scenes depicting
various events and places of significance. Unfortunately it was quite dark
inside so it was hard to take photos without using the flash.
We moved into the SAS special exhibit where there was
detailed info about soldiers who are often in the news, Ben Roberts-Smith being
one. The medals for them men were on show next to their uniforms.
We walked through a display of airplanes used in battle
before moving into the WW2 wing. This end gave me chills. Some of the images
were quite graphic and haunting and left me asking why?
We once again entered the reflective centre of the building
and made our way into the room housing the tomb of the unknown soldier. The
inside of the building is quite beautiful with tiny mosaic tiles lining the
walls to create pictures of those involved in conflict. It must have been an
incredible feat of patience and time to complete. There are also beautiful
stained glass windows depicting scenes and soldiers.
We then walked the WW1 honour roll looking for Cooke and
Johns. We found a few entries and wondered if they were relations in some way.
One Johns had the initials JA, the same as my nephew.
The use of poppies placed against the names is very
effective when you take in a wide view. It is a really beautiful space even if
it signifies great loss. I could have stayed much longer and taken in other
things we had missed, but we were due at the arboretum to meet Paul’s friend
Ian, so it was a quick run through before making our way across town.
The arboretum came about after the 2003 fires that
devastated Canberra and burned 300 homes to the ground. What now stands is a vision
for the future where great groves of trees will repopulate the landscape.
When Ian arrived, we found a table within the crowded space
and proceeded to catch up while enjoying lunch. It was great afternoon that
quickly disappeared and before long we were saying goodbye.
We added some extra money to the parking meter so that we
could enjoy a wander around the arboretum. We walked down to the Margaret
Whitlam building where weddings are often held this also provided a great view.
We then wandered through the gallery of gardens before walking up the hill
behind and back towards the car.
We drove the car up Dairy Farmers Hill for a view to the
south west where many new housing estates are popping up after the land was
devastated by fire. There was an interesting sculpture of an eagle at its nest.
The welded pieces were all bits found on dairy farms.
From here we drove out to the Himalayan Cedar Forest planted
on the hill north of the Visitors Centre. Here they also had another piece of
art, this time the words Wide Brown Land, a line from the poem My Country by Dorothea Mackellar. The
sculpture has been modelled on the poet’s own hand written script and stands
proudly over the arboretum, being viewed from many spots. Up close it is hard
to decipher the scrawl and can only be appreciated at a distance.
After taking some photos we were ready to head on returning
to the van just after 330pm. I began the job of going through all of the photos
while Paul read his book. At 4.30pm we elected to run a rematch of putt putt.
Today wasn’t my day, with one hole being my nemesis and I went down by 5 shots.
I guess we will need a decider.
We returned the golf gear to the van and then did a couple
of laps of the park. Paul rang Jaden to chat to him and catch up on life back
home. Once we were back I finished up the photos, there were a few and also
organised some catch-ups with people involved in the We Love Craft Beer group.
I think we are a bit of a novelty.
We had dinner, though we weren’t overly hungry after our
lunch and then it was time to sit back and enjoy the evening before finally
heading to bed.
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