Canberra is one of those hidden gems that you might not expect to have much going for it. However, if you have a few days available it makes for a fantastic weekend away. I headed down for an end of week trip over three days and two nights.
Day 1 – Traveling to Canberra – the long way around
Leaving Sydney at about 9.30am to avoid the horrible peek hour traffic we decided to take an indirect route to Canberra. This took quite a bit longer then the direct route but it was worth being able to check out some of NSW’s amazing sights along the way. Our first stop was the Kiama Blowholes. Last time I visited the wind was quite weak and so we didn’t see much. However, this visit was more successful this time as we had the chance to see the water shooting many metres into the sky. Whilst we were in Kiama we also took a look at the little Blowhole which is just as impressive and has a lot less people visiting. I highly recommend visiting both blowholes whilst your in Kiama.
Continuing our trip to Canberra we decided to stop in Kangaroo Valley to visit the Southern Pie Shop for lunch and coffee. There are a number of pie shops in Kangaroo Valley but this is certainly one of my favourite places with pies filled with delicious and unique flavours such as the Chicken Parmigiana Pie. Kangaroo Valley itself is a beautiful location with some great bush walks and cute local businesses. If your after a quick day trip from Sydney, Kangaroo Valley is a great place to visit.
After the short stop in Kangaroo Valley, we continue onwards to Goulburn to see the Giant Merino Sheep. This sheep is huge and Goulburn is a great midway point if your trecking direct to Canberra.
Arriving in Canberra we headed straight for the hotel and checked in. We visited the suburb of Braddon for dinner. If you’re looking for a reasonably priced dinner I suggest avoiding the CBD and try some of the suburbs for a reasonable price place.
Day 2 – Exploring Canberra – Morning
Day 2 began with visiting Ona Coffee house for breakfast. Ona is famous for winning two awards at the World Roaster 2015 championships. My partner and I have visited Ona before and know that their food and service is great! They continued to meet our expectations for this visit. We all decided to get the Ona roll, a giant bacon and egg roll with your choice of sauce. Whilst waiting for our meals we planned out the day. Before traveling I had researched places of interested but we hadn’t planned where exactly we were going for the day.
Firstly we headed to National Carillon wanting to avoid the hot sun. We were hopeful the bells would ring but it seems that they only play on Wednesday and Saturday. Despite this, it was fascinating checking out the man-made island and tower.
Seeing as we were close by we decided to head to old parliament house ($5 entry for three adults). The architecture of this building is fascinating and has been converted into a museum showcasing Australia’s political history beginning from early colonisation and federation all the way through to modern politics. Additionally the building itself is amazing to explore and looking at some of the old technology including phone systems and type writers really peaked my interested. When visiting be sure to not miss the Behind the lines exhibition featuring some of the best political cartoons. This can be found below the main entry stairs.
Our next stop was the Australian War Museum (Free entry). It was quite stark seeing the names listed on the wall from WW1 and WW2 bringing to life just how many lives were lost. Further inside visitors have the chance to see the uniforms, tool and hardships faced by those who went to war. Many of the old planes, tanks and trucks were also on display. I would allow at least two hours to visit and longer if you wish to watch the movies available and read a lot of the information that can be found with each display.
Day 2 – Exploring Canberra – Afternoon
As the afternoon had well settled in we then headed to the Royal Australian Mint (Free entry). The Mint was quite small yet interesting as we had the ability to see coins being manufactured. The factory had a interesting combination of manual and machine labour that was easily viewed from the windows of the floor above.
After such a big breakfast we had a small late lunch at Dobinsons. The pies were great and the coffee wasn’t too bad (except for the foam on the flat white). Dobinsons can be found in the middle of the city and is an exception to my rule about looking to the suburbs outside the CBD for food.
We explored the city shops a including picking up a mini version of the game life, that I haven’t played for a very long time. After which we headed back to the hotel to rest up and determine where to go for dinner.
Day 3 – National Museum and the return trip
We started the day with another trip to Ona. We couldn’t miss another chance to have an amazing coffee. After breakfast, we headed towards the National Museum. The museum held a range of collections including early Australia, mining and exploration into Australia’s bush fires. Compared to other museums I found the National Museum to be lacking in depth. I would prefer to visit the Melbourne Museum which is far more interesting. However, it was still a good end to our trip.
We then began our treck back to Sydney!
The Final Word
Canberra is a chilled laid back city that I recommend for a weekend escape or relaxed trip. I would highly recommend finding any excuse for a visit!
