Australia Travel Tips - Canberra by car hire

• By: Editor
• On: 31/Oct/2008
• In: Australia Travel Tips

Heading out of the city you'll come to Namadgi National Park which borders the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve (which was 99% destroyed by bushfire in 2003, though it has recovered quite well) and the Kosciuszko National Park in NSW.

Namadgi Park takes up almost 50% of the area of the ACT. There's plenty of native wildlife to spot such as kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, magpies, rosellas, ravens and others. There's evidence of human occupation dating back over 20,000 years and there are cave paintings at Yankee Hat dating from 800 years ago.

Located close to the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is the Canberra Deep Space Communications Complex (CDSCC). This is part of the Deep Space Network run by NASA, and is used to ensure that interplanetary probes are always in contact with Earth. The other two sites are in the USA and Spain. This site consists of a number of Radio Telescopes and a Visitor Centre.

If you find this interesting you might also find the Mount Stromlo Observatory interesting as well. This observatory was also destroyed by the same bushfires that destroyed Tidbinbilla, but it was much easier to repair. They run a star gazing event for the public on Saturdays.

As with many of the other cities in Australia, Canberra has its own wineries, in fact there are over 30 wineries within easy reach of Canberra, including Jeir Creek, Gallagher, Clonakilla, Lark Hill and others.

Heading outside of the ACT and into New South Wales you can find the Snowy Mountains, which are the highest mountains in Australia and are part of what is known as the Australian Alps. You can go skiing here during the winter months of June, July and August. Other activities you can avail of include abseiling, rock climbing, caving, mountain biking, bushwalking, horse riding, white water rafting and much more.

A popular spot for people looking to get out of Canberra is Bateman’s Bay which is an idyllic locale on the coast and is perfect for swimming in the sheltered cove.

And if you're on your way to Sydney, you may find yourself passing through Goulburn which is a pleasant town and is known as the first inland city to be settled. It's a very important town in the area and serves as a hub for all the agriculture that occurs in the region. In fact it's so important, its largest monument is a 15 metre tall sheep called the Big Merino!

Other attractions in the town include the Morton National Park, the Goulburn War Memorial, and the Wakefield Park Motor Racing Track where you can get yourself a ride in a V8 supercar!

There's plenty more to see and do in and around Canberra, and this was just a taster. It's definitely worth stopping by if you're travelling between Melbourne and Sydney.

If you're starting off in Canberra then you'll want a car, you can find a fine selection on our car hire Canberra page. For more interesting ideas for your holiday in Oz, that a look through our other Australia Blogs page.

If you have any tips about driving in and around the Canberra area feel free to let us know. Just leave your message in the comment box below.