Questacon Knights

June 2023

The coldest holiday was upon us once more. The previous year we braved the ‘Arctic’ conditions of Orange. This time we would stay East of the mountains and head south to the capital – Canberra.

Cillian was now old enough to visit Questacon

Club Fed

Our first stop was at the historic town of Berrima. Considered the best preserved Georgian village in Australia. Part of the reason was a decision in 1860 to bypass the town when the railway was built. The planner favoured Moss Vale and Bowral instead, thus freezing the village in time.

It is a great spot to stop on a road trip with plenty of cafes and restaurants, a few nice shops and a large playground for the little one.

There is also a small gaol with an interesting story.

Having lay dormant for many years it was re-opened in 1915 by the Australian government to house interned “enemy aliens” – mostly Germans and Austrians, for the duration of World War 1. Hundreds of merchant seaman, civilians and some German soldiers that were stationed in German New Guinea at the outbreak of hostilities were packed into the stone gaol.

Given the cramped conditions, naval background of most of the prisoners and remote nature of the town a semi-liberal regime was established with the inmates allowed to roam at a designated area of the Wingecarribee River each day. With so many engineers and craftsman and freedom during the day they soon built up. a small village along the riverbanks with a number of huts and villas being erected. They also built a foot bridge called the “German Bridge” to expand their activities. For entertainment a theatre, gym and racing boats were also built.

If you like to know more about this, pay a visit to the Berrima District Museum like we did.

After that we walked to the Berrima Village Store and Cafe and had some lunch. It is a great little cafe with a whole heap of vintage items for sale, aisles of knick-knacks and artifacts. Cillian was taken with the Cornhole game set-up outside.

That’s a big sheep!

Our second stop of the day saw us visit the largest sheep in Australia. The Big Merino in Goulburn.

Rambo stands 15.2 meters tall, 18 meters long and weighs a svelte 100 tonnes. It’s current location is not its original. When the bypass was built in 1992 it was left stranded so then in 2007 it was moved 800 meters down the road so it could still be visible to travelers.

Beyond the quick camera snap there is a gift shop and to the left as you enter there is a set of wooden stairs. You can climb into the belly of the sheep and all the way up three stories until you can look out both of his eyes. There are a few exhibits dotted inside telling the 200 year history of wool in Australia.

The best thing of all is it’s Free. The second best thing is that, across the road, is the award winning Trapper’s Bakery. The pies and sausage rolls are great and as it was Winter the roaring fireplace was most welcome.

Camelot

Not quite but close enough.

Our first trip to the Capital was back in 2014, a few weeks after we had settled into our new life in Sydney. Back then it was the Murray’s Coach and a hotel stay. This time we had our own wheels and rented a small apartment for the weekend in Braddon – a trendy district to the north of the CBD.

That first morning we drove down Commonwealth Avenue, over the bridge and headed for Parkes and a car park space near the water. We went early before the museum opened and walked down to the lakeside. The ‘heart’ of Canberra, Lake Burley Griffin is actual artificially made and calm given it is relatively shallow. It was created in 1963 with the damming of the Molonglo River.

From here you can see many of the landmarks of the city, the National Carillon – a modern tower with 55 bronze bells that was gifted by the United Kingdom; the spire on top of Parliament Hill, ANZAC Parade leading all the way up to the National Australian War Memorial and in the distance atop of Black Mountain is the iconic silhouette of the Telstra Tower. We grabbed a morning coffee, tea and babychino and checked out the International Flag Display nearby.

So what is Questacon?

It is the National Science and Technology Centre – jam packed with over 200 hand on exhibits across 8 galleries. When you go in you walk up a walkway and begin your journey on the top floor.

It is fantastic for kids, both big and small, young and old. Our favourite parts were The Shed – an exhibit where you can build stick towers, fly something on the wind table, play with a massive pin ball machine, use animals to do stop animation and play with magnets. We also really enjoyed the Moon Room – a digital planet display wall and a larger than life replica of the moon hanging above.

Hours were spent engaging in all the science and navigating the different rooms and levels.

In the afternoon we explored a few other spots across the Capital – starting with a hidden gem in the leafy suburb of Bruce. Across the road from the University of Canberra is a ‘pink lake’. Thanks to an aquatic micro fern (azolla pinnata) being in full bloom the lake turns pink.

We then headed up the hill side to the National Arboretum.

There are over 40,000 rare and endangered trees spread across 250 hectares, all with a sweeping view across the city to the West. You can see the Australian National Parliament from here as well as Parkes and beyond. As well as a rock garden, tree lined walkways and boulevards there is a huge playground – complete with sandpits, slides, musical steps and some big slides.