For the end of the school holidays we decide to take an overnight drive down to Canberra.
There are strong and gusty windows the entire way from Sydney to Canberra. It makes driving difficult, always holding the steering wheel against the winds, ready for an especially strong gust. My right shoulder is already sore from some injury, now my left is tired too.
The temperature drops, down to 4 degrees C near a still full Lake George, before climbing a degree as we approach Canberra. Showers of rain comes and go. A rainbow’s end can be seen to the east.
We arrive around two in the afternoon to the Sebel, then drive across to the nearby Canberra Centre to find lunch in the basement food court. Many outlets are already closing for the day, I just grab a couple of sushi rolls.
We have a booking for a 4 pm entrance to Questacon, the National Science Centre, across the other side of the lake. It’s Canberra, so we make it with plenty of time to spare.
The centre is open late for the school holidays and we take advantage of the quieter time to explore the hands-on activities. There’s a special “Brickman” Lego exhibition of the planets, including a huge Perseverance Mars Rover, visual perception, famous women of science and bridges.
The regular exhibits are also pretty interesting and fun. I enjoy the cloud chamber, which seems more active than the one at the ANSTO nuclear reactor, but the lightning generating Tesla coil is a bit of a disappointment compared with the Singapore show.
The Earthquake house was also been reopened a few days ago. The 5.8 magnitude earthquake feels underwhelming compared with the Life Safety Learning Centre in Ikebukuro, Tokyo where we experienced a simulation of a magnitude 7 quake, holding on while we crouched under a table.
There is an interesting exhibition on generative AI, projected beneath a huge inflated model of the Moon overhead.
We reemerge into the freezing dark, the real Moon peeking out from behind black clouds.
There is no parking at the hotel, so we drive back to the nearby Canberra Centre and park there, go in search of dinner.
While waiting for a table at Papparich, we discover my favourite Grapefruit Gokuri in a vending machine amidst the noisy neon Asian street food of Tiger Lane.
Papparich is an eternal disappointment compared with the best Malaysian eateries in Sydney (or Malaysia) but it’s okay. I’m still hungry afterwards.
Back at the hotel I make myself a hot chocolate from a small carton of milk and a chocolate bar that we bought at a supermarket on the way back, and the sachet in the room.
The Sebel is a pretty nice hotel compared to some in Canberra. It’s nice to be in a warm room. I’m tired. Karate this morning, driving, a long day.
Titanic is on the television. Nobody wants to watch it, or any of the other stations. So we all go back to our individual phones (I read one short story from a library book). It’s sad really. But, as I say, we are exhausted and nobody has the energy for much else.