First five days of Canberra trip

Day one
What a wonderful day...
We left Buderim on time (believe it or not) with 25 in the bus and three in the support vehicle. The first miracle of the day was when all the bags fit in the trailer and we departed WITHOUT kids strapped to the roof. It started raining and the windowscreen wipers worked overtime as we made our way to Ipswich... me riding shot gun next to Kaa in the bus. The kids sang along to “Don’t worry be happy” and shared their excitement.
First stop was the botanical gardens at Ipswich and once the car caught up, we created a “make your own wraps” line with ham, cheese and salad. It went down well. The kids let off steam by running and screaming at the top of their lungs, then braved the log-drop toilets before loading up again.
Roald Dahl came to the rescue for the afternoon when we played The BFG audio book and kept them quiet. Some slept (including all adults) and the rain kept coming.
We called ahead to Stanthorpe den and the organiser dropped a bomb shell... “You don’t need the over, do you,” she said. “Because we just checked them out and they don’t work.”
Cold lasagne nightmares flashed before my eyes. Julie (from the visiting den) said she would think of something so we kept our fingers crossed.
We were planning to stop at the site of Thunderbolt’s hideout but both the Navman and Tom Tom led us astray and we passed on by. We arrived at about 4.30pm and handed over the lasagne trays for billeting at various parent’s ovens.
The den at Stanthorpe is at the end of a dirt road set in natural bush with huge welcoming grassy areas out front. It is a huge shed with exposed metal rafters and wide open spaces for running. Of course the kids did this, while Paul and I prepared salad...
By 7pm the lasagne had still not showed so the kids settled for a movie. Chil was convinced our lasagne was now on the menu at the local RSL, but it did eventually show up...

Day two
It rained hard all night on the tin roof which was surprisingly comforting and drowned out any sleeping noises as we lie top to tail around the den. Come dawn and it started to ease. I woke at about 5.30 and listened for the kids, then Amber came over and snuggled for a while. At 6am we were up and washed, and in the kitchen getting breakfast happening.
One by one, the kids shook themselves out of their sleeping bags and headed for the toilets. When the room was packed we settled down to cereal and toast, hot milo and juice. Unbelievably, by 8.15 we were loaded up and on the road, locking the gate behind us.
First planned stop was Bald Rock NP, but with slippery conditions and a dirt road ahead, the plan changed and we headed straight for Glen Ines for morning tea. Thanks to the talented parents we left behind, we enjoyed a wide range of slices.
The support vehicle (which I was driving today) went ahead to top up supplies for lunch and grab a few other necessities like ‘bone’ substitutes and chocolate bribes (prizes!). We also found a PA mic for Kaa so he could terrorize the kids on the bus as the tucked into their special workbooks.
By lunch were at the Golden Guitar which, I hate to say, was a little disappointing for me. It’s not very big and the gift shop next door didn’t include an info centre.... the kids loved the first chance to spend some of their pocket money, so that was good, and we made sure we took red shirt pictures en mass by the landmark.
Our evening stop was Armidale. Even with two GPS devices, we managed to get lost and follow a wonderful, unplanned tour of town! Eventually, on about the third time round, we realised the scout den was right opposite the girl guides hut we had starred at a few times...
The wonderful scouts of Armidale set to making us dinner while some of us went grocery shopping and our own team had showers and dressed in uniforms. We felt so welcome by this wonderful pack who cooked the most delicious spaghetti and sausages... and even topped it off with ice cream! By 8.30, when the held parade, our youngsters were tired and ready to unroll their swags. As I type now, they have five minutes before lights out and the last one in bed will have to carry the boobie prize all day tomorrow: the dreaded toilet brush!
Tomorrow on to Parkes and The Dish! Yippeee!

Day three
Roald Dahl has been a lifesaver on the bus... until today when the kids begged for the last chapter of Matilda and we realised we hadn’t bought it... Cest la vie, Butterfly had bought another book about a worm and it was just as successful. Along our route we passed the planetary models which are to scale, with the sun being the Observatory at Siding Springs.
The biggest challenge today was keeping the bus a car within 10k of each other and my GPS has been renamed Doris as she gets blamed for everything. Baggy was the first recipient of the toilet brush and clipped it onto his belt until the next person left something behind.
The planets had led us to Siding Springs where we climbed the hill and peered at the huge telescope then spent a while inside the visitor museum learning about the stars which was fascinating! From there we hot-footed it down to Parkes running an hour behind schedule. Unfortunately this meant the centre was closed by the time we got there, but I don’t think it really mattered to the kids. We played in the whisper dishes and took pictures of ourselves with the dish and even discussed what roll it had played in the moon landing.
Our night stop was only a short distance away at Parkes (named after the father of Federation himself). It was the same caravan park I had visited a year ago, on Boxing Day, and bought back memories. Here we had booked a few cabins and these were allocated to groups. The moon was nearly full, and it was this we credited with the following crazy behaviour by all... one cabin (full of boys) stank to high heaven... some of the boys planned midnight meetings with girls, a few tears were shed and countless other adventures ensued... all of which were stomped out quickly and it wasn’t long before lights out. What a day!

Day 4
After our regular breakfast we were on the road and heading towards morning tea at Cowra where we went to the visitors centre and watched the fascinating hologram story about Japanese prisoner escape at the end of the second world war. From there we stopped at the Peace Bell which was awarded to the town for the peaceful way they have embraced and educated about this tragedy.
Things must be getting desperate on the bus... we even broke out a karaoke ABBA tape and sang at the tops of our voices!
Just after lunch, we drove into the ACT and headed straight for Questacon – the capital’s science museum. The rest of the afternoon just flew by as we learned ways to make music, giggled at optical allusions and even some of us hurled ourselves down the giant drop. Heads spinning, we navigated the gift shop and headed for the German Scout den where we were sleeping. Spag bol later, our beds were lined up like a dorm room in Oliver with Kaa walking down the aisle checking for giggles. This den doubles as a child care centre and the furniture is all VERY small! It didn’t take long to fall asleep..

Day 5
This was the day we had been waiting for... Parliment! We arrived on the front steps at 9am and made contact with our guide for the day Nathan who was our member’s assistant until recently. What an amazing tour we were given, and most of if behind the scenes in areas the public are generally not permitted. We saw Julia’s offices, The House of Reps, Senate, the space in between where the bubbling water drowns secret conversations, and even held the whip (which is a symbol of Nathan’s office. It is his job to make sure all the members get to voting on time. Clocks throughout the building are synchronised and they are given four minutes to get to the chamber when needed for a vote. How exciting Parliment was. I certainly didn’t feel let down at all, and neither did three of our team who were awarded their Grey Wolf on the steps of this amazing building. What a memorable experience for them all.
Next stop was the Australia War memorial with rooms dedicated to each of the wars in which Australia has participated. We lunched on the lawns out front, then some of us went in while others had another sort of adventure: grocery shopping in Belconnen. If I never see Belconnen again, I will be happy. Road works ruled, and the shopping centre parking was the worst I have ever seen...
Miraculously, we finished and returned just in time to meet the bus at The Mint. I could have spent far longer here. What a fascinating history of coinage in Australia. Unfortunately, we didn’t realise this fantastic attraction closed at 4pm... so time was short, but I think we all enjoyed it anyway.

On the drive back to the scout den we drove by the Embassies. I hadn’t realised they were all next to each other, and it was marvellous to see the different architecture, levels of opulence and flags flying high. Definitely worth a detour for anyone visiting this area with kids. Back at base, we had one hour to clean up and change before our celebration dinner. Not only were we celebrating the Grey Wolves, but it was Butterfly’s birthday too. We had booked dinner at Zeffarelli’s restaurant and needed to pick up a cake for the event too...
Yet another adventure ensued with the cake... when we arrived to pick it up they couldn’t find the cake. Then, once the cake was located, we hunted for boxes... then the price... eventually Nicola turned into a cyclone (her new cub name) and eventually got it for free!
We are now back in the den. The kids are asleep and it’s time to catch up with the internet... we haven’t had connection for a few days and there has been lots to say! Good night...