17 October 2012

---

Time to leave Canberra today but before moving on we returned to the Australian War Memorial to see the exhibits relating to the post-1945 conflicts. Again this was fascinating and it was interesting to see how our nation punched above its weight in combat abroad and also the people's distaste for war grow as more recent conflicts became a political timebomb. Rachel and I also took the time to look up the war records of our grandfathers and one was particularly colourful.

We then headed south to Cooma and into the Snowy Mountains region of NSW. The staff at the Visitor's Centre in the town centre were particularly helpful and gave us plenty of reassurance that we could make the trek up to the ski fields with no hassles and that there was still snow about. That had us sold and in no time we were up into Australia's high country.

After stopping in Jindabyne we soon entered Kosciuszko National Park and the sight of snow on the highest peaks was extraordinary as I had originally thought it was too late in the season to see such a thing. There are plenty of camping areas in the National Park and on our second attempt we found a spot for the night next to a river at the base of a mountainside. The air already had a wicked chill to it as the afternoon sun had disappeared behind the mountain range. This is definitely an area you could come to when the weather is good and spend days on end admiring the pristine surroundings.

---