SATURDAY 18th JULY 2009 (ANZAC COVE)

SATURDAY 18th JULY 2009

Today was one we had been really looking forward to...and let's face it, it's taken us long enough to get here!

Today we rode to ANZAC Cove where over 8,ooo Australian soldiers died during World War One. And when we arrived it definitely felt like we were on Australian soil.

The whole area is now a National Park to preserve the memory of what happened all those years ago and to make the area a peaceful final resting place for all those soldiers (on all sides) who died there.

The first Memorial we saw read -

"Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives; you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well." (Ataturk)

We were very lucky to see Anzac Cove in total peace and quiet. Very tranquil, very beautiful. The history books came alive when standing on the beach where the soldiers came ashore looking up at the high ridges which are almost impenetrable.

We spent a long time at Anzac Cove, walked along the beach, studied all the inscription plaques and

imagined the Dawn Service held each Anzac Day, not quite believing we were actually here.

We then rode to the ridge where many of the memorials, statues and cemeteries were. The remains of trenches were everywhere to be seen. On one side of the road were the ANZACS, on the other, the TURKS (the front line where death was imminent). They were literally only eight meters apart from each other.

We visited Lone Pine Cemetery and I found the name of a distant relative on one of the plaques on the Memorial Wall. It was very hot but we were able to take our time, sit in the shade and soak up the views - very hard to imagine this beautiful place in war time.

The HORS performed faultlessly today but we only pottered about doing 20 kph as seemed only right. Of course we stopped at many places of interest avoiding the dozens of tourist bus's that frequented this road during the day.

We thought we'd visit the south of the Gelibolu Peninsula but it took us nearly all day to have a good look around the small area pertaining to OUR soldiers.

On the way 'home' we ended up doing a little off-road riding into a sunflower field. We ended up in some most unnatural positions so didn't venture too far. It got very rough.

For once we had our evening meal at a reasonable hour, walked along the waterfront, watched the ferry's come and go and avoided the wedding that was in progress at the far end. A GREAT day.