Royal Australian Mint, Australian War Memorial, Mount Ainslie, National Museum of Australia, Commonwealth Park
My first stop in Canberra was the Royal Australian Mint. While waiting for the guided tour to start, I had some time to look around the place by myself. Compared to the mint I visited in Perth this one looked bigger and more modern. There were different displays, ranging from early Spanish coins to the more modern coins being used, and also a section about “mistake coins” which came with an explanation as to why those mistakes happened. At some point there were videos detailing different parts of the coin making process, and in addition to that, there were also windows looking into the factory area, so it was possible to see some of the workers and robots operating there and handling all the different coins. The tour started, and the little group made its way around all the different areas that I’ve seen by myself. But with a guide there was some additional information, and considering the tour was free I didn’t have any complaints about it. After learning a bit more about the history of the coins and looking into how they are made today, it was time to leave.
Next, I wanted to visit the National Museum of Australia. However, as I got confused trying to find the bus station I got there too late. Not wanting to sit around and wait for the next bus to come in at a later time, I got on another bus, got off at the wrong stop, and after a bit of a walk I found myself in the Australian War Memorial. Upon getting my ticket, which was basically a sticker I had to put on my shirt, I was asked if I wanted to attend the ceremony at the end of the day. Since I was already in the area I said yes, got another sticker, and made my way into the building. The first gallery I walked into was about airplanes and pilots. Their stories and involvement in different wars throughout the history of Australia. It didn’t take too long to have a look around and soon I made my way through another gallery, which was all about medals. There were many of them on display, along with pictures and stories of the people who got them, and why. It was a fairly large collection, although I didn’t stop to look at all of them in detail.
Then I came to an intersection. On one side there was a gallery about World War 1, and on the other side about World War 2. After a moment I started with the World War 1 gallery. I wasn’t sure if there was a particular way I was supposed to go through, but I just wandered around looking at the different displays. There were weapons, clothes, and a few other items. On top of that, there were also some displays of various battlefields, and the stories behind them. I wandered around for a while, not entirely sure where I’m going, until eventually I thought I’d seen most of the gallery. The World War 2 gallery was a bit different. It was about a different war, and as such had different weapons, soldiers, and stories. It looked like this gallery was trying to do things in a more chronological order, with different sections relating to different points in the war’s timeline. I found this gallery to be more interesting, however, at that point I was notified by the staff that they are closing the gallery for the day and I can go out to join the ceremony.
As people gathered around the yard where the ceremony was going to take place it started to rain. Although a big part of the place was sheltered, the center was completely exposed. Luckily, within a few minutes the rain stopped and shortly after that the ceremony started. I struggled to understand everything that was said, but the general idea behind it was clear, to honor and remember fallen soldiers. It was formal, respectful, and didn’t take too long.
After getting a bit confused on how to leave the building (and being directed by multiple staff members), I wanted to make my way up the nearby Mount Ainslie to the lookout at the top of it. But as the rain started again, I sat down on a sheltered bench and waited for it to stop. Once again, it took several minutes, and even though the sky was still cloudy, I started the walk anyway. The road itself didn’t feel very special. It was a clear and comfortable path for the most part, going between the trees up the mountain. There were quite a few twists and turns along the way, and in several points there were signs which I didn’t read, but that was about it. A short while before I got to the lookout there was a gap in the trees with a nice view of the city. After a brief look I kept going up, and soon enough I was at the lookout on top of Mount Ainslie. Unobstructed by trees, there was a clear view pretty much all the way around the lookout, and it was nice to see the city from above. But since there wasn’t much to do there beyond that, I quickly made my way back down.
The next stop was the National Australian Museum. The entrance was quite big, and seemed to be a bit of a wasted space. There was an information desk, cafe, and a little shop. There were also displays of an old car and a dinosaur skeleton. Crossing the area, I made my way to the first gallery, which was supposedly divided into different areas, or “chapters”, but I wasn’t quite sure where one part ended and the other began. Despite that, I was able to have a look around quite comfortably and look at the different exhibitions. The gallery was all about the land and the life in it, plants and animals, from different parts of Australia. It felt like a summary of all the museums I visited so far, with additional information about parts of Australia I won’t be visiting, at least in the current adventure. As quite a bit of this gallery felt familiar, I was going at a pace that may have been a bit rushed, not stopping to read many of the signs. At the end there was another gallery, about the aboriginal people, their customs, traditions, and stories. In that gallery, too, there was a sense of familiarity, but the stories were different, and it was worth looking around at it.
I left the second gallery just in time to catch a VR show about Antarctica. After buying the ticket and getting into the teather, there was a brief introduction and then I put the VR headset on. It was quite informative, talking about different aspects of exploration in Antarctica, the people who work there and what they are working on. As interesting as it was, I’m not sure it was worth the price of the ticket, especially as the screen was a bit out of focus the whole time, and according to one staff member all the headsets were like that.
As both the arboretum and the botanical gardens were a bit too far for me to go on foot, and I didn’t want to recharge the annoying bus card, the last place I visited in Canberra was the Commonwealth Park. As far as parks go, it was quite nice, especially after the sun came out. It was easy to walk around, there was plenty of green, and it was located right by the water. However, the pictures on Google showed flowers in many different colors, and I’m not sure if I was in the wrong part of the park, but I didn’t see much of it, short for a few purple flowers, and on that front it was quite disappointing. After taking one more look around, I made my way back to the hostel and thus ended my visit to Canberra.