TRAVELOGUE: Canberra

What's going to a country without visiting it's capital city? Contrary to popular capitals like London, Paris, Amsterdam, Canberra is a not very popular among locals and foreigners. Reason being it's a city for politics and education, not so much for sightseeing or shopping. Nonetheless I still decided to head up here for a look and it didn't disappoint. It's definitely worth a visit! 

1. Transport

You can get to Canberra via flight, train, coach or car. 

Coach: Murrays coach run from both Sydney Central and Sydney airport to Canberra. 

Train: You can take NSW Trainlink from Sydney Central to Canberra Station (Kingston), it costs 79AUD (return trip). The ride is about 4hrs

Car: 3hrs drive from Sydney central to Canberra

We drove to Canberra from Sydney and the city itself is very easy to navigate. If you are not driving then bus is the only form of public transport in Canberra. 

2. Accomodation

We stayed at YHA Canberra. It's very affordable, esp for students-on-budget like us. It's located in the city center, a stone throw away from Canberra Centre. 

Address: 7 Akuna St, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

3. Places to visit

1. Parliament House

This is definitely one of the most grand looking parliament house I've seen, or maybe I've just not seen enough? You don't have to be interested in Australian politics to want to snap a picture in front of the parliament house. 

Address: Parliament Dr, Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

2. Australian War Memorial

If you have very limited time in Canberra, this is a must-visit place (other than the Parliament House). It's one of the best curated museums I've been to! And you get a very nice view looking down ANZAC Parade from the war memorial.

Address: Treloar Cres, Campbell ACT 2612, Australia

3. Lake Burley Griffin

This is my favourite place in Canberra. Located at the centre of Canberra, it's easily accessible from both sides of the city. 

4. Telstra Tower
Located at the summit of Black Mountain, it offers a 360 view of Canberra. You can either walk up through the Australian bush or drive up (obviously the less tiring choice). The tower itself is not very interesting but the view's amazing! We tried locating where everything was, and yes the Parliament House is still very obvious from such heights! 
Address:100 Black Mountain Dr, Acton ACT 2601, Australia

Apart from these four places, we also visited possibly all the museums in Canberra. National Library of Australia, Questacon, High Court of Australia, National Portrait Gallery and National Gallery of Australia are all within walking distance from each other, so you should visit them altogether. And lastly, if you have time, take a walk around Australian National University, the campus is huge! 

4. Food

1. Dobinsons Bakery Cafe
We had breakfast on both mornings in Canberra. 
Address: Canberra Centre, 177 Bunda Street, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

2. Poppas Pasta
I believe there's not many Italian restaurants in Canberra so this is the only one we found but IT'S GOOD. We tried Cabonara and Spaghetti Bolognese, and they are really good. 
Address: 73 Canberra Ave, Griffith ACT 2603, Australia

3. Ka Sushi Ramen
Best japanese food in Canberra! The service is good and it has nice interiors! 
Address: 3/121 Marcus Clarke St, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

TRAVELOGUE: Ballarat

Headed to Ballarat, and I discovered that this city is a hidden gem! It's a short drive/train ride from Melbourne, about 1.5hrs. It's most commonly know as the mining town, with Sovereign Hill and Gold Museum as popular tourist attractions. If you are looking for a kids friendly place, Sovereign Hill is the place to visit.  

Lydiard Street is main street of Ballarat central. The buildings are mostly low rise buildings with Victorian style architecture. In fact, the tallest building there is 5 stories high I believe! The Art Gallery of Ballarat is the oldest and largest regional art gallery in Australia. It has a very extensive collection of artworks, enough to keep you interested and in awe. My favourite part of the city is Lake Wendouree, it's gorgeous. The perfect place for a run, a picnic, a stroll, and the best thing is people live right next to it! Apart from the city, if you are looking for some country adventures, here's 5 other places to check out!

1. Ballarat Botanical Gardens

I have a thing for botanical gardens, especially after spending a whole afternoon roaming around Melbourne's Royal Botanical Gardens. This one is relatively small, but beautiful nonetheless. I love the glasshouse, mainly because of all the flowers inside and the smell, heavenly! There's also this path with statues of very Australian prime minister, pretty cool!

Address: Gillies Street North, N Ballarat VIC 3355, Australia

2. Ballarat Wildlife Park

One of the places I was most excited about because of KANGAROOS & KOALAS! It's not a huge area but it's enough to keep you entertained for several hours. Other than kangaroos, most of the animals are kept in their respective areas. The kangaroos are super friendly (and hungry), and also very chill. All they do is eat, sleep and hop around. That's the life man!

Admission: 29.50AUD

Address: Cnr of York & Fussell Streets, Ballarat East VIC 3350, Australia

3. Mt. Buninyong

For the view, it is worth going up. I mean after seeing skylines after skylines, I really like seeing acres of land for a change. 

4. Yuulong Lavender Estate

Unlike the fancy pants (or should I say overly decorated) lavender farms in BeiJing, this one is very raw with minimal decorations. Most of the lavenders are harvested because they bloom in the summer (which is in December for Australia) but there were still some left! I love lavenders, they are possibly my favourite flowers after hydrangea. Well if you are heading here, make sure to come in late November or December! #seaofpurple

Address: 58 Sharrocks Road, Mount Egerton VIC 3352, Australia

5. Buninyong Blueberry Farm

Blueberry picking, this is my favourite part of the entire trip! When city girl me meets country life, I'm all in. First time eating a berry straight off the tree, sounds silly but #cheapthrill! I would come back just to do this all over again. You can pick and buy the berries at $7/kg!

Address: 7189 Midland Highway, Buninyong VIC 3357, Australia

xx