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Category: Canberra

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Commonwealth Park Canberra

Commonwealth Park walking tracks

Commonwealth Park Canberra

Located in the centre of Canberra, Commonwealth Park is full of walking tracks, memorials and sculptures. With Lake Burley Griffin as a backdrop, it’s an excellent place for a relaxing stroll, picnic or simply sit and admire the views.

Car parks within the park make access easy, but if you want to walk from the city, there are several overpasses crossing Parks Ways to avoid the traffic.

Lake Burley Griffin

With Lake Burley Griffin as a backdrop, there are some great sights to see from Commonwealth Park. The most spectacular is the Captain Cook Memorial Jet, a giant fountain shooting water up to 147m high. Check its operating times, as it only operates at certain period during the day.

Across the water, you get some great views of Parliament house (old and new) as well as the National Library, Art Gallery, Portrait Gallery, and High Court.

Captain Cook Memorial Jet
Captain Cook Memorial Jet
Old Parliament House with New Parliament House Behinf
Old Parliament House with New Parliament House Behinf

Tracks and Walks

The best way to enjoy the park is to walk along its many tracks. We walked along the lake shore because we wanted to see the sights across the water. The tracks take you past most of the sculptures and memorials, so you can structure your walk to see them all.

With plenty of trees, shade, and seating there are opportunities to stop, relax and take in the scenery.

Commonwealth Park walking tracks
Commonwealth Park walking tracks

Memorials in Commonwealth Park Canberra

Scattered throughout the park, memorials to famous Australians and groups such as the Police and Emergency Services commemorate their memory. Some are not strictly within the park itself, but further east in Kings Park.

A special memorial dedicated to HMAS Canberra, a heavy cruiser which sunk during World War Two sits on the shoreline.

Overall, a great place to visit with plenty to keep you busy, while providing places to sit and relax.

Captain James Cook Memorial Commonwealth Park Canberra
Captain James Cook Memorial
National Emergency Services Memorial Commonwealth Park Canberra
National Emergency Services Memorial
HMAS Canberra Memorial
HMAS Canberra Memorial
National Police Memorial Commonwealth Park Canberra
Australian Merchant Navy Memorial
Australian Merchant Navy Memorial
Sir Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Menzies
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Lake Burley Griffin Cruise

The Gull

Lake Burley Griffin Cruise

This is a great, relaxing way to see the sights of Canberra while you cruise around Lake Burley Griffin.

We parked in the Questacon carpark, only a short walk from the jetty on Queen Elizabeth Terrace where we boarded the “Gull”. Conveniently located near a coffee shop, you can get a snack and coffee if you arrive early.

The boat takes you past many of the attractions of Australia’s capital while giving you a different view of them. The tour guide was very informative, going through the history of Canberra and most of the places we looked at.

Depending on the tour time, the Captain Cook Memorial Fountain may be operating, so you will get a close-up look of the water jet.

This was a fun, informative tour and would be a great introduction for anyone new to Canberra.

The Gull
The Gull
Waterloo Bridge
Waterloo Bridge
Captain Cook Memorial Jet
Captain Cook Memorial Jet
Australian Merchant Navy Memorial
Australian Merchant Navy Memorial
National Carillon Lake Burley Griffin Tour
National Carillon
Angel of the North Lake Burley Griffin Tour
Angel of the North
Parliament House Lake Burley Griffin Tour
Parliament House

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.

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National Dinosaur Museum

Life Size Triceratops outside the Museum

National Dinosaur Museum

One of the Australian Capital Territories’ main tourist attractions, the National Dinosaur Museum explains evolution through the use of fossils and interactive displays. Animatronics and recreated landscapes bring the displays to life, adding a lot of fun to the museum.

Outside the museum, a dinosaur-themed playground keeps the kids entertained, a life size Triceratops greets you at the entrance.

Life Size Triceratops outside the Museum
Life Size Triceratops outside the National Dinosaur Museum

Laid out chronologically, the displays take you though the evolution of life. Starting with invertebrates, displays of trilobites and giant scorpions explain some of the earlier life forms. Many of the displays are casts (these are clearly marked), but some are original. Even so, there is a great range of them.

Invertebrates

Trilobite
Trilobite
Giant Scorpion
Giant Scorpion

Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Reptiles

The main focus of the museum is dinosaurs, with this section being the largest. Life-size recreations of pterodactyls fly overhead as you go up the stairs. Displays of life size models and skeletons follow, including T-Rex and carnotaurus. Many of these are surrounded by dioramas, giving more context to the display, rather than simply sitting on a display stand.

The stegosaurus display includes a side-by-side comparison of the skeleton and recreated model. This is great because many museums show only one or the other and not both.

Pteranodon
Pteranodon
Carnotaurus
Carnotaurus
Tyrannosaurus National Dinosaur Museum
Tyrannosaurus Rex
Stegosaurus skeleton National Dinosaur Museum
Stegosaurus skeleton
Stegosaurus reconstruction National Dinosaur Museum
Stegosaurus reconstruction

The Rise of Mammals

Following the dinosaurs, displays of mammals include a giant sloth, sabre tooth tiger and a mammoth skeleton. It was surprising to see how large the sloth was, having never seen one of these before.

Giant Sloth
Giant Sloth
Mammoth and Geodes
Mammoth and Geodes

Evolution of Mankind

The final fossil section traced the evolution of our own species from “Lucy” and homo habilis to the Neanderthals.

Australopithecus Afarensis "Lucy" National Dinosaur Museum
Australopithecus Afarensis “Lucy”
Human Evolution
Human Evolution
Human Evolution National Dinosaur Museum
Human Evolution

Geodes

The final area of the museum contains amethyst geodes. These are huge, making a great display around the mammoth.

A gift shop sells all sorts of dinosaur related merchandise, including models, fridge magnets and books. Especially interesting, were the fossils and gemstones for sale.

So, if you have an interest in dinosaurs, or have kids, this is a great visit. As Australia does not have many dinosaur fossils of its own (most are in Queensland), many are casts, but they are still a great display.

Amethyst Geode
Amethyst Geode

To see what else there is to do in New South Wales, please see some of our other stories.