Canberra Capers
12 May 2021 / Story: Bill Short; Photos: Anda Clayton and Bill Short
Canberra Capers - 6 & 7 May 2021
Some time ago, proposed run to a play in Canberra was posted. Need a quick response though because tickets to the play were selling fast and there was only limited available seating. There was an option for anyone not going to the play to do their own thing whilst the play was on and join in on the other run activities.
Initially, a disappointing six people registered for the run. Anda & Brian from South Coast together with Jan & Bill from Illawarra were to travel to Canberra to join Annemie & Peter from Canberra for dinner and the play, George Orwell’s Animal House which was to be performed at the Canberra Playhouse Theatre.
Only four travellers so why take two cars when we can be social in one vehicle? And that is what we arranged well before the event! Even packed a Backgammon set which didn’t get used.
Thursday 6th, set off from Milton. Hey it was raining! Travelled down the Princes Highway and took a right turn just before Batemans Bay to go over Clyde Mountain and on to Braidwood. Still raining and lots of it! Good choice not to take our MX-5 as we were travelling above the spray coming of the other vehicles.
Morning tea at the Braidwood Bakery. Wait! The rain is breaking up. Could be a bit of sun there. Creeks and rivers are flowing swiftly.
On to the National War Memorial. No run sheet for this trip but didn’t need one because we had two GPS things plus verbal directions from previous memory happening.
Lunch at Poppies and then to the National War Memorial where we spent quite a few hours where we played a game of where is (insert name of anyone on the run) and reflecting on the past. Brian found his Great Uncle’s name on the First World War listing on Wall of Remembrance. Jan had a cousin listed in the Vietnam section but did not know about it at the time. Will look next time she is there.
We travelled via a “scenic” route from the War Memorial to our accommodation at The Avenue Hotel, mainly because Brian did not trust the directions from the Sat Nav and Bill was sceptical or Brian’s directions. We got there eventually, overshot the entrance, and then reversed back onto the footpath to temporarily park out of the traffic whilst our “management” booked us in. Then off the footpath and into the Hotel parking for the night.
A brief rest and off again on foot to Lemongrass Thai Restaurant where we catch up with Annemie & Peter. 6:00 pm booking so we can get to the show on time. A Faulty Towers episode - waiter can’t find our table to give us menus & table water. Eventually food ordered & then need to make enquiries due to time constraints and no food. Waitress does not know what is on the plate and has to repeatedly check. Rush to eat and to the theatre.
Just make it through the doors as the final call bells were ringing at the Playhouse in the Canberra Theatre Centre. A contemporary performance with an original interpretation of Animal Farm is being performed by a cast of five actors. Great show! Coffee & ice cream at Maccas on the way back to the Hotel.
Day Two starts with a relatively sunny morning and a hearty breakfast at Rye Cafe & Bar. The off to the National Art Gallery for the Botticelli to Van Gogh exhibition. Priority entry thanks to the package hotel deal. Bill was more familiar with the Van Gogh painting “Starry Night” than the featured “Sunflowers” thanks to the Dr Who episode “Vincent and the Doctor.” Get to play another game of where is (insert name of anyone on the run). Anda won this game – three of us were inside the exhibition waiting for Anda and she was outside at the gift shop and could not get back in.
Coffee at the outdoor café after the exhibition and then on to the Old Parliament House for a very good, and well worth, guided tour.
Tour finishes and time for lunch. It’s 1:30pm! Let’s lunch at Bungendore. Phone ahead to a café and advised that the kitchen closes at 2pm but they will wait for us. Arrive at 2:03pm and told that the kitchen had closed. Looked like they had packed up well before 2pm from the state of the kitchen.
On to the Braidwood bakery for a lunch/afternoon tea and then an uneventful drive home along the Kings Highway to Batemans Bay and up the Princes Highway to Milton to drop off Anda & Brian. Finally on to Wollongong.
This was a two day run with four people in one vehicle and no MX-5. It felt like a longer run than it actually was, worked extremely well. The event was much more social than it would have been if we were in two separate cars and we would do it again this way if there were only four to six participants.
Thanks Anda and Brian for organising out trip.
Bill Short
