Getting to Canberra became a challenge with increasing fuel shortages and flight cancellations in this part of the world. I don’t know why Air New Zealand cancelled our flight from Auckland to Sydney, Australia with 18 hours notice but it got us scrambling. We were already at an airport hotel in Auckland ready to fly the next morning so we immediately called Air New Zealand and spent the next hour on the phone looking at alternative flights. Their first suggestion was to wait 2 more days and get the next direct flight, this did not work for us with a 3 night, prepaid, non-refundable reservation in Canberra. While on the phone with Air New Zealand we were simultaneously searching on Google Flights and found one that would work for us, leaving Auckland at the same time as our cancelled flight but going to Melbourne, a 2 hour layover and then flying to Sydney. This got us to Sydney 4 hours later than our original flight but we still had time to pick up our rental car and drive to Canberra all in one day, which we did. It was a long day with two flights, a layover then the 3.5 hour drive to Canberra but we finally reached our apartment by 7pm unpacked and had an early night. We only have 2 days here!
As the seat of the Government of Australia, Canberra is home to many museums, national monuments and important institutions of the federal government. With a population just under 500,000 we found the city center pleasantly quiet and uncrowded, possibly because it was the start of Easter weekend and we were told that everyone heads to the beaches. It was lovely walking around what felt like an empty city, although the restaurants were still very popular.
With two days here our goal was to see the highlights within the city center:
Parliament House is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, the legislative branch of Australia’s federal tier of government. and offices of the Prime Minister. The fact that we were here the day before the Easter weekend was a stroke of luck, the government was not in session so we were able to freely wander about the building.
The Great Hall of Parliament House is famous for its massive wall tapestry, one of the largest tapestries in the world, measuring 20 meters wide and 9 meters high. Designed by renowned artist Arthur Boyd, it depicts a dense eucalypt forest in the Shoalhaven River area of New South Wales. It took 14 full-time weavers over two years to complete. The tapestry features the sulphur-crested cockatoo and Halley’s Comet, which appeared in the sky when the tapestry was being made.
A LEGO model of Parliament House is a massive scale replica on permanent display within the actual building in Canberra. It was commissioned in 2018 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the building’s opening. The model is a detailed cross-section that reveals the inner workings of the building, which are usually hidden from public view. It was constructed by Ryan “The Brickman” McNaught—the only LEGO Certified Professional in the Southern Hemisphere—and his team. The project used 152,690 bricks and required 740 hours to complete. The model is populated with numerous LEGO “minifigs” engaged in various activities, including politicians in the chambers, staff working behind the scenes, and even tourists exploring the grounds. It features detailed replicas of the green-themed House of Representatives and the red-themed Senate, showing the distinct seating arrangements and galleries. It’s quite impressive!
The Australian War Memorial is the nation’s primary tribute to those who have lost their lives as a result of war, including international peacekeeping missions. Beyond its role as a monument, the Memorial functions as a massive archive and museum. It houses an extensive collection of military hardware, personal letters, and comprehensive historical artifacts regarding Australia’s involvement in global conflicts from the colonial period to the present day. The heart of the memorial is the central courtyard with the Pool of Reflection leading to the Hall of Memory. The courtyard is lined by arched cloisters, with the Roll of Honour positioned behind them. The panels contain the names of over 102,000 Australians who died in the line of duty.
The Hall of Memory contains the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier and is the sacred heart of the memorial. The tomb represents all Australians who have died in war and have no known grave. The dome above the hall depicts the souls of the dead ascending towards a spiritual sun, surrounded by the stars of the southern cross. On the walls is one of the larges mosaics in the world, constructed using over six million glass tiles imported from Italy. The four compositions are of an airman, sailor, servicewoman and soldier from the Second World War.
The museum galleries cover every conflict from the Boer War to present day, it was quite overwhelming. We have been to a number of war memorials in the recent past and we are finding it weighs on us more and more being reminded of so many conflicts in the past and also that war is still happening somewhere in the world 😔
The Captain Cook Memorial Globe is located on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin, built to commemorate the bicentenary of Captain James Cook’s first sighting of the East Coast of Australia in 1770. The globe illustrates the three major voyages of Captain Cook with each route marked on the globe and detailed descriptions of all the journeys on the surrounding wall railing. That Captain Cook guy really got around!!!
The Mount Ainslie Lookout is one of Canberra’s most significant vantage points offering a ‘birds-eye’ view that looks right down Anzac Parade toward the War Memorial and Parliament House. The 360 degree views highlight the city’s meticulously planned layout with landmarks positioned in a geometric line from the mountain’s summit.
Anzac Parade is Canberra’s primary ceremonal avenue, serving as a link between the Australian War Memorial and the northern shores of Lake Burley Griffin. The avenue is flanked by several dozen memorials dedicated to specific military services and major campaigns.
We are not really art gallery type people but the National Gallery of Australia was free to visit so we popped in for a quick wander around. It is the nation’s largest art museum, home to 155,000 works of Australian, Indigenous and international art. While we found some exhibits interesting the majority of items on display did not appeal to us so I’ll let you decide if this is your style of art.
Outside the National Gallery is the eye-catching Ouroboros Sculpture, the gallery’s single most expensive piece of artwork costing AUD $14 million. Created by Lindy Lee, the sculpture is based on an ancient tale of the same name about a snake swallowing its own tail. The sculpture is made from mirror-finish stainless steel and sits in the center of a shallow square pool of water.
We packed a lot into a couple of days and I think we got a pretty good feel for the city. We would recommend a visit here, I think there is much more to see not far outside the city.
Now we are dashing off to Sydney to meet up with our Aussie friends and celebrate a 70th birthday…
TRIP TIPS
We will be in Australia for 3 months and wanted to be able to make phone calls so we picked up a SIM card at Vodafone. The cost for 28 days prepaid was AUD $25 for unlimited local calls and texts and 25GB of data.
When we picked up our rental car we were given a Toyota Corolla Hybrid. We have never had a hybrid before and I have to say it’s the way to go, especially during the current fuel shortages here in Australia. Driving 3.5 hours from Sydney to Canberra and we used less than 1/4 of a tank of gas!!