Australian Travel

The Australian Capital Territory is not on the front cover destination of most chic travel publications.

This simple fact is somewhat pardonable when you consider the millions of annual domestic and international tourists who visit other points of interest in Australian travel destinations, are Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Gold Coast., Tasmania, Perth, the Northern Territory and South Australia.

But while Darling Harbour hotels in Sydney welcome scores of business and leisure travellers and boutique hotels in Melbourne remain hotly sought after, the ACT is a wonderful diamond in the rough.

Consider if you will, these five superb points of interest in Canberra and the ACT.

Canberra Nature Park

Eminently accessible from Canberra proper, the capital city's beautiful Nature Park offers visitors the chance to mingle with bushland creatures big and small. In truth a network of thirty distinct areas, the vast reserve is a pre-eminent sanctuary for rare and remarkable animals.

The Canberra suburb of Kingston dates back to the early days of the ACT and contains myriad landmarks of interest. One of the best, and certainly the most interactive, is the Old Bus Depot. The grand old lakeside gem transforms into a lively marketplace every Sunday.

Black Mountain Tower

While some telecommunication towers evoke negative connotations as far as tourist attractions go, the ACT's is excellent for a wide variety of reasons. The view from Black Mountain Tower's observation deck is nonpareil, for one, and the in-house restaurant (yes, it revolves) serves up superior food.

Australian War Memorial

Many a war memorial reeks of patriotic propaganda but happily, the Australian War Memorial is a humble and sober reminder of the ultimate sacrifices made by servicemen and women throughout the nation's military history. Both the grand monument and adjacent ANZAC Parade comprise must-see landmarks in Canberra.

National Museum of Australia

Since 2001, the National Museum of Australia has set a gold standard in the ACT. The matchless institution contains a spectacular array of exhibits on every aspect of life, culture and history of Australia. Perhaps most notable is the National Museum's avant-garde design.

Travel with kids can be a headache as long distances can make any child restless and that can make your trip miserable unless you plan your trip carefully and don't leave everything till the last minuet.

You really need to plan your trip carefully allowing for extra stops, as children really need to get out and run around at least every couple of hours.

This can work for you too, when we traveled with kids we would stop every two hours to change drivers, so when you are traveling with kids find a park and take a break for at least a half hour, so they can to run around for a while and you can use this time to have that well deserved coffee break.

Traveling With a Baby

If you have a baby you may need to take more breaks as it is not as easy to keep a baby entertained on a long trip and you will need to get them out of their car seat for a while.

Take a potty along with you for those emergency stops along the way, it helps the little girls especially feel more comfortable. Take a strong plastic bag to carry it in and a little extra water to rinse it out then wash it thoroughly each night.

Be Ready For The Questions

When you travel with kids you will find they ask a lot of questions, so if you can research the areas you are visiting you may be able to point out things of interest along the way. You can save your sanity by preparing yourself for these things before the trip.

If your kids have hand held video games let them bring them along when staying anywhere overnight you can recharge them.

Take along a couple of writing pads and encourage them to jot down interesting things they see, when we traveled with kids we found that books were not the best idea as they tended to cause car-sickness.

Be Prepared

You know when you travel with kids they can get bored and seem to get hungry more often so make sure have some good, healthy snacks handy to give them at these times saving you from having to make yet another stop and spending a lot more money.

If you have room you could always invite other family members or a friend along on your trip, they may be able to keep your kids busy while you get a few moments here and there for yourself, so you can recuperate and refresh your mind.

Try to keep as much of their normal routine as possible, it may be a good idea to let your kids stay up a little later at night while you're on holiday, and you may find they often have a sleep in the car along the way.