Neil_Oz

Something I forgot to mention - if anyone's planning to visit Canberra and can make time, the National Archives of Australia (NAA) has an excellent display of original entries in the international competition that was held to design the national capital. It includes two (I think) beautiful sketches for Walter Burley Griffins's winning entry, made by his wife Marion Mahoney Griffin, who was also his talented partner.

The National Archives building is behind the Old Parliament House, a short walk - a pleasant rather than grandiose building, often overlooked, but always houses a few exhibits worth seeing by anyone interested in Australian history.

Last Sunday we attended a talk there by the futurist Richard Neville, who might be remembered as one of the defendants in the famous "Oz" magazine trial in London many years ago. At the conclusion of his talk an NAA representative did a "This is Your Life" number and presented him with his ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation) file. Richard was touched, but disappointed that it wasn't thicker.

WallyKringen

Back to reality - if the op who'd rather use buses wants to go to Canberra and beyond, a car would be preferable. Neil goes on about Queanbeyan and lack of entertainment and such - irrelevant, I mentioned motel prices being way cheaper than nearby Canberra's, and that's an easily verifiable fact. So if dollars count, that's where you want to sleep.

Other than that, Canberra is certainly worth a look or two, it's a veritable oddity as are most of its inhabitants - national capital surrounded by reality.

WK

Neil_Oz

Goodness, Wally, you have been a busy boy. Examining most of Canberra's 310,000 people is no mean task.

As for accommodation, a quick search of wotif.com in the $100-and-under bracket just yielded 24 properties in Canberra and two in Queanbeyan. There's also a nice hostel in O'Connor. Hardly the stuff of politicians and business people with fat expense accounts (your words).

You also implied that Queanbeyan would be a good place to eat, with "a few nice restaurants" (well hidden, in my experience) in the main street. Honestly, to point the unwary visitor at the rather dire prospect of Queanbeyan after dark when 10-15 minutes' drive away there's a wealth of eateries to suit many ethnic preferences and budgets in Canberra's lively Manuka and Kingston precincts (which you must have overlooked during your extensive research into the city and its people) is not very helpful.

Sounds as though you could do with a reality check yourself. Denigration is no substitute for facts, mate.

jck4

Nikica - I wholeheartedly second the recommendation for the Featherdale Wildlife park outside of Sydney. Fantastic way to get up and close with native animals. We liked it better than the zoo!

Alan

Featherdale is, indeed, a nice park, and a popular spot for children's birthday parties. The problem with Featherdale is that it's quite a long trip from the centre of Sydney..... your best and fastest bet would be to take the BLue Mountains train (destination: Lithgow or Katoomba) from Sydney Terminal Station, as it stops at Blacktown, which is only 2 km from Featherdale. There is a bus between Blacktown and Featherdale, but you'd probably find a taxi (they are always waiting right at Blacktown Station) would be easier, and not overly expensive. Blacktown is, frankly, not much of a place, and by mid-November it's getting very warm.... go early in the morning, if possible (the train journey takes about 45 minutes).

If your daughter likes animals, you could possibly combine the Featherdale trip with a trip to Euroka Clearing at Glenbrook (in the lower Blue Mountains.... about an extra twenty-five minutes past Blacktown). There are tour operators that combine the two and use small vehicles (you can't get into Euroka with a large coach, which is one of the reasons it's still unspoiled). Usually there are dozens of wild kangaroos grazing all over the clearing.... plus some cockatoos and the occasional goanna. The kangaroos are used to people and are not fazed if you approach to within a couple of metres (I have never been able to quite get within touching distance, however). SPring is a great time of year to come to Euroka, as many of the kangaroos will have joeys in their pouches.... this never fails to delight my daughters, who especially love it when the mother, sensing humands approaching, tells her joey to hop back in, which involves an amazing somersault with the oversize feet sticking out as an odd angle.

Euroka is definitely one to put on your list.... if you were willing to hire a car for the day, you could do Featherdale, Euroka and Katoomba in the one day.