Early showing families take the cake at Royal Canberra Show

It was the perfect outing for families looking to avoid lines, buy their show bags and enjoy their dagwood dogs while cruising through pavilions.

Mother-and-daughter duo Ashley and Maria Modesti have taken the Friday off every year to have a quiet visit. They had purchased new pillows and colourful training leads for their two border collies.

"We go straight to the pavilions and look at all the flowers and the cakes on the first day while they're the freshest," Ms Modesti said.

The temperature peaked at 33 degrees but showgoers said the alpacas, rides and giant prize toys made it worth the visit.

Kids were seen sipping slushies and carrying at least five show bags on each arm while country music fans enjoyed live performances in the shade.

Laura and Grace Wilson-Dennis had made it a point to come to the show every year after having their son, Oliver.

"I like all the farmyard animals and getting to pat them, but I just love how excited Oliver gets. He just got to sit on one of the racing lawnmowers," Mrs Grace Wilson-Dennis said.

Whereas, it was the first time at the show for the Clark family.

They were visiting from Canada and had attended a wedding in Sydney during the week. They were happy to make time to come down to Canberra to check out the Bush Capital.

"I'm from England and [my husband] is from Scotland and we're in the military so we love travelling," Mrs Clark said.

"It's quiet compared to a lot of other places ... but we're excited to check the cat show and the woodshop."

Owner of Jumbo Showbags Belinda Whitby, from Ballarat, has had a set up at the Royal Canberra Show for the last 41 years.

She adores her family's "show business" because she loved visiting new places and meeting new people.

This year she's accompanied by her friends Careena Turrell from Moruya and Denise Patrick from Cairns.

"It gets in your blood," Ms Whitby said. "You just can't stop doing it. I have a good bunch of people I travel with.

"We love going to a new place every week. We're finishing the Newcastle Show next week and then it's Sydney's Royal Easter Show."

"She's been coming out here since she left school," Ms Turrell said.

Ms Whitby felt the rain had made day one a bit quieter than expected but believed crowds would roll in over the weekend.