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Living in Canberra

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Canberra is a city of approximately 320,000 people. It has a distinctive town plan that involves the central business district being largely decentralised to a number of town centres (Inner North, Belconnen, Gungahlin, Weston Creek, Inner South, Woden Valley & Tuggeranong). These town centres are separated by a network of nature reserves (or green spaces) which give the city a country town feel. Despite this, Canberra has all the conveniences of a large city.

It has a large number of restaurants including many Indian restaurants, cinemas, theatres, clubs, shopping centres and sporting facilities.

It has an excellent system of arterial roads, which rarely suffer the congestion of those in other cities. Alternative forms of transport to the car are available in the form of the ACTION Bus Network, Taxis and a comprehensive arrangement of Bicycle paths. Public transport is limited to buses and because the city is spread out, with meagre weekend services and no transport after about 10pm, visitors are best off with a car. There is plenty of parking at the tourist sites and the road system is excellent and uncongested; to hire a car, drivers must be 21 years of age and hold a valid driver's license, sometimes in conjunction with an international driver's permit. The Action bus company routes cover most tourist attractions from four town centre bus interchanges: City, Woden, Tuggeranong and Belconnen. A day bus pass is available from bus drivers or the tourist information centre. Cycling is also a popular means of transport in Canberra and there is an extensive network of bicycle paths around the city. Taxi ranks are available in most major areas of the city.
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Canberra is located approximately two hours drive from the beaches of Merimbula and Batemans Bay as well as the ski resorts of Thredbo and Perisher and approximately 3 hours drive from Sydney. The city itself is surrounded by Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve to the west and cool climate wineries to the north.

The climate in Canberra provides four definite seasons. Summers are generally warm to hot with low humidity (13 – 28 degrees Celsius). Winters are cool and largely sunny (0 – 11 degrees Celsius). Springs and Autumns are mostly mild (7-20 degrees Celsius).

More information about Canberra and essential services is available from the following sites:





Written By: host
Date Posted: 8/24/2007
Number of Views: 126

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