Highlights of Visiting Canberra

Canberra is the capital of Australia.  It lies inland in the southeastern part of the country in its very own territory, the ACT (Australian Capital Territory).  I can remember my first time visiting Canberra back in 2001 on a small bus tour – I still had a film Cannon at the time (those were the days).  Dinner commenced our speedy Canberra visit at an Irish pub, of all places.  We walked the steps of Parliament and took a driving tour around the embassies of the world.  Just one night.  A super quick trip that was more of a stopover from point A to B than a destination.  However, it captured my attention and I hoped to have the opportunity to return one day.

Fortunately, our tribe has had the opportunity to [eafl id=”2074″ name=”Visit Canberra” text=”#visitCanberra”] several times since 2001!  Alan’s brother and family have lived there for many years, so it is always a stop on our Australian visits!  Over the years we have been able to see many different aspects of the capital city, but there are a few things that have us wanting to return again and again.  It is probably one of the least talked about Australian cities (at least when I compare Washington D.C.’s popularity to Canberra’s).  In its unassuming grandeur, there are so many fun adventures for all walks of life and enthusiast levels!  Canberra’s landscape changes drastically from farmland to city to bush to forests.  Seriously, we were driving there recently and 5 minutes after leaving my brother-in-law’s house in a suburb, we were driving past rolling green hills speckled with sheep and cattle!  I love the diversity!

Due to most of our visits to Canberra being spent with family, we have not had much time to explore this capital thoroughly.  There is so much history to learn, so many stories to hear, so many artifacts to see, but we simply cannot do it all.  We do feel we have at least scratched the surface, which keeps us excited about what our next visit may hold!

Our tribe’s TOP 5 Must Sees for Canberra (so far) –

1. [eafl id=”2146″ name=”Australian War Memorial” text=”Australian War Memorial”] – This is an absolute MUST SEE when in Canberra!  Alan and I had the opportunity to visit the memorial many years ago (Kirra was just a little tyke) and fell in love with the history, the stories, the exhibits, and the sheer magnitude of what all of this means to us today.  We have not had an opportunity to go back with the rest of our tribe yet, but when we do, we will make it a day’s adventure of learning and remembering.  Please add this to your list!  It truly will change your perspective on history (especially if you are from the USA)!
2. [eafl id=”2127″ name=”Parliament House” text=”Parliament House visit”] /[eafl id=”2125″ name=”Embassy Drive” text=”Embassy driving tour”] – Depending on how long you have to explore, you can pick and choose just how much to see and do with these two activities!  We have actually never visited Parliament House, other than driving by or taking photos on the steps out front.  Once the kids are a bit older and ready to truly appreciate the history and grandeur of this landmark, we will be adding it to our “must do” list.  This isn’t to say it shouldn’t be on your list for your next visit to Canberra!  In terms of the Embassy Drive, again, you can pick and choose which embassies to see and which to pass.  There are over 80 embassies in Canberra, mostly in the suburb of Yarraluma.  We, unfortunately, have not had the opportunity to do this drive with our kiddos yet, but it is on the list for next time!  It was fascinating when I did it back in 2001!  Some of these embassies are incredible pieces of architecture and design.  With older children, you can compare styles and eras of the buildings, look for the flags of each country and guess which embassy it is before reading the sign.
3. [eafl id=”2076″ name=”Corin Forest” text=”Corin Forest”] w/stop at [eafl id=”2077″ name=”Deep Space Canberra” text=”Canberra’s Deep Space Communication Complex”] – These two stops would be a perfect full day’s adventure from the city, both being about 40 minutes to an hour’s drive from city central.  Corin Forest is an alpine adventure park, being the only place in the ACT to experience snow.  Don’t miss out on a ride down the 1.2km alpine slide through the Moutain Ash forest – an adventure the kids thoroughly enjoyed!  The Deep Space Communication Complex is a hidden gem off the beaten path in Tidbinbilla (I just LOVE saying this name).  It is one of three (in the world) Deep Space Network stations that help provide constant contact with spacecraft.  You can immerse yourself in all things space on this visit – movies, space rocks, space artifacts, and more, all there to provide you with a greater understanding of the work NASA is doing for our world.
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5. [eafl id=”2075″ name=”National Dinosaur Museum” text=”National Dinosaur Museum”] – Quinn really should be writing this section of the recommendations as he is our resident dino expert!  Seriously, the kid knows more about dinosaurs than I know about parenting!  I will, however, attempt to do justice to our visit.  This museum is one for the dino enthusiast and the average joe alike!  You are welcomed to the museum by giant life-size sculptures of dinosaurs in the Dinosaur Garden – Quinn, Niyah, Eliana and their cousins had an absolute BLAST running around these giants with the same excitement as opening gifts on Christmas morning.  Quinn could.not.stop. talking about each type of dino adding every fact he has memorized to the conversation!  You could literally spend a half hour in the garden and call the visit “good” if you didn’t have heaps of time.  We could not get away with that shortcut, so we paid the $ ($45 AUD for a family, which was reasonable) and began our prehistoric adventure!  The indoor exhibits are all upstairs and are very well done.  The kids had a blast running around reading about each fossil (currently over 300 displays of fossils), observing the dinosaur models (some moved), analyzing the 30 complete dino skeletons on site, and learning about life in the different eras.  Once we had our fill of dinos upstairs, we made our way to the interactive center.  There the kids were able to watch videos, read books, complete large skeletal puzzles, and play in giant eggs.  All in all, it was a fabulous visit – one we will definitely do again!

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6. [eafl id=”2073″ name=”Floriade Australia” text=”Floriade”] – If you time your visit just so, you can catch the month-long celebration of all things flowers at Floriade!  It typically runs from mid-September to mid-October.  The history of this festival began when two men wrote a proposal for a grand floral display in honor of Australia’s Bicentenary and Canberra’s 75th birthday in 1988.  To this day over one million bulbs and annuals are planted to decorate the open spaces of Commonwealth Park, just across the bridge from Parliament.  This year’s theme was Rejuvenate: Life in Bloom, celebrating 30 years of Floriade.  Being from West Michigan, this festival comes in a close second or third to Tulip Time in Holland, MI or ArtPrize in Grand Rapids – it was an eclectic mix of flowers and art.  Either way, it was a fun outing for our tribe to see a bit of the city and experience a bit of the culture it offers.  Highlights were the Fairy Floss (cotton candy), unique sculptures, and of course the flowers in bloom!  FYI – there is more to see than just flowers –  between food booths, sculptures, kids’ activities, carnival rides, and live concerts, there is something for the whole family!  One aspect of Floriade that we wish we could have experienced was NightFest, where the entire park lights up with synchronized light shows and live entertainment well into the evening.  Next time!
   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   
7. Don’t forget to check out Kirra’s post on Questacon (another Canberra MUST)
8. Okay, fine.  My “Top 5” became a “Top 7”, but seriously, who’s counting?!  If you get a chance to drive outside of Canberra just a bit, you MUST visit the canola fields when they are in full bloom.  The brightly hued yellow fields lie in contrast to the green rolling hills of the New South Wales countryside.  They are spectacular sights – enough so that many tourists stop along the side of the highway to capture the sheer beauty.  We will definitely check out the Canola Trail on our next visit – according to the map and website, you could spend several days exploring this trail of food, history, and, of course, the yellow canola fields!

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