The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was established in 1911 to create a capital for the newly federated country of Australia. Canberra, the urban centre of the ACT, is a thriving modern city with stylish restaurants, hip bars, boutique shopping and a busy calendar of events and festivals. The city’s national museums and attractions hold and share the treasures of our nation.
The city is 150 klms inland and 571 metres above the Pacific Ocean, 281 klms from Sydney and 660 klms from Melbourne.
The surrounding regions include the Snowy Mountains with skiing at Perisher Blue, Thredbo & Selwyn Snowfields; Lake Jindabyne, Lake Eucumbene and Blowering Reserve attracts anglers; frozen waterfalls & limestone caves at Yarrangobilly Caves; indigenous rock art and Aboriginal shelters at Namadgi National Park and the Bradman Museum in Bowral commemorating Australia’s best cricketer. There are 140 vineyards with more than 30 cellar doors in the rural countryside around Canberra.
What does it mean to be an Australian? To find out, come and see the one city designed to reflect an entire nation. Canberra is a special place to all Australians. Its famous attractions, places like the Australian War Memorial, Old Parliament House and the National Museum of Australia symbolise who we are, where we come from and where we are going. It’s a journey every Australian, and anyone who wants to get to know us, should make.
There is no greater haven than the Northern Territory for those looking to make a connection with nature - the World Heritage National Parks of Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta (Ayers Rock), flora and fauna as diverse as desert blooms are to lotus lilies, fearsome saltwater crocodiles & the Brolga, the elegant dancing bird that is the Northern Territory’s emblem. Set on a harbour twice the size of Sydney’s, Darwin, capital of the Northern Territory, is a modern, tropical city with great restaurants, fresh seafood and fine shopping including croc-leather products and the renowned Paspaley pearls.
Australia’s most culturally diverse city. Darwin is the gateway to the Northern Territory’s Top End, infused with Aboriginal spirituality, encompassing Litchfield National Park and the Tiwi Islands. Kakadu, with Jabiru mining township at its centre, with its wetlands, plunging gorges and waterfalls, has one of the highest concentrated areas of accessible Aboriginal rock art sites in the world. Arnhem Land bounded by Kakadu National Park, the Arafura Sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria, has wild coastlines, deserted islands, rivers teeming with fish, rainforests, soaring escarpments and savanna woodland. The population is predominantly Aboriginal people whose traditional culture remains largely intact.
The outback town of Katherine, about 320 kilometres south of Darwin, is the home to the majestic Katherine Gorge (Nitmiluk) in the Nitmiluk National Park.
Tennant Creek, with its gold mining heritage, is situated 1,000 kilometres south of Darwin. Tennant Creek is the main service centre for cattle stations in the surrounding Barkly Tablelands.
The rugged MacDonnell Ranges stretch like a spine for 400km to the east and west of Alice Springs. Beyond the Ranges is the remote desert wilderness of the Simpson Desert.