National Arboretum Canberra

The beautiful panoramic view from Dairy Farmers Hill
Well, what a gloriously lovely day it has been.  I had a free morning so I decided to take my very first trip up to the Canberra Arboretum and it was a very pleasant surprise.  There is a fee for parking (like most places in Canberra now), but it is worth it for the visit.

When I woke up this morning it was raining, but by the time I arrived the rain had stopped.  There was still quite a menacing sky, however it never came to anything and by this afternoon we had blue skies.




Entrance into the Arboretum Canberra

Inside there is lots of space - a cafe, restaurant, gift shop and lots of educational displays and the views across Canberra are just magnificent.

The magpies enjoying the view from the balcony.

More magpies.  There are a lot around the Arboretum and they are particularly friendly.

There is a special display of bonsai trees which are amazing.  I could have taken photos of all of them - there are so many species and some bonsai I have never seen before such as a gum tree!

I loved the trunk of this one - it said they have been maintaining it since 1966!

If you have kids and are at a loss as to what to do - the playground at the Arboretum looks incredible!

Um… how fun!

And the grown up kids can enjoy the views from up there too!

A birds nest sculpture up on Dairy Farmers Hill.  I took this shot with my wide angle lens which is why the tower looks like it is leaning!!

And lastly the sculpture on Himalayan Cedar Forrest Hill.  These words are from the Dorathea Mackellar poem that starts "I love a sunburnt country".  When I arrived here there was a group of children climbing all over the sculpture which as you could imagine would also be a good picture, but didn't know if I would need all their permissions to post on here LOL!
Conclusion - I would definitely go back up there and will take friends and family if they are interested when they are in town.

For more info you can visit the official site here.

Have a brilliant weekend!



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