East Coast Australia July 2018

An early start today and a beautiful sunrise greeted us from our hotel window. After a smashing breakfast in the hotel, we set out in the (very) brisk morning air for a 5km walk to Parliament. There was frost everywhere and the air was so cold, especially in the shade, and on the hills in the distance the cloud was still hiding the peaks. But we powered (walked) through and made it for the 9.30am tour of Parliament seeing both chambers and the Great Hall, but sadly the roof and much of the rest of Parliament was being renovated.

We planned to head to the Mint from there but it became apparent it was slightly too far to walk, so instead we wandered past the Old Parliament and along the water's edge of Lake Burley Griffin (via a brief stop at the National Gallery which was in lockdown and the National Portrait Gallery which required us to check all our kit so we gave it a miss). Back over the bridge we passed the huge Captain Cook Memorial Jet. Turning up Lonsdale Street back to the hotel, we grabbed the car and headed to the Mint. It features a fascinating museum display and visitors gallery over the rooms where coins get made but sadly we didn't see the process in action. We did see a $30,000 good coin though!

We headed for a brief stop at the Australian War Memorial next, thinking we'd see the museum, drop the car back at the hotel and walk back for the Last Post - so wrong. The Museum was phenomenal - we got there a little after 2pm and left a little after 5pm and that absolutely was not enough time. The Museum itself was arguably more impressive than the Imperial War Museum. Whilst it was Aussie focussed, this meant it showed a far greater range of the theatres of war in WWI and WW2. It also had galleries looking at the Holocaust, Special Forces, VC winners and a special aircraft exhibition focussing on the night bombing role of the Lancaster, and probably yet more that we missed. Just superb.

Around the grounds of this huge museum are numerous sculptures and militaria including guns, vehicles and the bridge from the HMAS Brisbane plus memorials to almost every conflict the Australians have been involve in. At the centre of this Charles Beam designed memorial (the Aussie journalist/historian who went out with them to Gallipoli as a reporter and stayed with them until the end of the war) is a hollow reflection pool and remembrance area including the roll of honour and the hall of remembrance which included beautiful stained glass windows and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We stood at the far and and watched the daily Last Post ceremony which today commemorated the Australian involvement at Pozieres which began 102 years ago on 23rd July 1916. After a each of the Australian 1st, 2nd and 4th battalions had been rotated through twice, it had cost the Australians around 23,000 men, albeit successful in their mission. The Australian Air Force were hosting the South Korean Air Force at the ceremony, both of whom laid a wreath too.

After dropping the car back at the hotel, we took advantage of the end of happy hour at Grease Monkeys (who apparently well burgers "you'll go ape shit for", although we didn't check this out). Justbdoen the road at Hopscotch, a *huge* $10 chicken schnitzel, salad and chips was dinner along with some trivia. However after a day of pounding the Canberran pavements, our legs and feet were calling for bed!Read more