Tuesday 1 November 2011

My Travels to see Her Majesty the Queen here in Australia: Day 1 Canberra

Hello Royalists,

As those who follow me on twitter will be aware, I have recently been travelling Australia to take the opportunity to see Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh as they toured Australia.

Unfortunately this time round, my home town sunny Sydney missed out on the Royal Itinerary so I decided if they wouldn't come to me, I'd go to them!

I was lucky enough to travel to Canberra, Brisbane and Melbourne and my following posts will provide an insight into my travels and week of Royal Magic!

So I'll begin with Day 1: Canberra

Thursday 20th October was a very early start!
The Queen and her husband had arrived the  night before and spent their first night in Government House.
The first real publicised opportunity for the public to see The Queen was going to be as she made her way to Floriade aboard the navy's Admiral's Barge on Lake Burley Griffin.

All information I recieved suggested the public should be in place by 10.30am.
To be sure I wouldn't miss the event, as I was driving from Sydney (a good 3 hour drive at best) to Canberra, I was on the road by 5.30am.

With my big Australian flag packed and a quick coffee stop, I was away.

The drive to Canberra while long is most enjoyable, and coupled with my building excitement didn't seem to take long at all. I arrived in Canberra at around 9am and found my way to Black Mountain Peninsula the place I had decided upon to wave at our royal couple as they went passed.

Even though I was quite early there was already a fair crowd at the Peninsula, all with flags and smiles.
Many families had were there, picnic rugs and all, and with the fantastic Aussie weather the atmosphere was a buzz.

The family sitting next to me had 3 excited children practicing their flag waving. The chatter was amusing to hear. In particular one little boy's conversation with his mother:

She asked him if he was excited to see The Queen, he swiftly replied 'Oh yes mummy'.
She then proceeded to ask him what kind of boat he thought The Queen would be on.
The boy paused and scratched his chin, he pondered this thought for awhile, soon a panic stricken look came across his face. He replied 'I don't know mummy but I hope it isn't a fast speedboat, I wouldn't want to miss her!'


The time was nearing, the AFP (Australian Federal Police) came past on police jetski's and cleared the waters.

We all stood up in anticipation and sure enough, I would get my first glimpse of Her Majesty soon after.
The crowd cheered and waved their flags proudly! We could just make out she was in a lovely Lavender number!


Although fleeting the moment was grand!
My heart raced as I thought about my week ahead, this was only the beginning.


The Royal Couple as they passed me by….