As the weather gets warmer, Spring is the perfect time for a weekend getaway from Sydney to Canberra. While the three-hour trip down the Federal Highway in Autumn is aflame with burnished leaves, Spring is a natural respite for screen-weary eyes — alight with tiny flowers emerging from brilliant green and punctuated by bursts of yellow wattle.
Beat the traffic
We decide the easiest trip is to take an early mark on a Friday at 2pm, and head down before the Friday night peak hour starts clogging the major arteries out of Sydney. As soon as the poplars overlooking Lake George appear (about 30 minutes out of Canberra), we look for a quick right turn off the highway and into Lerida Estate Winery on Vineyard Road, one of the oldest micro-wine regions in the area.
Lerida Estate Winery
We discover award-winning Shiraz and a charcuterie board stacked with delights from local producers and international specialists sourced by @flavours_shoalhaven. Sourced a little closer to home, the house-smoked olives are meaty and zesty with beautifully contrasted textures between the large green olives and the smaller black ones. We eye off the barrel room enviously (if only we had time to stay and dine) and stock up on a couple of bottles of chardonnay, and are back on the road.
Wide avenues, easy driving
While many Sydneysiders associate Canberra with stuffy bus trips and school excursions (I think the year 6 Canberra school trip is a mandatory, mundane, rite of passage for most Sydney school students!), there is so much to love about Canberra. The first thing we notice is how easy it is to drive in Canberra, instantly feeling relaxed. Just off Northbourne, the main road through the heart of Canberra, we swing into Mantra on Northbourne – an hotel with many hidden gems. See our review for more!
Mantra on Northbourne is a sweetly simple place to stay, packed with features like friendly staff and easy access to local restaurants and bars in nearby Braddon. The suite we stayed in had loads of space, and was very quiet which made for an easy night’s sleep. Facilities like the gym were pocket-sized, which made exploring leafy parks nearby even more tempting. When a city like Canberra has so much to see and do, it’s wonderful to stay in a hotel that welcomes you without being the centre of attention.
Wolves and monkeys – The Howling Moon, rooftop bar
Keen to stretch our legs after a long drive (and a week stuck at a desk at work), we check in to our hotel and head a few blocks north to Braddon. First, we stop at The Howling Moon, the rooftop bar at the Canberra Rex Hotel. Lured in by the cute recurring motif of wolves across everything from the menu to the wall art, we stay for cocktails (inspired by the sun, I went for the Eclipse, a delicious citrus concoction) and watch the sun retreat beyond Mount Ainslie, punctuated by the needle-like Telstra Tower.
Next up, we’d heard that Lonsdale Street in Braddon had a great range of restaurants. Keeping it casual to end a big work week, we head to Grease Monkey — burgers served in a converted mechanic’s garage. We walk back to the hotel, enjoying already how easy it is to get around Canberra whether on two feet or four wheels.
Saturday
To market, to market – Capital Region Farmers Markets
Inspired by tales of Canberra’s accessibility to local produce, we enquire at the desk about heading out to the Exhibition Park (home to the Summernats) where the markets are hosted every Saturday. It was a bit late (9am, who doesn’t love a sleep in!?) and the hotel reception said it might be pretty busy. A 15-minute, traffic-free drive later, we get a park metres from the market gate and had loads of space to mosey between all the stalls. We discover favourite stalls – the flavoured macadamias at The World’s Best Nuts! And the irresistibly-named Love Street Bagels.
Motivated by markets and following the local’s lead, we head to The Little Burley Market on the foreshore of Lake Burley Griffin under the watchful gaze of the National Library, Questacon, and the National Portrait Gallery. Amongst the arts and crafts, we find rattan seats under striped umbrellas at converted shipping container Margot and opt for for gourmet toasted sandwiches and coffee while overlooking Lake Burley Griffin and cheering every time the geyser went off.
Meander through museums – National Portrait Gallery
This is a smaller, sweeter option compared to the mega-experience that heading to the National Gallery can be. In the calm of the uncrowded gallery, we discover unique ways to depict people in all their nuance and enjoy abstract expressions of people’s essence. Spectacular splashes of neon yellow throughout Joan Ross’ work are particularly memorable.
We head for the National War Memorial is always a grounding experience, and the displays make for a fascinating portrait of wartime experiences. We felt lucky to be there for the Last Post Ceremony at 4:30pm.
Dinner and a movie – Wilma
Wilma is one of the hottest spots in town, not least because their entire menu is ethically sourced from Australian creators. After a day of making decisions in markets and museums we happily put our gastronomic future in the hands of the chef, and choose the ‘Just Feed Me’ menu which features eight favourite dishes. The wagyu kushiyaki skewers dressed in green goddess sauce, and tiger prawn toast sweetened with native plum are standouts.
A film at the Dendy Canberra Centre is the perfect end to the day. Curling up in the extra comfy chairs of the Premium Lounge, a glass of locally-brewed BentSpoke Barley Griffin pale ale in hand, while watching a movie is a wonderful way to end an action-packed day that felt a world away from a regular Saturday in Sydney.
Sunday – Haig Park Village Markets
The markets are a short stroll, from our hotel, and we’re delighted to find a cute market of arts and crafts and delicious local foods bookended by adorable coffee caravans. We start at the fern-adorned Little Bean Co coffee caravan, meander past stalls like Blondiez and Browniez and The Pretzel Baker before ending up at the mallard-green Green Caffeine Machine coffee caravan (Canberran’s love their coffee!). The markets are so easy to move around, and we take the time to chat with stallholders. We can’t resist Aikicha’s Tea stall, and pick up ‘A Very Canberra Cuppa’ tea blend inspired by snow-capped mountains and the red-brick homes of Canberra, and the ‘Little Burley Brew’ inspired by Lake Burley Griffin with peppermint and native lemon myrtle. For truly local treats to take home, these are some of the most original we’ve seen!
Determined to make the most of our time away, we head to the National Arboretum. There’s a range of trails to take, and we opt for the 7km Explorer Track to get some decent distance in before the drive home back to Sydney. The Explorer Track is the longest trail available and very popular with local dogs (on leashes!) and their humans. There is great energy on the trail for a Sunday, with lots of people and canines stopping to smell and admire the beautiful trees, plants and views. We stop in at the Café at the Arboretum to pick up some sandwiches and coffee to fuel us on the drive back up the Federal Highway to Sydney.
Final impressions
Canberra has a reputation for being dull, but we found it anything but boring! Whether it’s international art pieces or local foodie delights from farmer’s markets, the whole weekend was both awe-inspiring and rejuvenating. Canberra has developed so much more to offer in recent years. And while festival weekends, like Floriade pull the crowds, we liked the calmness of an ordinary weekend away – an extraordinarily lovely escape from busy Sydney life.
What we are Addicted to? Favourite coffee -Green Caffeine Machine coffee caravan, Haig Park Village Markets on a Sunday morning. Our favourite hike is The Explorer Track at the National Arboretum and our favourite lunch spot is Margot at the edge of Lake Burley Griffin, for the best toasties to enjoy lakeside!
What we need to be more Addicted? Make restaurant bookings ahead of time. Locals definitely know where the good food is – if you don’t book, you may miss out.
