Part Two:: A Weekend Venture To The Capital:: The Human Brochure

We woke, breakfasted with Family Hugo and Elsa, and Family Pigeon Pair, and were on the bus in record time on Saturday morning. We were ready to nerd up at Questacon for a few hours.

First up the smalls checked in with the tastebud doctor who gave them some food dye to check how many taste buds they have. Funnily enough - both have few - so really there's no reason they can be fussy at dinner time - BUSTED.

If you've never been to Questacon before, it is great. I remember going there as a 12 year old, and having immensely good memories of it. Going back was ace. There are so many hands on exhibits, and it's seriously  subliminal learning (isn't that the best kind?!).

We high-fived and hugged astronauts, watched 10 volcanoes explode, I conned Matt into going down the vertical slide three times in the name of getting a good shot (which I never got), and we learnt about the invasion of Planet Fwah. It was good fun for both Matt and I, and the kids. 

After we'd exhausted ourselves at Questacon we meandered our way to The Lobby for an incredibly hearty meal. The kids played merrily outside after refuelling, ready for the next adventure. 

Then we were whisked back to the hotel to rest before our next outing. The National Zoo & Aquarium (which is btw - privately owned).

I had no idea that we were about to be offered an incredible opportunity to feed animals. The zoo itself offers a very intimate feeling - and we were about to get up close to some animals to feed them. The Doctor was busting to feed the tiger and the lion - and so he did. Tick - dream come true. Tiny opted for the giraffe (with the longest tongue I have ever seen - that quivered when it was close to the carrot Tiny held aloft) and a bear. Not just some little teeny bear, but a big bear. A really big bear. 

And then the kids held a corn snake. Ew. 

Following the zoo we headed off to Cockington Green. Have you ever been to Cockington Green? BOOM! You see what I did there?!

Cockington Green has been around since the 70s - and is - once again, family-owned. It's pretty darn rad in my book. Miniature this and miniature that. I remember being a 12 year old and thinking it was pretty swell. And being a 33 year old, well it was pretty darn swell too. 

There's even a miniature train you can ride on around the gardens. Super. Duper. Cute. 

And as if that wasn't enough rad in our day - we then went to the National Dinosaur Museum. I wish we'd been able to spend more time here. The man who showed us around was SO on the money - he really nailed it in terms of brevity and pitching it to his small audience - and yet - all the adults were completely spellbound by him too. 

This was something I noticed a lot on our trip to Canberra. The awesome people who showed us around were so passionate and into what they were talking to us about - they knew it by rote, and they just got it right. 


Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. Honesty is the best policy! Our accommodation and itinerary was covered for the weekend. We liked it. We had fun. We wanted to share our trip to Canberra.