Balloon Festival Canberra

During this week the Canberra Balloon Festival is on and there are hot air balloons taking off from the city every morning.  We did an early rise on Thursday and took our breakfast with us to go and watch it all happen in front of the old Parliament House.  The drive at 6am was quite easy and there was plenty of free parking in the area.  There were balloons set up around the park and at other nearby park areas and in all various stages of preparation.  There is a commentator and a large marquee where the local Lions Club members provide a selection of hot food for hungry spectators.  We enjoyed watching the balloons be inflated and oohed and aahed at some of the designs.  So majestically they rise from the ground and skim the tree tops surrounding the park before heading off across the lake for their journey.  It is quite spectacular and we plan to have another morning before the end of the week.  Next time we hope to be able to park somewhere along the edge of the lake and watch from there.

After having mini pancakes and ice-cream in the park we set off and headed to Queanbeyan for the picnic breakfast we had packed.  A short walk around the street and a drop in to the local shopping centre and then we head off again towards Bungendore.  This is a small village that has some lovely old buildings and is known for their craft residents and the popular markets held each month.  We enjoyed a cuppa in one of the local parks and had some magpies come to talk along with some cockatoos screeching in the trees above.  We notice that the trees are starting to change colour as we travel through the area so once more the autumn colours are showing their glory.

Bucky Beaver from USA sets off

Driving through the rolling hills of the southern part of NSW we cannot help but notice the signs of the recent flooding through this area.  Grasses along the many creeks we cross shows the force of the water that had been previously gushing through.  There is grass and debris high in various fences showing the depth of the water.  Some low lying areas still have water lying in the paddocks and farmers will be waiting a while before these paddocks can be re-planted. 

a Boxing Kangaroo with a fire in his tail!

Lunch was had in Goulburn in the Paragon Café.  A lovely old building with those café booths of yesteryear that we love to sit in.  Great service, good food and a great dessert selection, so Lawrie was a happy camper!  We enjoyed a couple of hours exploring along the main street and admiring the old restored buildings.  The buildings of those early times have such lovely character and design about them.  We also went looking for the old railway barracks where Lawrie used to stay during his time on the railway back in the 1960’s however it seems they have been demolished.

Leaving Goulburn we head north-west out to Crookwell before turning south and heading to Gunning and then back to base completing our round trip of nearly 300km.  Considering we had risen at 5.30am and arrived back around 4pm it had been a long day but thoroughly enjoyable.  The green hills, alpacas, sheep, cattle and horses were delights to see along the way.