Canberra–Instagram and the Colorado Fuel Economy figures

 

Hi All, As i did at the end of the Perth Trip i thought i would add a copy of all the instagram photos i took whilst on this trip. In addition to that, now that i have my own tow vehicle i thought i would document its fuel economy on trips.

Instagram

 

Fuel Economy Figures

These figures were collected using GasCuby for the Iphone. I have been using this for all of the cars i have had since getting the iphone and will be able to continue posting this data on future trips.

At the moment i am attributing the high figures on the first day of the trip to incorrect Tyre air pressure and driving style. On the trip home i adjusted the air pressures away from dealer recommendation and more in line with the car placard. I also modified my driving style. Future trips will show is this helps

L/100km	Date	Vehicle	Odometer	Filled Up	Cost/Liter	Liters	Total Cost	Octane
9.3	25/12/2011	Colorado	3,176.00	Full	$1.44	32.77	$47.16	Diesel
13.7	30/12/2011	Colorado	3,317.00	Full	$1.44	13.07	$18.81	Diesel
12.6	1/01/2012	Colorado	3,579.00	Full	$1.52	35.78	$54.35	Diesel
12.4	2/01/2012	Colorado	3,760.00	Full	$1.53	22.89	$35.00	Diesel
12.2	5/01/2012	Colorado	4,166.00	Full	$1.46	50.39	$73.52	Diesel
11	7/01/2012	Colorado	4,307.00	Full	$1.56	17.26	$26.91	Diesel
12.4	7/01/2012	Colorado	4,692.00	Full	$1.51	42.51	$64.15	Diesel
	8/01/2012	Colorado	4,958.00	Full	$1.42	32.95	$46.75	Diesel

Canberra - Old Parliament House

 

Last night as the sun was setting we decided to go for a drive up to the Telstra (Telecom) Tower on Black Mountain, we also took a drive up to Mount Ainsle. In both cases however the view was far from perfect as a light cloud had moved in making the view misty.

 

 

 

 

Today was the last day in Canberra for us on this holiday. The kids went with their grandparents whilst Sara and I went to the Old Parliament House.

 

Before we went there we dropped by the National Library as I thought I might be able to locate a medical journal containing an article on me from when I was born. Unfortunately I was not armed with enough information and the search was futile. I will have to try again some day.

Arriving at the front steps of Parliament house we found they had a parking spot for us right at the front :)

As I had never been here it was very interesting. To see the warren of rooms and to find that each room had, sometimes more that three people working in each, it's no wonder they needed to build the new one. Many of the rooms and chambers are setup exactly as they were when the staff and politicians moved house.  They had many duplicate art works on display and many historical artefacts. Of course they also had the Senate and Representative chambers.

In the afternoon we returned to camp to unwind and begin packing for the trip home tomorrow. It was a quick trip but the kids loved Canberra and i think they learned a lot.

 

Canberra - Canberra Motor Village

I though I should post some photos of the caravan park we are staying at. As you can see it is quite dense in the caravan section and the site we have is far from level. Many of the other sites are no better. In the background of one of the photos you can see Sara's mum and dads van as well.

Canberra - The Mint and The Parliament House

Today was another big day, just like the rest. We only have a few days here so we need to fit in as much as possible.

First up on the list was a visit to the Mint. We visited the Perth Mint when we were ore there so thought a visit to the Canberra Mint would be good too. Like many of Canberra's attractions this is free and guided tours are provided. We therefore promptly attached ourselves to a tour. We we're taken through the history of currency in Australia right through to current proof coins and medals. On display was a great range of various coins as well as many miss-stamped coins. The was also an excellent viewing area showing many of the work areas of the mint, the machines, robots and people. We enjoyed the tour so much we went around for a second go :)

Next on the list was a visit to the Parliament House. Again we were fortunate to attach ourselves to a free guided tour, which was an unscheduled tour due to the number of visitors present. The tour to us through the great hall and both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Caitlyn particularly liked this tour and stayed close to the guide through out. 

After the main attractions for the day we also paid a visit to the Canberra glassworks, which was not fully working when we arrived. It seems the weekends is the best time to visit. We also caught up with Paul and Robert and went out to ADFA where Robert is studying to have a tour of the grounds.

Our last stop for the day was a visit to the Mount Ainslie Lookout before heading back to camp for dinner.

Canberra - The Australian War Memorial

We spent the whole day at the Australian War Memorial today. It actually managed to bring back memories of when I was taken there as a child with many of the same diarama's still there as I remembered them. The Memorial has definatly changed and kept up with the times however. 

We managed to spend around 6 hours there today, first on a great guided tour of all the main exhibits and areas, and then by ourselves, mostly with Caitlyn leading the way. The "G for George" exhibit, and the air war movie were both great, with the movie actually being quite moving as it brought home the sacrifice the pilots were making every time they went up.

Caitlyn managed to find the dress up exhibit and was able to participate with many of the other children. Another of the new and powerful exhibits was the Vietnam war exhibit with a full Iroquois helicopter on display, and a movie describing one of the battles fought their.

All in all it was a great day and it's a place you could easily spend longer at if you had the time.

In the evening the kids returned to the pool as Canberra is still very hot, then a great meal was had at a local football club.

Eldorado and Canberra

I can't believe it's 2012. Last year just seemed to of went so fast.

Well, January 1st found us crawling out of bed, after a long night of seeing in the new year and watching all the fireworks our various neighbors felt the need to let off.  With a single stop for fuel and food we arrived at the Gemstone caravan park in Eldorado. The park was deserted, hitch I found strange for the Christmas period, but the owner informed me that the park had only just emptied that morning. For us this meant the choice of sites and drive through to boot. 

I have been to this park twice now and it really is a great little, quiet park, just off the highway near Wangaratta. Behind the park is a creek that contains both gemstones, including Smokey and Citrine Quartz, and Gold. As we were only passing through we used the creek as a swimming hole this time and only did some specking for any gems lying on the surface. LasT time, when we came up with the Essendon Lapidary club, we brought the sieves and gold pans allowing us to find both gems and some small specks of gold.

The kids loved playing in the creek and we found ourselves a shady spot to sit in the water and cool off. We we glad we only stopped here for one nit though as the temperature for 2 days later was predicted to be 45degC.

The next day saw us up and gone by 7 am due to Caitlyn getting quite a bad blood nose during her sleep and us all all finding ourselves awake at 6am. With a promise of a McDonalds breakfast, that did not actually eventuate, everyone agreed to hook up the van and get going. 

We eventually stopped at Holbrook, which seems to be a common theme when we travel this way, but with a new bypass being built, not for much longer.

After Holbrook we caught up with Sara's parents in Gundagai before making our way on to Canberra. We arrived at the Canberra motor village around 1pm to about 35 degrees, so shot welcome. After setting up the van we went out in search of a shopping center for some cool air and supplies. We found both ;)

The Colorado is handling the caravan and trips great with an average of about 13.5l per 100km so far. That included a lot of hills and the car has only just gone over 4000km. I expect this va.ue to improve over time.

Our next day will see us visiting the Australian War Memorial, which will be very interesting and a first for the kids.