Our nations capital had Gary's heart all a flutter!

Canberra ....... 19th - 26th April

Our arrival in Canberra was 'challenging' to say the least!
Firstly, we were booked in to stay at Southside Caravan park, it didn't have very good reviews but seemed to be the best of a bad bunch. When we arrived we were directed to an area & told to "find a spot". Well, our 'grassed site' was nothing more than a dust bowl of a paddock. It was just awful. Before getting out of the car we decided we would not be staying there. I went back to reception saying we paid for a grassed site so wanted our money back. Luckily, she obliged without too much fuss.

We ended up at the Canberra Exhibition Park Showgrounds which turned out to be great. After setting up & having a late lunch Gary said he wasn't feeling too good & was touching his chest. That always makes me panic (of course). He wasn't having the usual chest pains but palpitations & racing heartbeat. This was new for him as his heart rate is usually quite slow due to medications.
Gary took his blood pressure on our portable monitor & his heart was beating at 150 beats a minute (usually around 60). I called an ambulance & they came out in about 10 agonising minutes.
They were fantastic & diagnosed him as having AF (Atrial Fibrillation) & decided to transport him to hospital. His heart continued fluttering (that's how they described it) until we arrived at the hospital when it went back to normal. They said it may or may not ever happen again.
We then decided to stay in Canberra for a week to ensure he was all sorted before heading off again.
From this we have decided we won't be going to any small, country towns. I want to make sure there is a hospital handy 'just in case'. At least this year it shouldn't be a problem as we follow the east coast. Next year is another matter & we will look at that when the time comes.
This reinforces more than ever that we are looking for a relaxed lifestyle & not necessarily on seeing as much of Australia as we can.

While in Canberra we visited the usual touristy things like the War Memorial which was as impressive as ever. We also went to Parliament House & toured around to all the embassy's. They are so interesting how the grounds & buildings are like the actual country. Some were very lavish & others very plain & understated.





One of the highlights was our tour around the Australian Institute of Sport. We were taken to the gymnastics area, volleyball courts, gym, & swimming pool. It was very interesting hearing how they look after the athletes & how they train. Unfortunately the 11.30am tour means you don't get to see any athletes as they were all having lunch.

While staying at the Showgrounds we were able to check out whatever is happening around the grounds. Cirque Africa was on & Wednesdays are half price so we went along. It was amazing! Lots of acrobatics all to a live African band. We loved it.


There was also a dog show on for three of the days so we wandered down there a couple of times & just sat on a bench in the sunshine watching the owners groom & fuss over their dogs & then prance them around for the judges.



It was a last minute decision to visit Canberra & we were very glad we did!
Next stop .............. Goulburn     Kiama