Orangutan Tour – LAST DAY PLUS 1 !!

I wasn’t going post but you are not going to believe what happened today…Daniel and William met the Governor General of Australia, Her Excellency, Ms Quentin Bryce !

We wanted to use the last day of our orangutan tour in Canberra to show the boys a couple of the beautiful sites. We set out for the Australian War Memorial only to find a dedication ceremony about to start for a monument commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru which was accidentally sunk with the loss of 1,500 Australian lives.

There were many officials at the dedication ceremony including Her Excellency, Ms Quentin Bryce, Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia, who spoke so eloquently while addressing all who attended including survivors and families of survivors.

Once the service had completed Penny, Daniel, William and I went off to walk through War Memorial and spent around an hour in there. The official party, attending the dedication ceremony, went to an outdoor marquee for morning tea with the families.

On the way back to our car we walked past the marquee and it just so happened that Her Excellency was leaving the event at the same time.  Daniel asked, “Do you think we could speak with the Governor General?”.  Our family are not ones for letting an opportunity go by so we approached the Governor General in the hope that she may have time to quickly meet the boys.

It was wonderful to think that our Governor General would pause and give the boys some of her time.

As she was pressed for time Penny did the explanation of what the boys were doing (saving the orangutan) and she advised that she also had sponsored an orangutan and was aware of the problems they are facing. Daniel mentioned to Mrs Bryce of his desire to speak at the United Nations with his brother William and her answer?, “Of course you will”.

On the drive back home we reflected on the amazing outcome of today’s events, not just the coincidental meeting with Australia’s Governor General but also the sensitivity of the dedication ceremony itself, Daniel said, “I felt honoured to be there at today’s ceremony.  Just the remembrance of the men who died 70 years ago today was really moving”.

What a wonderful way to end our trip, we have gone from one high to another.  Thank you to everyone who has made this such a successful and fantastic trip.  A special thank you goes to Kia Motors Australia and Col Crawford Lifestyle Cars who have assisted in this trips success with the loan of a Kia Grand Carnival for our families use (what a magnificent vehicle).

Thank you.