Australian Capital Territory is not Australia's most popular travel destination, but you will be surprised how different it is from the rest of Australia. With no skyscapers or too many decent pubs, lots of parklands and modern art, Canberra really is a different city. Just a short trip outside is a lot of wildlife in Tidbinbilla and Namadgi National Park, and not far from it are some of the best of Australian ski resorts. Here is some Canberra travel information, and what else there is to do in the ACT.
Custom Search
Photo: John Baker. Australian Capital Tourism
Canberra History Australia's smallest state, Australian Capital Territory also has the shortest history. Before 1901, the Australian continent consisted of six separate colonies. They would probably have developed into six different countries to cover the continent, but I’ve heard that beer taxes becoming too high made the six colonies decide to join together and form the Commonwealth of Australia. But where should the capital be? The oldest colonies in New South Wales and Victoria had had the longest time to develop, so clearly it should be either Sydney or Melbourne, but which one of them? Unable to answer that question, Australians decided to build a new capital between the two, and call it Canberra. Not willing to have Canberra in New South Wales, around it they created a new state - Australian Capital Territory.
Photo: Australian Capital Tourism
A Day Trip from Sydney The first time I went to Australian Capital Territory was while I was doing a science degree at the University of Technology in Sydney. We had a project to do about insects so we headed off for a day trip to meet an entomologist in Canberra. A day trip from Sydney to Canberra is of course way too brief if you want to see the city properly, but for me it was just a fun day out and the first glimpse of the capital. And with an early start and late end it was doable – Canberra is only 300km away from Sydney.
Photo: Australian Capital Tourism
Canberra Design The first thing I noticed as we drove along the wide boulevards – there are no skyscrapers in Canberra! How different for a New World city. Canberra is spread out over a large area, it’s very green with all the parklands, and it’s very artistic and modern. Wherever you watch there is a statue or a piece of art. Shopping centres are flash and bars and restaurants posh. There are a few Irish pubs but they are nothing like a good old historical pub in Sydney or Melbourne. This is of course understandable because they had decided to build Canberra into the bush, and try to find a piece of bush suitable for a capital city, where there happens to be a historical pub.
Australian War Memorial Canberra and Canberra Zoo On the other hand, I would understand if they didn’t want to build Australian Capital Territory around an old drinking hole. A city like Canberra had to start from scratch. No other city is so perfectly planned: from Capital Hill where the Parliament House Canberra is, Commonwealth Avenue crosses the Lake Burley Griffin and goes right through the city centre at Vernon Circle.
Photo: Australian Capital Tourism
Kings Avenue crosses the lake towards east in a similar way and between the two is the perfectly triangular Parliamentary Triangle, with the Old Parliament House in the middle, and the ANZAC Parade with Canberra War Memorial lined up with it on the other side of the lake. West from the city centre is the Canberra Zoo (National Zoo and Aquarium), and north are the residential suburbs Lyneham and Dickson. South of Capital Hill, Canberra Avenue takes you to Manuka and Kingston, with some nice Canberra restaurants and the Old Bus Depot Markets.
Tidbinbilla, Namadgi and Mount Kosciuszko National Park Canberra is full of parks to jog, cycle or roller blade, and the Lake Burley Griffin is popular with kayakers and yachties (and black swans). Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve 45km out of the city has some good bushwalks, and if you are a really keen (and fit!) bushwalker, there is the 655km long Australian Alps Walking Track in Namadgi National Park which covers pretty much the whole southern state of Australian Capital Territory and joins the Mount Kosciuszko National Park on the other side of the state border.
Mount Kosciuszko National Park - Ski Resorts Australia Mount Kosciuszko National Park technically belongs to New South Wales, but the best way to reach it is from Canberra and the Australian Capital Territory. It’s a great place to bushwalk during the summer and ski or snowboard during the winter. It contains Australia’s highest mountain, Mount Kosciuszko, and the famous Australian ski resorts Thredbo, Perisher Blue and Mt Selwyn.
Here's a map of ACT, places mentioned on this web page tagged. You can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
NOTE: This website is written in British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all correct in the language used in Australia.
