Well it's been a really busy week again. After leaving Dubbo we headed for Cowra, where we visited the Japanese Gardens which were very lovely of course, and went to the site of the actual 'Cowra breakout' by the 1000ish Japanese P.O.W.s, which is marked just by a plaque and a replica watchtower. For those who don't remember their history from school, the breakout was an attempt by the POWs to die with honour attempting to escape, rather than suffer the disgrace of being a POW – so it was basically a suicide mission as they didn't seriously expect to just disappear into the local countryside of course. The Japanese soldier who was one of the masterminds of the breakout was shot during the breakout, so he smoked a cigarette while he lay on the ground, then cut his own throat.
On the way to Cowra we stopped at Parkes to see the famous 'dish'. Very BIG. I am a science ignoramus so that is all I can say. BIG. DISH. Worth a stop though, especially if you can appreciate the science of it all.
We then had a couple of nice days in Wagga Wagga to catch up with friends who recently moved there from Noosa. So I guess that makes it the Noosa of the Murumbidgee! Nice big country town and we caught up on the dreaded schoolwork and had a nice cycle along the Murumbidgee. Off to Canberra then!
I'm really NOT SURE about Canberra. It's either a very lovely city OR its strangely like driving around an extremely large lawn cemetary – ie. lots of grass and trees and monuments and a bit lacking in people. To be fair we arrived on a Sunday, and since then I have seen actual living human beings.
Today we went to the War Memorial, which is fantastic, though a bit overwhelming for some I think. Isabella and I hurried through and Craig is going back for the full tour. I was very pleased to be able to find my grandfather's name on the Roll of Honour. Hard not to think about how different life might had been for my dad, had he not lost his dad at the age of 3 (he died in Borneo). For a change of pace I then went SHOPPING and Craig took Isabella to the Australian Institute of Sport, which they thought was great. Tomorrow it's a cycle around Lake Burley Griffin and then Question Time at Parliament House. We get to see the K. Rudd in action hopefully (is he IN the country????).
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7 comments:
I want more van shots.
LOL til you choko!!!!
Thank you Mrs Choko! Have you visited the Big Choko at Coffs Harbour lately? You really MUST go!
Alas I was there when you only got to see the big banana. Tell me, have you been carrying a choko in your handbag all this time?
Howdy there ye happy wanderers. Great to read about all your travels from OUR computers!
What happened to Drbendy and edee ???? Were they taken by Major Tom?
I had Canberra as home for about 30 years, minus time spent o/s. Yes, it's a weird place but I hoped you enjoyed the cycle around the lake. I was a commuter cyclist in Canberra for about 5 years and the lake was on my route, summer and winter.
It used to be a good place to live but the death of the subsurban mini-shopping centres (usually about 10-12 shops) has killed a lot of community spirit and robbed people of a place to catch up locally.
Glad to see a picture from the highest part of the tower - the only place to be.
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