Why you should stop over in Canberra on your way to the snow

Break up your trip to the slopes with a stopover in Canberra, writes Helen Hayes.

Our nation’s capital, Canberra is overflowing with things to do. Drive down, or fly into Canberra Airport and look around the amazing museums, incredible galleries, engaging activities and much more before driving to the snow or catching the Skibus.

Zap! Bam! Kapow! Surrounded by superheroes from Wonder Woman to Wolverine – at least in street art form – you’ll pull up in Canberra’s CBD. Your kids will be awed by the mega murals and convinced it’s a sign they’re in for some supersized fun. Yes, Canberra might be best known as Australia’s home of politics, but there’s so much more to the city, and a snow stopover is always a super idea.

Winter activities in Canberra

With loads to do inside, winter doesn’t put a dampener on a Canberra stay. A visit to Parliament House offers an insight into the workings of Australia’s democratic system – though kids might prefer the LEGO version, constructed from 152,690 bricks in the Queen’s Terrace Gallery.

Questacon is always on the list even if you and the kids have been there before. This interactive wonderland features highly engaging and captivating science exhibits. It throws kids headfirst into topics from the human body and outer space to gravity and artificial intelligence.

Then take part in a fun treasure hunt at Cockington Green Gardens’ miniature village; do a tour of the National Dinosaur Museum with its amazing collection including 23 complete skeletons and over 300 individual fossils;

Let the offspring run wild at the excellent plant-inspired Pod Playground at the National Arboretum Canberra, which is stunning with its 44,000 trees. More arty kids will love The National Gallery of Australia, which has a wonderful collection of artworks from around the globe as well as the dedicated kid-friendly space The Gallery. It also houses a stunning collection of Australian and international art.

Winter’s blue skies allow visitors to enjoy the outdoors in Canberra

The Australian National Botanic Gardens is another wondrous place. From 1-7 July, call in and experience MEGAfauna and MEGAfauna afterDARK, an immersive, illuminated and cultural event with life-size diprotodons.

For more some outdoor fun, hire bikes and ride around the lake foreshore. Hire e-scooters from the Canberra Visitor Centre and clock up a decent 15-20 km/hr and soak up some of Lake Burley Griffin’s most beloved sights. You can also take a hike up Mount Ainslie. You’ll be treated with panoramic views right across Canberra.

Or get your ski legs in before you hit the snow at Corin Forest – Canberra’s alpine adventure base. Go tobogganing, make a snowman, throw some snowballs and do a few runs on skis or a snowboard. Canberra even has an indoor ski attraction, Vertikal Indoor Snow Sports, where you can build skills and confidence on what is best described as a white, snowy treadmill.

Quizzic Alley

If you have Harry Potter fans in the family, ride your brooms into the Harry Potter-themed Quizzic Alley shop. An experience as much as a store, there’s more Harry Potter merchandise than you can wave a wand at, along with butterscotchy QBrew, a replica of the Weasley’s flying Ford Anglia. The kids will love practising magic in a potion-making class.

National Museum of Australia

On this visit, it’s the awesome National Museum of Australia that makes the biggest impression. The museum about people and place has had a $34 million revamp, which has seen the addition of the Great Southern Land environmental gallery – a multisensory wonderland that takes us through majestic bunya pine sculptures and multi-storey projections that make us feel like we’re flying. We even interact with 3D animated platypus.

Read: 65 things to do in Canberra with kids

Where to stay in Canberra

Canberra has an impressive range of convenient, affordable and – most importantly – family-friendly accommodation options.

East Hotel

East Hotel Canberra is one of the best. Found between the vibrant shopping and restaurant hubs of Kingston and Manuka, East Hotel is family-owned and firmly family-focused. Families adore the dedicated kids’ rooms – the affectionately-dubbed ‘Kids Cubbies’. These rooms interconnect with the standard family suites and come complete with bunk beds, Xbox games, kids’ minibars and more. The hotel’s new lobby is sparkling, and the culinary offerings at Agostinis Restaurant will fuel you up for the days ahead.

Jamala Wildlife Lodge

To add some roar to your snore, stay overnight at Jamala Wildlife Lodge. This award-winning destination combines a luxury stay with amazing wildlife viewing at the National Zoo & Aquarium.

In fact, the accommodation is in the zoo which makes it even more exciting. Jamala offers several wild accommodation options with seven rooms and suites in u-Shaka Lodge, six Giraffe Treehouses and five Jungle Bungalows where you can be sleeping or having a bath next to a tiger, cheetah, lions or a Malayan sun bear. All that separates you from these magnificent creatures is a glass wall. You can enjoy a four-course dinner in the Rainforest Cave with white lions or hyenas, or the kids might prefer doing a tour of the aquarium.

Do a self-guided tour of the Zoo in the afternoon and a guided tour in the morning, with the otters, meerkats and lemurs just some of the many standouts.

Canberra truly has something for everyone and will make your trip to the snow and safer and happier one.

This article originally appeared in Ski & Snowboard with Kids magazine. Subscribe to the latest issue here.

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