Located on the south side of Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra, the National Gallery of Australia houses the most valuable art collection in the country. Limited parking is available onsite, but we chose to park at Questacon, where a large carpark is available. This also means that you are close to other attractions in the area without needing to move your car.
Entry to the gallery is free, but you will need to get an entry ticket from the front counter. However, some special exhibitions may have an entry fees. If you have bags or coats you don’t want to carry around with you, self storage lockers are available free of charge.
The collection comprises over 155,000 works of art, including the world’s largest collection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art. With artwork from around the world, there is something here for everyone.
We enjoyed walking through the galleries, particularly the unique Indigenous section.
Aboriginal Message SticksTrucaninny, the last full-blood Tasmanian aboriginalGerman and Hungarian Silver and CrystalSacred Frog by YirawalaGija Country by Queenie McKenzieIndigenous Aboriginal Art on woodBlue Poles
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Modern and spacious, the National Zoo and Aquarium in Canberra houses animals from around the world, but also includes many from Australia.
Getting There and Parking
Located a short 15-minute car ride from the centre of Canberra, it’s easy to get to. Plenty of on-site parking allows easy access for cars. A great feature is that entrances from different car parks mean you do not need to walk all the way to the front entrance to get in. Just remember which entrance you used!
Getting Around the National Zoo and Aquarium
The zoo’s layout enables all exhibits to be seen by walking a circular path, with a few deviations. Because of this excellent layout you do not need to double back and retrace your steps very often.
Food Outlets
Two main food outlets are placed on either side of the zoo. Near the lower carpark entrance a restaurant serving light meals and drinks is near the monkey enclosures. On the far side of the zoo, next to the open range area, the Rhino Bistro also serves food and drinks.
Vending machines scattered around the zoo allow you to buy snacks and drinks as you go.
If you would rather bring your own food, picnic areas throughout the zoo let you sit and relax while you eat.
National Zoo and Aquarium Exhibits
Housed in large modern enclosures, the animals have plenty of space to move around. This reminded us of a mix between the open range zoo at Dubbo and the Taronga Zoo in Sydney.
African Wildlife
The zoo has a large collection of African wildlife on display. Ranging from lions and cheetahs to elephants and giraffes, most people’s favourites are there. Most of the carnivores had been fed and by midmorning were dozing in the sun. If you want to see them roaming around, early morning is the best time, because this is when they are more active.
The zebras, giraffes and other herbivores were more active, often walking close to the fence. This was great, giving us a much better close up look.
Unlike their African counterparts, the tigers were active and wandering around their enclosure. One of them came up to the large Perspex viewing window so we could get a very close look at him.
Tiger
Meerkats
Meerkats are always fun to watch and the ones here were no exception. Whether they were fighting, eating or just standing guard, they were entertaining.
Meerkat
Birds
Aviaries hold many birds, but the one we like the most was the fairy penguins, because theirs was open to the air and you could see them swimming around.
Fairy Penguin
Reptiles
Located next to the aquarium, the reptile houses a huge number of snakes and lizards. This is a great way to see many of Australia’s poisonous snakes behind a glass wall so that you remain safe. Seeing them out in the wild can be a little more dangerous.
Heat lamps and low lighting keep them active, although most of the snakes were not moving.
Green Iguana
Primates
The primate section was very active, with monkeys climbing along rope and through trees. The lemurs, apes and monkeys had only just been fed, so were out in their enclosures playing and eating.
Cotton-Top Tamarin
Bears
Malaysian Sun Bear
Deer
There were many different species of deer, all in large enclosures so that they could move around.
Wapiti Elk
Australian Wildlife
As expected, the Australian section is one of the largest, with kangaroos, wallabies, emus and koalas.
It was great to see Tasmanian devils there, as they are endangered due to a facial cancer that is destroying their population in Tasmania. Breeding programs and disease free populations have been set up around the country to save them from extinction.
WallabiesTasmanian DevilGoodfellows Tree Kangaroo
Extinct Animals at the National Zoo
A very unusual section of the zoo is dedicated to extinct animals and birds. The first we saw was the dodo, famous for being made extinct by sailors who killed them for food. The Tasmanian Tiger was also there, push to extinction by sheep farmers and graziers.
The message from these displays is that animals can easily be made extinct, but can be brought back again.
Also in the area were a few dinosaurs, showing that life has changed significantly over the last 100 million years. They are also fun for kids to look at because they look quite life-like.
This is one of the best zoos we have seen, and we have visited a lot of them. So much space for the animals. Great location, no issues with parking, and plenty of spots to sit down and have a snack or sit down to order food. A must if you love this stuff!
For other places to visit in the Australian Capital Territory click here
Opened in 2008, the National Portrait Gallery houses portraits of prominent Australians who are important in their field of endeavour or whose life sets them apart as an individual of long-term public interest.
Located next o the High Court of Australia and across the road from the National Gallery of Australia, it’s easy to find. We parked at the Questacon Car Park, because we intended to see other attractions in the area. This is a paid car park, but there are usually spaces available, and it’s centrally located. Parking is available at the National Gallery, but this fills quickly.
On entering the gallery, you are met by the sculpture Geo Face Distributor, popularly known as the orange blob. Apparently you can see different faces depending on how you look at it, but we could only see a blob.
Walking around the galleries, we could identify many of the portraits, without reading the descriptions. Obvious Government officials (Quentin Bryce the Governor General) and Justice Michael Kirby were present, but not walls full of ex-Prime Ministers, which we were pleased about.
It was great to see actors like Deborah Mailman, Hugh Jackman and Ruth Cracknell along with cricketer Shane Warne. Important indigenous leaders like Pat Dodson and Richard Walley were also present.
What Did We Think?
This was an interesting gallery to visit because of the variety of people represented. Entry is free, unless you want to go to any special exhibits that are on. After finishing, we went next door to the National Gallery of Australia.
Geo Face Distributor by James Angus (popularly the giant orange blob)Photographic PortraitsChrissy Amphlett by Ivan DurrantRuth Cracknell by Rosemary ValadonDeborah Mailman by Evert PloegQuentin Bryce by Michael ZavrosPatrick Dodson by Zhou XiaopingRichard Walley by Julie DowlingJustice Michael Kirby by Ralph HeimansNell by Abbey McCullochHugh Jackman by Vincent Fantauzzo
For other places to visit in the Australian Capital Territory click here
