Australia day 18

14 July

Canberra was very cold this morning and overnight the little space heater in our caravan managed to keep us warm (except for our noses) but its thermostat almost never shut it off. Walking to the "amenities," as they call the restrooms, showers and laundry complex, in the crisp early morning air gave a sense of how cold it actually was overnight. It never ceased to amaze Razelle and me that wherever we camped out, some people always took showers no matter how cold it was. They returned to their recreational vehicles with wet hair wearing only bathrobes and flip-flop slippers, while my fingers went numb with cold as I worked outside the caravan to get the morning routine started. We shower only in the afternoon if and when we reach a caravan park that early; and then we leave the highway early, with that (and doing laundry), specifically in mind.

We went to the botanical gardens in the morning and got there just after a guided tour had begun. I asked at the visitors' centre if I'd arrived too late. They called the guide on her walkie-talkie and she gave her location. I found them quite near still and joined the tour. The other participants were a family group of two parents and their two small girls and a woman about Maayan's age. I was the only non-Australian. I said I was from Israel and they thought that was interesting. The guide was aware that we have eucalyptus trees in Israel. Her name is Judith and she is a retiree who volunteers to guide such groups. She carried a cloth tote bag containing samples of the plants we encountered so we could examine them without taking parts off the plants ourselves and harming them. I saw in Judith someone who knows the same tricks of the trade I employed when I did similar work.

The botanical gardens were very carefully laid out to enable representative plants from different regions of Australia to grow here in Canberra. Being so new to Australia, I found my head swimming from so many new facts to keep straight. By the time the tour was over I had only sorted out some of them. I know that with further study on my own I can gain a clearer understanding of what I saw and heard. At least I will recognize the names of these plants the next time I see them in text.

The family group left us for a picnic when we reached a large lawn planted with a wide variety of eucalyptuses. The young woman, the guide and I were all who remained together to the end of the tour. This afforded me more individualized attention, to show what I knew (without showing off) and to ask the guide, within the context of what I'd learned so far, for the kind of information that would bridge some of the gaps in my knowledge of her country's native plants. We finished the tour appreciating each other's mutual interests in botany.

While I was with this group, Razelle toured the gardens at her own pace and covered the entire 1.5 kilometer loop trail on her own (she only got lost at the end, some 20 meters from the gift shop because the sign was obscured from view). While on this path, Razelle saw a honeyeater bird hovering very close to her at some tiny white flowers, feeding on their nectar. It amazed Razelle that this bird would hover so closely. She watched how it did this. She made a point to tell me about it afterwards, when we met up at the gift shop.

In the gift shop I found seed packets of wild native Australian plants that I'd like to grow back in Israel. I was dissuaded from buying them, however, by notices warning that some countries will not allow them to be brought in.

Canberra puts out a glossy guide for tourists that shows all its attractions. These are must-see for Australia's citizens (national archives; the mint; museums of history, culture, persons of importance; edifices of government and judiciary, etc.). I'm sure we'd have gained something from them too, but our time here is limited and we passed on these. We tried to go to the national zoo, but they wouldn't let Razelle just sit in their gift shop without paying full price, while I went around looking for the animals I'd encountered so far during this trip. We intend to go to the zoo in Sydney anyway, so we drove away from Canberra's zoo without going in.

Instead we drove to the northern outskirts of town to a bird enclosure to interact with the colorful Australian birds they let you feed by hand. This was a great thrill for Razelle. Parrots flew right up to her and landed on her arm and on her head to take bites out of apple slices she held out for them. Little children and their parents were here also. Their reaction to birds taking apples and meal worms from bowls they held out was absolutely precious. It was one of the highlights of our day.

Canberra is such a clean and green city (green in every sense). Every thoroughfare has a bicycle lane. Buses go everywhere. There are lots of roundabouts and huge traffic circles to keep traffic flowing as much as possible. Our GPS was essential for negotiating these circuits and the rays that led off them to the various subdivisions of the city.

The last attraction we visited before the close of the day was the Australian Soldier's Memorial. Admission is one gold coin (you drop into a box whatever amount you want, and if you go in without paying anything then it's on your conscience). Razelle stayed in the caravan and admired the landscaping. I went inside and headed straight for the exhibit relating to Beer Sheva and the Palestine Campaign and of WWI.

I took what pictures I could. The memorial was only open long enough for me to see this gallery so I rushed through it a little too quickly to do it justice. The ushers soon swept through the place and politely herded everyone out ahead of them. 

We all congregated in the memorial alcove with its reflecting pool and memorial flame floating on its still waters. Out of a pair of large green copper doors at the top of the steps at the end of the alcove a kilted bagpiper appeared. He played the most haunting sounds of tribute to the fallen sons and daughters of Australia; then he turned in place and disappeared behind those great doors as the last echoes of his pipes faded from our ears. It was a very moving experience.

As darkness settled over Canberra, Razelle directed me to a part of town where many interesting restaurants are concentrated. We parked on a residential street and walked past several of these until we found an Italian restaurant that had vegetarian dishes that appealed to us. Razelle ordered a mushroom pilaf and I had a noodle dish with black-truffle sauce. My first taste of truffles. There were regular champignon mushrooms in it also, so I'm not sure if I actually tasted the grated bits of truffles or not.

We returned to our caravan, sated from a good meal, but I was shivering from the cold night air by the time we reached our vehicle and had only one thought: heat. Later, back at our caravan park, we started our end-of-day routine when I suddenly realized with horror that I'd left my backpack with my laptop in it at the restaurant. I called the phone number on the receipt. They had it and were keeping it safe for me. I typed their address in the GPS and we went straight back to get it. It took a long time to get over this incident. How could I have been so forgetful? So much of the trip going right is tied up in that backpack. So much could go wrong without that backpack. I dread thinking about it.

That's the last time I eat truffles!

One good thing came out of this incident, however. I've had so much trouble finding third gear on that caravan. All the stop-and-go driving in this city had me so frustrated I was swearing at the gears. I've never driven a manual with six gears. I was used to five gears arranged as an "H" with reverse to the side and neutral in the middle of the crossbar of the H. However, six gears are arranges like a "W up and M down," with neutral in the center. Third is simply a gentle push straight up from neutral, but I was always aiming to the right of center and not finding third. Going back for my backpack, I drove so deliberately that I suddenly figured this out.

Driving on the opposite side of the road in built-up Sydney should be a lot easier, now that I've "learned the knack of third." I'm so pleased with myself and relieved. I call out "third gear" and grin widely every time I shift into it.

OK Sydney! I'm ready to take you on, now.