Sydney Trip Day 4

Sydney Exploration Day 1

The girls certainly realised we were camping in a national park last night as one nearly stood on a water dragon and the other literally ran into a possum on the way to the amenities block. We woke to a beautiful morning and decided to use the BBQ behind us to cook up a bacon and egg breakfast and sit at the picnic table enjoying the sun. A lovely way to start the day.

We headed to the train station about a kilometre away to catch the train into the city for our first day of exploration. On arrival, we were confronted by two scary choices to descend into the bowels of the earth to the platform. The first was a series of two escalators that were about 100 metres long each. 

The second option was a glass fronted elevator straight down. Hmmm. Holding the handrail and staring at the floor, I made it down alive. First stop was the ticket office where the customer service was excellent and we ended up purchasing a weekly ticket that we can use anywhere, anytime on anything. It might not turn out cheaper in the end but the convenience is worth it. After the novelty of posting the tickets through the gates and walking through, the kids nearly wet themselves when the train arrives and it's a DOUBLE DECKER!!! 

We chose the downstairs as it was less crowded and then discovered that the seats FLIP!! so they can face forward or backward. The start of our trip was through a very long tunnel but once we were out, the kids were glued to the windows. The harbour bridge crossing was not so exciting as we couldn't actually see the bridge while we were on it but OH MY GOODNESS MUM!!! THERE'S THE OPERA HOUSE!!! I'm pretty sure the entire carriage could tell we were tourists. At one stage I even considered moving myself to the upstairs area. At least a couple of the other passengers seemed to get some amusement from us so the embarrassment was all for a good cause.

The opera house was our focus today so we walked towards Circular Quay. As we approached, we saw the most humungous cruise ship docked at the terminal. The kids stared in awe and nearly forgot to look across at the opera house. 

We walked right up next to it marvelling at its size and the fact it had two waterslides right at the top and then spotted a visitor information centre up the street. A quick detour there saw us armed with maps and brochures, but best of all, right at the exit, was a shop called the Candymaker. So our first hour being tourists in Sydney was mostly spent watching boiled lollies being made! We finally persuaded the kids to move on and we entered the Rocks Discovery Museum. The kids were provided with a sheet of riddles that they had to answer using the information in the displays. It was a great way to encourage them to stop and really look at the information. The museum covered the history of the rocks area from before European settlement through to about the 1950s.

After the museum we wandered through a couple of streets before we came across a little square with a variety of eating places around it and tables and games in the middle. The kids played with the large chess set while we waited for our lunch and again afterwards. 

Much to our surprise, Sarah ran into a friend she had just made the previous week at a science workshop day at Aspley State School. What a small world! As we were leaving, the kids noticed a game of table soccer so we had a couple of games of that as well before continuing on our way. We followed more little laneways, reading the plaques in Greenway Lane, Nurses Walk and Suez Canal. I'm glad we live now and not back then. 

The Opera House was now our focus. Through Circular Quay we walked, pausing at each busker and reading many of the Writers of Reknown and 1788 shoreline marker plaques set in the ground. Before reaching the Opera House, we stopped to admire and take photos of the Sydney Harbour Bridge (with part of big cruise ship). 

The bridge and opera house are sights that I don't think I could ever tire of. Unfortunately, there was a lot of construction happening all around the opera house and the scaffolding somewhat detracted from the aesthetics of the building. We walked all the way around it and then headed inside to see the roof from a different perspective. Such a stunning building.

From the opera house we walked alongside the botanic gardens towards Mrs Macquarie's Chair. The walk was enjoyable with stunning eroded sandstone, 

beautifully laid out gardens and lovely views out over the water. The kids went for a little rock hop at the end of the point before reaching the Chair and discovered their own piece of history in the form of a broken clay bottle. After that, the actual reason for the walk was a bit of a let down for them but it gave me the chance to claim a cache and give them another history lesson. Mumblings were starting to be heard about sore feet so we headed across the gardens towards the city. We walked through the cottage garden, herb garden and begonia garden and eventually found our way out onto the streets. A welcomed downhill walk all the way across town back to the station before we flopped down onto the train seats (upstairs, this time). 

Not having had enough of the city, we decided to drive in after dinner. Navigation was a little exciting, especially as we were trying to avoid tolls, but we didn't actually get lost. We drove through Darling Harbour, back out to Mrs Macquarie's road for a fabulous view of the bridge and opera house by night, 

and then through Kings Cross (at the request of the kids!). Sadly, the Cross did not deliver and all we saw were a number of bouncers outside clubs. Back at the caravan park we all fell, tired, straight into bed. A great first day.

Sydney Trip Day 3

Coopernook State Forest to Sydney

We woke to a beautiful cold but sunny day so took our breakfast outside to enjoy. Peter was crazy enough to be in tshirt and shorts but the rest of us had jumpers on. We decided to be brave and take a different forest road out of the camping area than the one we had come in on hoping it would lead back to the highway and not have us stuck on a 4wd only track. As we discovered, our chosen route was actually a better road than the one we had come in. It took us to the tiny town of Coopernook and we were soon headed south once more. 

We didn't stop again until lunch time but passed many a spot we decided we needed to return to one day to explore. Having not found a supermarket anywhere for fresh lunch supplies, we splashed out on burgers at the servo at Freemans Waterhole, a little way off the highway south of Newcastle. They came with chips and were just too big for me to finish. The kids didn't seem to have any trouble though!

As we neared the northern edge of Sydney, we were greeted with awesome views of both water and rock. 

The cuttings were so tall and sheer. They were quite spectacular in themselves. 

Our arrival in Sydney was timed to avoid peak hour but towing the van through the traffic to the caravan park was still, um, exciting. This was our first view of the city. 

Our caravan park is part of the National Park and is a lovely setting. Our site sits right next to the playground, a BBQ area and the path to the amenities. Eerily similar to our position in Melbourne but with a lot more space behind us and a bit more space between the vans. The park is very treed and there is an access path to the rest of the National Park not far from our site. The train station is about a kilometre away so we plan to head into the city via train tomorrow. 

Sydney Trip Day 2

Grafton to Coopernook State Forest

We started the day with a stop at Apollo Eleven Park in Grafton, only a few blocks from the caravan park. Emily was quickly onto the cache hidden there while Peter and I read the plaque commemorating the moon landing. We were surprised and pleased to see Michael Collins get top billing. Those other two always get the recognition!

The journey through to our next stop, Coffs Harbour, was punctuated with sightings of old/vintage cars, several towing old/vintage and teardrop caravans. When they all get to wherever they are going, it would be quite a thing to see. The Big Banana was our planned stopping point for a stretch and, of course, a photo. The banana seems to have shrunk somewhat since I was a kid!

The whole complex, however, has grown, with toboggan rides, ice skating, lolly factory, laser tag, cafe, gift shop, banana show, water park and a nursery. Only the lolly factory and gift shop called and we got to watch the end of a lolly making demonstration, partake of a sample and purchase some product. The kids found the seconds box which gave them about double the amount of lolly for the same price, bought a bag each, and proceeded to feast on sugar for the rest of the day. 

Our camp for the night was in Coopernook State Forest. A clearing in the forest with a long drop loo, a couple of picnic tables and about 20 other caravans. There's plenty of space though so we spent the afternoon playing with a vortex ball, and watching Sarah practise handstands and cartwheels. Before dinner we went for a wander around the area, finding two caches and a couple of magnificent jacarandas covered in stag horns. I imagine they'd be amazing when in full bloom. 

We won't mention the results of the fridge being left unlocked for the entire trip. Let's just say, lucky it was mostly tinned food in there. 

Tomorrow we hit Sydney. 

Sydney Trip Day 1

Brisbane to Grafton

We didn't have a huge distance to travel today and didn't want to get caught in school holiday traffic so we took our time getting ready and finally left just after 11am. 

We trundled along happily (no complaints from the back seat!) congratulating ourselves on our late departure decision. Until we got to the Gold Coast, that is. It took us more time to get from one end of the Gold Coast to the other than it did to get there in the first place!

We pulled in to a lovely rest area at Sleepy Hollow to have a bite to eat. It had a number of picnic tables, a playground, lovely clean amenities, a pleasing view and a cache. All in all, a perfect spot for lunch. 

Grafton was our next and final stop for the day. The caravan park we are staying at is the same place we stayed last time. The kids exclaimed each time they recognised something from last time. Memories sprung forth as we drove through both the town and the caravan park. The caravan park didn't have a record of our unpowered site booking but they had a single powered site left which they offered to us. Bizarrely they charged us $16 less than the quote we had been given for the unpowered site! We were certainly happy to take that. 

Setting up the van was surprisingly quick.  We fell into the setup routine as if we'd just done it yesterday. After dinner we had our Freddo frog treats (thanks Janet and BMCB fundraising) before playing a maths game (sad, but true) and snuggling into bed. 

Tomorrow we head South with no plans and no accommodation booking. Could turn out to be an adventure!

Day Twenty-Two - Canberra to Gulgong

With the need to get home by Sunday night, we decided to leave as soon as we woke up this morning and have breakfast on the road. We left Cotter Campground around 7.30 and pointed our nose North. We caught one last view of the Telstra Tower and the aesthetically pleasing Parliament House flagpole.

We had no final destination for today with Cowra and Canowindra being our only planned stops. The town of Boorowa turned out to be our first stop as we reached there just as our tummies started rumbling and found a little park with a table in the sun for breakfast. 

Once we reached Cowra, we dropped in to the visitor information centre, then made our way to the Japanese garden. I had explained to the kids the significance of Cowra and read them the story of the Cowra Breakout before we arrived. We hadn't realised the garden had a $40 entry fee so, although we were disappointed to not be able to see the World Peace Bell inside, we decided not to enter. We will return to the Toowoomba Japanese garden next time we're up there instead. We drove from there, past the POW camp site and war cemetery and then continued on our way to Canowindra.

Where Cowra had been a little disappointing, Canowindra exceeded our expectations. We had had this town in our sights ever since our trip to the dinosaur fossil sites in western Queensland a couple of years ago when we had seen a flyer for the Age of Fishes Museum. The Age of Fishes predated the Age of Dinosaurs. The museum provides a very informative audio tour as you walk around the displays.

 About 50 years ago, a bulldozer operator had uncovered a slab of rock absolutely covered in ancient fish fossils whilst building a road in Canowindra. It then sat on the side of the road for years until noticed by an apiarist waiting for a lift who notified the Sydney Museum. Lack of interest and lack of funding meant no further investigation occurred until fairly recently when a new director at the museum took an interest. The museum has slab after slab of fish fossils and believes there are many more still to uncover when funding becomes available again. We would have spent a couple of hours there. It didn't disappoint. 

The museum ladies pointed us just down the street for a park to have our lunch at. The park was the site of the local war memorial and the many wreaths laid at its base gave us an appropriate place to reflect on ANZAC day. 

From Canowindra we pointed the car north and drove, taking back roads wherever they seemed the more direct route. That is, until we hit an extremely corrugated dirt road on our way to Dunedoo. The sign a couple of kilometres down the road stating that it was gravel for another 30km had us reassessing our route. We had the choice of heading for the Newell or New England highway. The distance home using either route was fairly similar. The kids learned that Stanthorpe (land of the apple pie, apple juice and apple cider) lay on the New England route and suddenly , east seemed the more appropriate direction to travel. Retracing our steps, we returned to the nearest majorish road and set off for Gulgong instead. 

The showgrounds at Gulgong became our home for the night and the hot showers they provided were a welcome surprise. The girls were happy to watch a number of horses taking part in a riding camp. We had a terrific storm towards dinner time, with lightning and thunder but it didn't last long. We took a drive around the town after it had finished and decided Gulgong should go on the ever increasing list of places to return to.

Homeward bound. Lets see how far we get tomorrow.

Day Twenty-One - Canberra

Our morning started with a visit to the Stromlo Observatory. The last time I had been there was 1998/9. Since then, the bush fires of 2003 swept through and wreaked havoc on the site. There are a number of burnt out telescope domes and residences remaining there. It was quite amazing to see the devastation. What a loss to the scientific community. 

Back down the hill, we stopped at the Royal Australian Mint, which has also changed somewhat since we were here last, having a total refurbishment in 2005. Our timing was perfect as we arrived 10 minutes before a guided tour was to start. The displays at the mint are very well laid out and very informative and having the guide share his knowledge added to the whole experience. Unfortunately, the minting process was not operating today so although we could look down at the factory floor, there was no action taking place. 

The National Museum of Australia was next but we didn't spend a lot of time there as, although the items were very well presented, there wasn't much there we hadn't already seen. 

We decided to return to the Australian War Memorial after being too late to enter yesterday. It was very busy, most likely from an influx of people coming for ANZAC Day tomorrow. It is a pity we will not be here for that but time is really running short for us to get home. The AWM is much more extensive than I remember with displays about every conflict Australians have participated in. We spent the most time in ANZAC Hall where they had a Japanese Midget Submarine and a number of aeroplanes on display as well as a presentation about the entry of the Japanese into Sydney Harbour. Tim was reluctant to leave this area. 

Towards the end of our time there, Peter found the little section where pictures and information about Cambodia was on display. He was pleased it hadn't been forgotten. After walking along past the honour rolls with all those names, I really can't understand why we still go to war. 

To pick up our spirits we stopped off at the Captain Cook Memorial Water Jet (after a slight navigational error putting us in the driveway of the Archbishop!). We had seen this spurting up into the air from Parliament House yesterday but it had stopped before we could head over to it. It really reaches quite an impressive height. 

To finish the day, Peter and I had a stroll along the bank of the river behind our campsite while the kids had fun rolling ( or possibly attempting to push each other) down the slope. 

We were thinking we might get away after lunch today to get a few miles under our belt but Canberra proved too interesting so we'll head off early in the morning. Three days left!

Day Twenty - Jugiong to Canberra

As we had arrived just on dark yesterday, we spent a little time this morning exploring the park we had camped behind. The girls played on the playground then we wandered over to look at a windmill placed as a memorial, before walking over an arched bridge to an old traction engine.

 Across the road was a little fruit and vegie shop so we picked up an assortment of fruit to have after dinner tonight. 

Our destination today was Canberra and we arrived just before lunchtime. On entering Canberra we spotted the National Dinosaur Museum and made a stop there. The front garden area was filled with dinosaurs so wandered through before going inside. After viewing the displays in the foyer, we decided that we had been spoiled during our previous dinosaur experiences and this one would be a little disappointing in comparison. The decision was made to just look at the displays in the shop area which was quite extensive. 

From there we headed straight to the campground to secure a spot and offload the van to make navigation through city streets easier. We are camped at Cotter Campground on the banks of the Murrumbidgee... again. We can't seem to stay away from this river! It is out of town about 15-20 minutes, a little past the Stromlo Observatory. Once again, we have a beautiful view from our van. Sadly, we can only stay tonight as our time away is quickly running out. 

Parliament House was our main attraction this afternoon. We walked up from Old Parliament House and the kids were most impressed with the view. Emily was excited to see the model she made for her Government project last year come alive in front of her. 

We had, by chance, arrived 15 minutes before the final guided tour of the day, which we joined. It was fortunate, as we were given access to parts of the House of Representatives and the Senate that were not open to the public. Our guide was very informative and the hour long tour went quickly. Unfortunately, we couldn't go in to the Great Hall as they were preparing for the royal visit tomorrow ( we weren't even aware they were heading this way). One door was open so we managed to sneak a peek at the massive tapestry from afar. After the tour, we caught the lift up to the roof to get the full effect of the view through to the Australian War Memorial. A truly beautiful part of the city. 

Sarah had a roll down the grassy slope and we all stood considering the size of the flagpole and flag. According to our guide, the flag is almost the same size as our house!

We left Parliament House just before it closed and found our way to the War Memorial. We knew we were too late in the day to go through but managed to explore the outside and look through the closed gates. The view back to Parliament House was popular for photos. 

The War Memorial forecourt had been set up with hundreds of chairs. We assume it was either for the Royal visit tomorrow or ANZAC day or both. We're hoping to visit a couple more places tomorrow morning before heading North for our home run. Fingers are crossed we don't have too much disruption from William and Kate's visit.