After enjoying the quiet days and reasonably nice, moderate south coast weather in Nelligen for a couple of days it was time to make our way to the ACT, Canberra in particular.Packing up and heading off I whispered a little prayer to the Nissan gods to be kind to our little silver rocket, as in our path lay the Clyde Mountains.Now we had been made aware of this very steep and winding range by none other than Sunrise sports reporter Mark Beretta.Being avid Sunrise viewers we were watching as Beretts pedalled his way south out of Sydney (heading to Melbourne!) on the "Tour de Cure" following much the same path we were to be taking with our van.Having seen footage and heard him speak of how steep the Clyde's were we knew the wagon was in for a test. One bloke even reckoned he had trouble getting his car over them! WTF!! Now that may sound a bit over the top, but let me tell you, there are corners on that climb that make the road up to Eungella look like Conrod straight......before they put the kink in it!At one stage I thought I was overtaking someone but it was the taillights of our own van!!Steep that b******!! Still old silver got us up and over with tyres screeching and me wondering if I would have to grab bottom box!The road is in good condition though and provides plenty of spots for faster traffic to go round as there are plenty of trucks using this main drag between Canberra and the south coast.The rest of the drive in was a breeze and we could really feel the fresh chill in the air as we pulled into the Canberra Exhibition grounds, which was to be our base for the next few days.

Our first stop in the nation's capital was the Australian War Memorial. This is truly a credit to the people involved in its construction and operation. There are tours running all day covering every wartime conflict and peacekeeping effort that our Australian armed forces have been involved in since day dot!Now for me to cover it all in words would really not do the place any justice but there were a few displays that stood out for us both and the kids.Yes the kids actually had a pretty good time there we reckon.They both really enjoyed the interactive display area that includes the real life Iroquois helicopter that they were able to jump in and out of and get behind the controls and play pilot with.It also had a submarine section that showed how cramped it is and had a real periscope and even uniforms for them to dress up with.Other displays were a trench warfare area and even an area that showed the work done by our peacekeeping taskforces in other countries.This area was great and we came upon it at just the right time to get them both interested again as they were nearly out of puff.

The Hall of Valour is very interesting, with detailed stories of each Australian Victoria cross recipient on display.Touring through on our own we realised you could easily spend more than one day taking it all in.We were able to take in a couple of the live shows that are put on and the air raid show with lights flashing and bombs blasting, was an eye opener for the whole crowd I think.After arriving right on opening time and then heading to the car park about 5hrs later we were amazed at how many people were still streaming through the doors. The car park was chockers!The truly amazing thing about the whole experience was that it had cost us nothing in the way of an actual admission fee.We left a reasonable donation at the front that calls for merely a "gold coin donation".By now we have been to a fair few attractions and have paid money to see some things that left us wondering?Now here though at the War Memorial was an experience I would have gladly paid good money to see.Hopefully the fact that it is free to enter sways everyone at some time or another to go experience this amazing tribute to the men and women of our armed forces, both past and present."Lest we forget"

While in Canberra we also went to the Questacon science centre.This place was a hoot!Big and little kids can all enjoy the activities in this place and maybe even learn a thing or two?!It is inside a huge building and covers three floors worth of displays.Chels and Charli had a ball and we had to actually sit them down for a smoko so we could have a rest!After this we spent the arvo just walking around Lake Burly Griffith and doing a bit of people watching.

Our luck was holding with the rain but boy were we getting a taste of the cold weather.With outside temps dropping to around the 4,5,6 degree C mark the caravan heater was working overtime as soon as the sun went down.

Kylz managed to drag us to two markets while in Canberra and they were both very different to each other.The Farmers market was an easy one as it is held in the same showgrounds we were camped in.As we wandered through the market we could not help but be blown away by the amount of quality produce on display.It must be the altitude cause everything looked so good.About the only thing more amazing was the amount of bloody people who were there to buy it!The place was packed to the eyeballs!!Everything from meat to jams, breads and cheeses, soaps and flowers, fruit and vege all combined for a sensory overload of massive proportions!

Now on our way to check out Parliament house we called into the Old Bus Depot markets.A major tourist attraction this was also packed to the hilt with tourists and locals alike.More an arts and crafts style, traditional market with a large display of cooked food also.Many local buskers were also pedalling their talents amongst the semi captive audience.With the only damage to the caravans GCM being some finger-puppets for the kids, I think we got out of there pretty lightly all things considered!

Parliament house was summed up very succinctly by Kylz as a place with some "very nice grass and a magnificent staircase"?!Now not being a very political person (but she does like her grass?!) I was very surprised Kylz even noticed the staircase.The staircase is not the only highlight of a truly over the top, impressive and sometimes tacky display to the world of our Ozzie architecture.Like it or not it is a sight to see.We were unlucky (or not) in that the parliament was not sitting on this day and we were unable to watch "feeding time at the zoo" We did though take some nice snaps and enjoyed a family picnic in the park out the front.

While on our odyssey we have both been getting stuck into the happy snaps using our new digital SLR camera bought specially for this year.Now being both on our "L" plates as far as photography is concerned we thought a trip to the National Portrait gallery would provide us with some inspiration of the artistic kind.Not being the sort of thing we would normally go and see it was made easier with the very Australian nature of all the art and photos on display.While maybe not inspiring us to throw it all away and take up the camera or brush fulltime it was quite an easy gallery to walk around and enjoy the little bits and pieces that appealed to each of us.The kids were more interested in typing on the gallery computers supplied to help enthusiasts search for their favourite artist or display.

Now apart from collecting the usual shopping and supplies from town we found ourselves stocking up on warm clothes as our caravan was taking a turn due south and bound for the Snowy Mountain town of Jindabyne.Ahh "there was movement at the station..................."