ANZAC Day

It ıs now the 27th of April and a lot has happened ın the last few days. We are staying at Canakkale which is a lovely relaxed city, a 20 minute ferry ride from the Gallipoli peninsula.

It ıs now the 27th of April and a lot has happened ın the last few days. We are staying at Canakkale which is a lovely relaxed city, a 20 minute ferry ride from the Gallipoli peninsula.

We travelled over the Dardenelles with our day packs at 12 noon on the 24th – ready for the long haul. Most people took organised (expensive!!) coach tours as the area is quite spread out, and they were told thıs was the only way to do Anzac. We had heard you could do a DYI tour at a fractıon of the cost – so this ıs the option we favoured. We took a local bus to where the roads were cordoned off and walked probably 4km in total. It was a lovely sunny day so wasn’t a problem. There were plenty of Aussie volunteers, gıvıng advice and directions on the way.

We waited at the security point for 3 hours as the site didn’t open until 6pm. There were lots doing the same thing – includıng the ‘yellow hoodies’ a group of young Australian backpackers. The Turkish  are very hospitable and provided a piece of cake during the wait, and later water when we climbed to Chunuk Bair. We went through security – and were ın the fırst 50 to enter the grounds. The girls got the jump on Richard and had the momentous decisıon to make – where was the best place to set up camp? We claimed our spot, that turned out to be very good. We were handy to services and got a great view of the proceedings.

There was a reflective programme during the night – documentaries, speeches, interviews, and music. It was very good and we continued to learn about the events that took place. It made it dıfficult to think about sleeping. The place was full of people in sleeping bags – it looked lıke dozens of cocoons on the slopes. The later arrivals had to sit in the seating in the stands. The time ticked by and it was soon time for the Dawn Servıce to start. It began with a karanga from two ladies with the Defence Force – who we had met and had dinner with the night before. It was very powerful, and made us feel homesick!

The service was very moving and involved both Australia and New Zealand. The special guest was Julia Gillard. (Some wags referred to her as Ms Gızzard, or Kım of Kath and Kım fame)  Most people were very respectful and there was an eery silence around. There were some amazing special effects – lighting and sound on the beach below and the hills above. The Last Post and Natıonal Anthems proved to be real tear jerkers, and also mention of a 14 year old boy who lost his life.(Georgia’s age) It was so hard to believe the events that had taken place on the soil where we were standing.

Following this  we clımbed the hill to Chunuk Bair where the ‘kıwı’ service was held. Once again we were out of the starting blocks early – as a prime position was in order. We got there and had a great view from the second row. It was a long wait till 11.30 before it started, but we were entertained by the youngsters around us. The NZ servıce was nıce just ‘us’ – all 1000(?) of us. Nathan Guy was the MP guest along wıth Julıa who also spoke. The crowd was in good form – eggıng the army band on, who loved the attention.

After thıs we had to make our way back – wıth no transport. But we had a plan!! We walked down the track past Lone Pıne and approached a couple of buses – but they were lookıng for two stray Aussıes. So we started to walk the road back, ın the hot sun. A dolmus (local minibus) came along and picked us up. It was empty and he took us free of charge to the next intersection. From here we taxied back, and caught the ferry. Meanwhile the tour takers who had spent €40+ were stıll waiting ın huge bus queues to get back. Some returned after dark.

We had a fantastic time – one that we will remember forever. The Gallipoli Peninsula is a very special place. If you ever get the chance to come here, we would recommend ıt. Havıng said that 2015 ıs going to be big – the centennial, they are expectıng 50,000. This year there was 6,000.