Day 63 – 17th March 2018 – Denmark

Today Col and I drove to Albany to visit the National Anzac Centre.  On the drive there we passed some beautiful pink Belladonna Lily’s that grow wild around the south of WA.  I have seen them spread out amongst the Karri Forests and they are so beautiful.  I looked them up today and found out they are a weed, which seems crazy to me, as they are so beautiful!  But a weed they are indeed.  Most of the ones I have seen have been a really pale pink, but these were a striking colour.  Col can pick these weeds and bring them home to me anytime!

Not much further on we spotted this sign and Col patiently pulled over for me to grab another photo   We saw the ‘beware of camel’ sign across the Nullarbor and now it is the ‘beware of turtles’.  I thought it was cute.  Disappointed we didn’t see any turtles crossing though.  I am starting to think that they put these signs up around Australia just to make you slow down.  Yet to see a camel or a turtle.

We arrived at the National Anzac Centre, and I must confess that I got totally engrossed in it and didn’t have my blogging photographer hat on.  I did take this picture when we first arrived and before we went in.  Hard to imagine the King George Sound filled with boats ready to take our young Anzacs to participate in World War I.

The museum cost $24 per adult, so again not a cheap day out.  It was very well done though and we both appreciated it.  They give you a card to take with you through the Museum and you follow the personal journey of one person and get updates at different points throughout the museum on their life and experience.  They also give you a pen to swipe across points at displays for an audible account.  The interactive multi-media made it personal and added another great dimension to the museum.

It is so challenging to walk through these war memorials.  I like to think of myself as a strong woman, but I really don’t know how I would cope if put into the same situations as these young men or women at war.  Or the Mothers/Wives who had to say goodbye to their men.  They had a big screen playing the stories of people who were injured at war and what they and their families went through.  I stood for a long time watching it, it was very powerful.

I thought again of my Grandpa who was a Pilot with the RAAF in World War II at just 19 years of age.  I am forever grateful for the sacrifices that so many made on our behalf.  That we get to enjoy our lives and our families, our freedom, because of them.  Enduring things that my mind cannot even grasp.  Both Col and I were pretty quiet this afternoon as it really does make you think.  Worth a visit if you are in the area.