Amongst the tulips at Floriade 2013Yvette

The free city loop shuttle bus put on for the occasion of Canberra’s centenary meant that many happy Floriade 2013 visitors arrived at the gates energetic and refreshed enough to be able to amble around the expansive event without the need for a good lie down or the ingestion of performance enhancing substances. We hope it remains a feature of the Canberra tourist experience all year round.

That said, we and much of the multi-aged, multi-cultural crowd present on the day we visited, did enjoy picnics and reasonably priced, tasty refreshments over the course of the day. Strolling through the prolific displays of tulips in balmy conditions provided a huge dose of energising colour therapy, even though visiting when we did (almost into the third week of the event) meant that many of the tulips and other flowers were past their best.

The displays this year were themed ‘Beautiful Innovation’ and were sponsored by businesses and institutions including the CSIRO whose display recreated in soft blues and whites the ‘wireless’ symbol which we all know and recognise. What we didn’t know was that the CSIRO invented technologies for fast wireless networks; they invented Wi-Fi. The things you find out at a spring flower festival. The Australian Institute of Sport created a mixed planting of many colours in concentric hexagonal shapes stylising a soccer ball, and the Museum of Australian Democracy created a display stylising the red and green chambers of the Senate and House of Representatives in the Old Parliament House.

The only let down with these and many other displays was that it was impossible to view the layout of the design from a feet-on-the-ground perspective. The provision of viewing platforms or sloping beds would have greatly enhanced the experience from one of colour therapy to one whereby the whole display (including design and layout) could be appreciated.

Limited opportunity to see some displays from a height-enhanced perspective were provided via purchasing a ride on the Ferris wheel or joining the crew maintaining light towers for the NightFest, for the last session of which we had purchased tickets.

Tulips at night: we wondered what the point was other than an opportunity to hear some music and comedians, to watch circus acts whilst eating, drinking and being merry. How much more it was! The tulips had closed up, so all but the most advanced blooms had re-assumed their classic, beautiful shape and the weird plastic-looking bars spotted during the day around and amongst the beds and up the trees were revealed to be powerful emitters of light of all colours.

The dancing, changing light shows transformed beds of tulips into snowfields and back again. Every colour morphed into another then another; light, shadow and texture played with each other across and between waves of changing colour. It was magic without the mushrooms.

And then we stumbled into the laser show amongst the trees at the bottom of the park to watch fireflies dance amongst the foliage, waves of light and energy resembling the Northern Lights waft across the glade … and people stand and gasp, again and again. Words cannot describe it. It was simply fantastic.

And to think the road trip almost deflected us from getting there: but more of that later.