Cowra

Last night we stopped at Boorowa Caravan Park. Once again my pet hate of park trying to turn kids into cash cows arose again. Boorowa costs $22 for a site for 2 adults, however they wanted another $20 for the kids. Luckily we had rung ahead to check the cost and turned up with only the $22, however the whole principal of trying to justify almost double to money for two kids who are going to cost the park two additional showers and a little toilet paper (at most) just seems rude. After all lights and cooking gear etc. is going to be used as much for 2 as it is for 4! While talking to another man parked there he said that they had recently left a park that charged them a couple of dollars extra for their dog, even though the only thing the dog was going to use in the park was a little water. While this can probably be justified it is hard to see how an extra couple of dollars is really worth the angst it can cause. Other than that Boorowa was a very pleasant stay however.
This morning we headed off to Cowra (following a late start as everyone caught up from a late night in Canberra before we left). Cowra is one of those places in Australia that just has to be  visited due to its place in Australia’s history.
It is really interesting to see how a place that already had a significant amount of history when World War Two began, has been transformed by the events on the night of the “Cowra Breakout” (when approximately 1,000 Japanese prisoners-of-war escaped form a POW camp on the outskirts of then town, which over 200 Japanese and 4 Australians eventually losing their lives during the breakout itself and in the ensuing days as escapees were rounded back up.
Interestingly, Cowra has transformed what was most likely a very negative attitude towards the Japanese in the early post-war days into a significant direct relationship these days. In some ways it has very clearly fostered a desire for better cross-cultural understanding throughout the world and a sense of shared loss between Cowra and the Japanese nation.
The portrayal of the breakout has not been ‘prettied up’ in any manner and is reported within the town in a very honest manner. Following the war however a real effort to ensure the Japanese who lost their lives their, their families and those that were able to return home were also treated with respect left me feeling that it had had a similar result to that of Gallipoli, with the local respect being returned through he gratitude of the Japanese for the respectful treatment given. Of all the sites in town, the kids were most intrigued by the hologram depiction of the breakout itself, which screens at the local Visitor Centre.
Once we finished up at Cowra we headed on towards Bathurst, stopping at a campsite 10 km’s before Blayney. For once we actually managed to be set up by mid-afternoon which made the evening much more relaxing and enjoyable. It was also interesting that after not being interested in kicking a football the entire way through Victoria, we ended up having a good game of kick-to-kick today in NSW (including a few questions about why another family kept “throwing the ball'” which had Max especially confused).
It is very noticeable also how much easier free camping is now that the minimum temperature is back above zero. We were talking about how experiences change perceptions, figuring that it is slightly colder than when we were on the South coast of Victoria, where we were feeling frozen, however having spent a couple of nights in the Snowy’s and just over a week in Canberra it no longer feels quite as cold – in fact tLiz is sitting in bed sans beanie!!