After two weeks in Canberra I have accomplished more or less everything that I had planned. I got all the plastic cards that I required (Medicare, Private Health Insurance, Credit Card, Debit Card), I bought a car that I can pick up in a couple of days and I exchanged contracts on a one bedroom apartment in Thredbo.
Aside from this I enjoyed Canberra as a tourist. I don't think I would put it at the top of my list of places to visit if I only had a short holiday in Australia, but if you have 4 days or so to spare, it is well worth a visit.
Canberra is very much a planned City. It spreads out across the southern tablelands and takes the form of a group of different town centres, each consisting of a bunch of suburbs that surround a shopping precinct or mall. Each of these suburbs usually has its own smaller collection of shops for day to day needs. It feels a bit like shopping is on top of the list of past times for many Canberrans and I certainly have found larger crowds in the shopping malls than in the tourist attractions.
Lake Burley Griffin lies in the heart of Canberra and separates the federal government precinct from Civic, where you can find the obligatory shopping mall as well as various local government services. This picture shows you a view from the top of Mt. Ainslie across the lake to the federal parliament.
Part of my gap year is to improve my fitness; after spending the last 20 years behind a desk I got quite fat and slow. I attempt to do at least a one hour walk every day, which is easy to do in Canberra. It has some great nature reserves, Mt. Majura and Mt. Ainslie are my favourites. I walked up Mt. Majura every day and the combination of Mt Majura and Mt. Ainslie at least twice a week. There are various paths to take, and there is a lot of wildlife to see. Kangaroos and wallabies are very common, but I also spotted an echidna and some black cockatoos, amongst a whole lot of other birds.
If you prefer indoor pursuits, other than shopping, Canberra offers a whole raft of museums, galleries and memorials. I visited the Australian War Memorial, which is good value and you can easily spend half a day going through all the exhibits, movies and sound and light shows. It is extremely well curated and the exhibits really tell the story of the two world wars, rather than just showing pieces of memorabilia. The story of the Lancaster Bomber "G for George", told as a sound and light show around the fully preserved bomber was a highlight of the visit.
Another half day I spent at the Australian National Museum. It is also very well set up and uses its artefacts to tell the story of Australia from the early aboriginal history to colonisation and the building of the modern federation of states, including cultural aspects, as well as economical and ecological ones. The exhibit showing the 2003 Canberra bush fires impressed me a lot and I am glad that I was far away from them at the time. The Australian National Museum's architecture alone is worth the visit. If you get the chance, get one of the staff to explain it to you, I was very surprised by how much thought went into it and I never understood all the symbolism before (especially the garden of dreams, which always looked like a skateboard park to me).
Both the War Memorial and the Australian National Museum are free (voluntary donations appreciated), as opposed to the Questacon museum of science, which is quite costly at $23 for an adult and $15 for a child. It is however great fun, with all its hands-on exhibits and experiments. It is best visited with some friends or as a family, a lot of the experiments are more fun when shared.
Aside from this I enjoyed Canberra as a tourist. I don't think I would put it at the top of my list of places to visit if I only had a short holiday in Australia, but if you have 4 days or so to spare, it is well worth a visit.
Canberra is very much a planned City. It spreads out across the southern tablelands and takes the form of a group of different town centres, each consisting of a bunch of suburbs that surround a shopping precinct or mall. Each of these suburbs usually has its own smaller collection of shops for day to day needs. It feels a bit like shopping is on top of the list of past times for many Canberrans and I certainly have found larger crowds in the shopping malls than in the tourist attractions.
Lake Burley Griffin lies in the heart of Canberra and separates the federal government precinct from Civic, where you can find the obligatory shopping mall as well as various local government services. This picture shows you a view from the top of Mt. Ainslie across the lake to the federal parliament.
Part of my gap year is to improve my fitness; after spending the last 20 years behind a desk I got quite fat and slow. I attempt to do at least a one hour walk every day, which is easy to do in Canberra. It has some great nature reserves, Mt. Majura and Mt. Ainslie are my favourites. I walked up Mt. Majura every day and the combination of Mt Majura and Mt. Ainslie at least twice a week. There are various paths to take, and there is a lot of wildlife to see. Kangaroos and wallabies are very common, but I also spotted an echidna and some black cockatoos, amongst a whole lot of other birds.
If you prefer indoor pursuits, other than shopping, Canberra offers a whole raft of museums, galleries and memorials. I visited the Australian War Memorial, which is good value and you can easily spend half a day going through all the exhibits, movies and sound and light shows. It is extremely well curated and the exhibits really tell the story of the two world wars, rather than just showing pieces of memorabilia. The story of the Lancaster Bomber "G for George", told as a sound and light show around the fully preserved bomber was a highlight of the visit.
Another half day I spent at the Australian National Museum. It is also very well set up and uses its artefacts to tell the story of Australia from the early aboriginal history to colonisation and the building of the modern federation of states, including cultural aspects, as well as economical and ecological ones. The exhibit showing the 2003 Canberra bush fires impressed me a lot and I am glad that I was far away from them at the time. The Australian National Museum's architecture alone is worth the visit. If you get the chance, get one of the staff to explain it to you, I was very surprised by how much thought went into it and I never understood all the symbolism before (especially the garden of dreams, which always looked like a skateboard park to me).
Both the War Memorial and the Australian National Museum are free (voluntary donations appreciated), as opposed to the Questacon museum of science, which is quite costly at $23 for an adult and $15 for a child. It is however great fun, with all its hands-on exhibits and experiments. It is best visited with some friends or as a family, a lot of the experiments are more fun when shared.
While I was visiting Ian and Rory and the gang, my daughter ran up Mt. Ainslie and said it was spectacular. She also ran from the CBD to the new office in Belconnen.
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