Canberra - A Capital City

Best Things Nearby:
Right in the heart of the city; walk to transport, restaurants, shops, theatre, galleries, and many other local attractions

Best Things About the Resort:
The proximity to most of Canberra attractions, level of accommodation, facilities provided.

Resort Experience:
The Waldorf has self contained apartments, kitchen facilities are good, the views are excellent, the staff are most helpful . . . and best of all, the beds are luxurious!

• Unit Type: 1 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Excellent
• Service: Excellent

ScreenSound Australia is the national screen and sound archive. It is housed in a wonderful old building that used to be used by the anatomy school of the Australian University. Along with vast collections of film, radio and TV archives, there is a large area set aside for public use - this is where you can view clips from films, TV and radio shows. They are shown continuously in small viewing areas, so people are free to wander at their leisure, spending as long or as little time in each area. Free film presentations are also given on weekends.

ScreenSound is open weekdays 9am to 5pm, and weekends 10am to 5pm. The courtyard cafe serves delightful snacks, and there is the obligatory gift shop for purchasing film memorabilia.

The Australian War Memorial commemorates the Australian war experiences, through exhibition areas, research libraries, and memorials.

There are three levels of exhibition space, each depicting a different aspect of the experiences of men and women who served in conflicts around the world.

The newest area houses 'G for George', an aircraft used during WW11 over Europe. Part of the experience of this exhibition is a sound and light show. In this, the visitors become part of the actual flight experience, from take off in England, to dropping bombs, then finding the way back to base. All the sound and light effects are incredible; the group of school children, visiting at the same time as us, was absolutely mesmerized by the experience. Whilst being very graphic, it isn't a frightening experience - it just gives what I felt was a true experience of what those airmen went through on their tours.

On the Commemorative level, The War Memorial has a Roll of Honour, displaying the names of all Australians who died in both world wars. At the far end is a Hall of Memory; it is dedicated to all who served, and consists of millions of mosaic tiles depicting the three armed services and other graphic images.

To fully appreciate the whole museum takes many hours; there are dioramas of a number of battles, display of Victoria Crosses, aircraft, and a discovery room where children can take part in a variety of activities that help them to understand the experiences depicted. Anzac Parade, leading up to the War Memorial, contains a number of large installation memorials that commemorate individual battles, countries that served along side Australians, and the various services . . . well worth a walk up one side and down the other, just to appreciate the memorials in detail and read their stories.

I have great difficulty putting this building into words; it reminds me of the joke about a camel being constructed by a committee! From every angle the building confronts you and demands reaction - size, angles, shapes, colours; all seem to have been designed to clash and shout, "Look at me, I'm the greatest part of this construction, and DEMAND to be noticed!"

Once inside, the exhibitions thankfully take over from the construction. The introductory area is most effective, visitors are seated in a small theatrette, and rotated through a 3 different areas that lead into this historical collection. From here you are free to wander through the various levels of displays. There are a number of hands-on areas of interest to children, but the best would have to be the lower level Kspace Futureworld. As the museum was not crowded at the time we visited, us 'big kids' were able to participate - after having our ID photo taken, we were assigned a computer screen and given 3 minutes to create our home or car of the future. We then entered the theatrette, and after putting on 3D glasses, were able to view our 'City of the Future'. All our homes were displayed, and we sped through this make believe village in the cars created by our groups. Photos were displayed showing who had created what, so the children took great delight in shouting out when their creations appeared.

Outside on this level is a wonderful play area, containing many colourful constructions for everyone to experience. It is easy to spend a full day here - cafe, restaurant, shop etc as well as exhibition areas showing Australian experiences from indigenous, migrant, environmental, icons - all take you through the journey that this country has experienced.

Transport is easy - plenty of parking, or local bus service from Canberra centre.

The museum is located right on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin, so picnic lunch is also an option.

Housed in an imposing building on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin, the National Gallery is a collection of artworks from both Australian and international painters.

It is open daily 10am to 5pm. You can wander freely through the exhibition areas, or use a guided audio tour (free of charge) if you want to study the artworks in detail. Guided tours are also available; these last about one hour and concentrate on one of the exhibition areas.

We also enjoyed the outdoor exhibition of sculptures and installations - these lead from the outdoor cafe area, along the edge of the lake. Parking is available under the building (no charge).

The gallery website is: www.nga.gov.au

This small gallery is located in the heart of Canberra, and has the city's heart as its main object. At the time of our visit there were two main exhibitions; one dedicated to the local European imigrants, the other to the bushfires that had ravaged Canberra during the last summer.

The latter exhibition had incridible impact - from the recordings of radio programmes warning local residents of what they should expect, to the graphic displays of objects rescued from the ashes. These ranged from a dishwasher (practically melted), to rings fused onto metal ring holders, to china, to other family treasures that had barely survived.

If this is the standard of exhibitions regularly displayed at this gallery, then I thoroughly recommend a visit!

Gold Creek Village has been developed as a day trip attraction for families; just a 15-minute drive from Canberra centre. As you turn off Barton Highway, there are two areas of immediate interest - the National Dinosaur Museum, and Cockington Green Gardens.

We chose the latter to visit - what fun! A miniature European village, complete with gardens, roadways, people . . . and some surprises along the way! As you wander along the pathways, feeling like Gulliver in his travels, you come upon tiny houses, castles, train lines; each one a perfect miniature replica. The gardens are open 7 days 9:30am to 5pm, and offer steam train rides, cafe, picnic grounds, and miniatures shop.

The rest of Gold Creek Village is just along the street - here you are free to wander through shops displaying a great variety of wares from plants, arts, crafts, clothing (including an excellent designer discount store), gourmet foods - plenty to amuse you for as long as you wish!

Bungendore is a small village, located between Canberra and Bateman's Bay. The drive from Canberra takes less than an hour, then you can spend as long as you want, enjoying all that the village has to offer.

We head first to our favourite - Bungendore Woodworks Gallery. This long established business has drawn its artworks from the most amazing designers and makers. Sculptures, fine furniture and other wooden objects just ask to be touched and admired. They are priced from a few dollars for small items, through to many thousands for the finest hand crafted furniture pieces.

The cafe attached to the gallery is a lovely place to pause and refresh, before venturing into the upstairs art gallery. Each visit here has shown us local artworks of exceptional standard ... and ensures that we are lured back next time we are in the area.

Bungendore Village has numerous cafes, art shops, plant nursery, antiques, wine tasting, and accommodation of all standards.

What a spectacular construction!

A grassy hill, an 81-meter-high spire flying the Australian flag, and beneath all this lies the Australian parliament, with most of the building hidden beneath the ground.

From almost any part of the city of Canberra, the parliamentary flagpole is visible; all roads seem to lead to this hill.

We chose to walk from the city, across the bridge spanning Lake Burley Griffin, then up Commonwealth Avenue, so we were able to appreciate the magnificence of this construction as it grew closer.

Security being what it is these days, we were carefully screened before entering the building, then able to wander throughout freely. Guided tours are available; these take visitors through the public areas, and give detailed knowledge of the procedures of the parliament, as well as the construction of the building.

Public galleries are always open to visitors when parliament is sitting - question time at 2pm each day is highly recommended. Sitting timetables are published at www.aph.gov.au

A lift takes you to the grassy area beneath the flagpole; from here the view of Canberra and lake is magnificent (although I still couldn't see that the National Gallery building had any great appeal, even from this angle!)

There is free undercover parking, and entry is free - this is a building not to be missed on your visit to Canberra.

As you arrive in Canberra, pop into the Visitor Information Centre on Northbourn Avenue. Among the many activities available, we happened upon a brochure describing the Anzac Parade walk . . . what a little gem this turned out to be!

The brochure clearly describes this self-guided walk, from the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, along Anzac Parade to the War Memorial. Along this route are 11 different memorials, each dedicated to a different aspect of international wars. As well as giving a detailed description of what constitutes an ANZAC, the brochure describes each memorial you encounter in great detail - from the artists involved in design and construction, to the purpose and meaning behind each one.

We incorporated this walk with a visit to the war memorial, but it could equally be enjoyed on its own. The walk is level, takes about an hour and a half, and would be enjoyed by children as well as adults. There are plenty of shapes and corners just asking to be explored, and while the whole avenue is a memorial, each piece can be walked through and experienced in detail.

For something different in this city of culture and government, take a trip to the Bus Depot Markets. Every Sunday these markets operate in the old bus depot at Kingston, Canberra.

Travel by car (plenty of parking) or take a local bus, and allow yourself plenty of time to browse among the myriad of stallholder's wares. Locally grown and produced organic foods, art and craft wares, magnificent photos, antiques, bric a brac . . . and more! Crafts and arts are of an extremely high quality, and from local producers.

The day we visited, the local bushfire brigade were collecting donations at the entry gate, but this was the only cost to get in.

There's plenty to interest the whole family - not bad value for a day out.