ACT Travel Information
Well backpacking in the Northern Territory and/or any of the Australian states involves quite a bit of travel or a massive amount of travel. That is not the case with the Australian Capital Territory or the ACT. It is tiny. And anyone living in the ACT and not in Canberra is in a very small group. The ACT is basically a government town. It’s where the national [Australians say ‘federal’] parliament is located. The ACT has its own parliament but being a tiny territory it has fewer than 20 parliamentarians. The ACT is landlocked, the only Australian state or territory to have no coastline but just to give it a salty tang, the port of Jervis Bay some 150 kilometres south of Sydney is a territory and part of the ACT. On a map, Jervis Bay is pretty much in a straight line with the northern tip of the ACT.
Backpackers can find budget accommodation in Canberra but as a government city most of the venues are more up market. You can make daily trips into the ACT from Sydney obviating your need for an overnight stay.
Canberra has some unique sights all of which have plenty to offer. The original parliament house is now a working museum showing the history of democracy down under. The galleries and museums in Canberra are almost too many for a tourist to take in. The National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery are obviously high profile establishments but art lovers will find many more venues displaying local and international arts and crafts.
The Australian War Museum opened in 1941 and many regard it as one of the finest war museums anywhere in the world. If you have an ancestor who was a part of the armed forces fighting for the Commonwealth of Australia, this museum will almost certainly provide you with possibly a great deal of information about your family member. Anzac Parade leads up to the War Museum and is worth the trip in itself. A visit to the tomb of the unknown soldier can be an extremely emotional experience.
The National Museum is crammed with Australiana exhibits. Phar Lap [who was actually born in New Zealand and died in the USA] was a brilliant racehorse who won so often and so effortlessly in Australia, [in one year Phar Lap won 14 races] and is now on display in this museum. Well actually his hide’s in Melbourne and his skeleton’s in New Zealand but his massive heart – more than 6 kilograms – is smack bang in the National Museum in Canberra. This heart is the most popular exhibit in the entire museum.
The AIS, the Australian Institute of Sport, is based in Canberra. Here Olympic athletes and sporting stars live and train in preparation for their next event. You can take a tour of this state of the art facility and your guide will be a resident of the AIS, an elite athlete. You can see where and how they train, check out an exhibition of some of greatest athletes and get a true behind-the-scenes look at how our next superstars prepare and live.
There are many classy Canberra restaurants and cafes and most will appeal to well-heeled backpackers. Mind you, if you like wine there are several wineries only a short drive from the city. Wineries are great places for a casual lunch and, of course, to taste the goodies being produced on site.
Canberra was a carefully planned city and designed by an American Walter Burley Griffin. Actually his wife Marion had plenty of involvement and the couple interrupted their honeymoon to get their submission to the Australian government. You can get a feel for the city’s layout by driving around but for a spectacular viewing, try the Black Mountain Tower. It gives you a 360 degree view for kilometres. You can try the outdoor observation area for some fresh Canberra air or enjoy a coffee indoors. It’s open day and night.
One of the best parts about the city of Canberra is the number of parks, gardens and nature trails in the actual city. You can explore these nature-rich areas during the day and at sunset can see native animals such as kangaroos and wallabies grazing and at sunrise can hear a number of native birds in full song. You can drive to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve which is about 40 minutes from town and explore more native vegetation, animals and birds. There are wetlands, grasslands, lyrebirds, possums, emus and more. The nearby mountains are sacred to the indigenous Australians and there are examples of their living on the land in times past. There is a sanctuary in the Reserve which is extremely visitor-friendly. You can get up close and personal with some native Australian creatures and wander the trails to see them in their native habitat.
The ACT is tiny alongside other states and the Northern Territory but it packs a great deal of unique and fascinating people, places and products into its size.
