Canberra/Tuggeranong and Country ACT

Country ACT (or Country Australian Capital Territory for those unaware of what "ACT" stands for) is just a large rural area surrounding the urban areas of Canberra in all directions by the north, where the kookaburra's head hits the New South Wales border. The countryside is mostly farmland filled with an alpine landscape and while most people think that Canberra is just often a city with just museums, government buildings and historic sites but like the rest of Australia, the city is never short for those wanting to escape the city – and why Canberra gets the name "The Bush Capital". For travellers wishing to uphold Canberra's slogan, it's where you can truly explore the bush capital of Australia.

Tuggeranong is a large district to the south of Canberra, meaning "cold place" in Ngunnawal (the local Indigenous language). It is not really a popular travel destination, but a base for the Australian Alps and the southern areas of Country ACT. Tuggeranong also has a couple of markets and some shops, but it is not known much for that but instead reflects "residential Canberra".

Towns
Tuggeranong (referred to by locals as 'Tuggers' or 'The Nong') is obviously the large district that this article covers, which is also one of Canberra's prime seven districts. Apart from that, all but one rural town (Hall) are in Country ACT. Many are just small towns or even villages (a term seldom used in Australian English) of little interest to travellers, but some have some significant historical significance.
 * – one of the only settlements in the ACT (excluding Canberra) that get a reasonable number of tourists. It's a historic town that was established in 1862, making it the oldest settlement in the ACT, but the town is slowly on a decline.
 * – the only village that has the title of "community village" in Australia, established in 1928 (which was well after Canberra was established, but a reasonable distance away)
 * – a small settlement of 21 in the southeast of the ACT, alongside the New South Wales border.

By car
As the region is huge, getting from one point does not exactly mean you will get to the other and car is the best way to get into most of country ACT as public transport only goes up to Tuggeranong.

If you are going to Tuggeranong or Tharwa from the central or northern parts of Canberra such as the city, Belconnen or Gungahlin, get onto Gungahlin Drive which starts at the very south of Gungahlin is a mostly freeway-grade road passing through the southeast corner of Belconnen (where one can enter the freeway) passing through Woden and Weston, before the road changes its name to Drakeford Drive and becomes just an urban road. If you're coming from places like the city, head west onto Parkes Way west and then enter onto the freeway. Once on the freeway, continue until the end of Drakeford Drive, where you'd have reached Tuggeranong.

Tharwa Drive branches out from the end of Drakeford Drive which heads down to the historic township of Tharwa, and from Tharwa, the road splits into two, Tidbinbilla Road heads northwest out to the outer edges of the western Country ACT.

If you are coming places like Fyshwick or the airport, getting to Tuggeranong is a piece of cake due to the M23 Majura Parkway which is a good freeway with a speed limit of. There are several entry points into Majura Pkwy, and once the freeway ends, continue onto B23 until Johnston Drive. Once on Johnston Drive, immediately turn left on the roundabout until you eventually reach Tuggeranong. If you do eventually continue, you'll reach the Tharwa Drive/Drakeford Drive intersection where you can head off down southwest to Tharwa.

However, if you are going to places due west of the city such as Stromlo, you do not have to go around to Tharwa and then come back up northwest through Tidbinbilla Road and Paddys River Road. Instead, you can use either Cotter or Uriarra Road. The former heads directly west, while the latter heads northwest.

By bus
The two most important bus routes that come to Tuggeranong are the R4 and R5 lines. Both of the lines head to Civic and pass through Woden, but they stop at different locations in Tuggeranong. The last point where both run parallel to each other is up to Wanniassa, where the R4 line heads southwest on Athllon Drive and terminates at the Tuggeranong Interchange, where you can connect to bus lines 70 to 81 while R5 from Wanniassa heads southeast passing the Calwell Shops (and where you can connect to bus lines 76, 79 and 182) terminating at the Lanyon Marketplace from where you can connect to lines 80, 81, 180, 181 and 182.

Get around
As the rural areas of ACT isn't really "one district", nearly all of the time, if you are intending to get around from one place to another, you will be heading through the urban areas of Canberra, owing to the fact that there is no public transport connecting each of the several districts in Country ACT, and also the fact that all roads will head through some urban bit or another.

If you are getting around Tuggeranong, there is a bus network, whose map can be found here. Most suburbs and areas are covered one way or another, but it may not be the most direct route. Outside Tuggeranong, there are no other bus routes that circulate within the district.

Historic sites




Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve
can be said to be the Australian Capital Territory's second most important park, after Namadgi. Some would argue that Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is more important since it attracts more visitors, especially families. The nature reserve is a part of the national heritage-listed Australian Alps National Parks and Reserves. Whatever you consider to be "more important", Tidbinbilla is a "must-see" when you're in Country ACT.

There are a large number of walks which offer stunning views of the Brindabella Mountains. You can also take ranger-guided walks or have fun with the hands on displays such as the interactive computer program on Tidbinbilla's bird species and look at the live animal displays. The gift shop sells an interesting range of clothes, toys, books, cards and souvenirs. Coffee and light refreshments are also available. The nature reserve also contains a 25,000-year-old rock shelter, and is the world's oldest inhabited rock shelter.

But first, before you go bushwalk any of the park's trails, you'd want to check out the park's visitor centre;. It's open June 29, 2024 daily during winter, while during summer, the visitor centre is open till June 29, 2024 only on weekends. The centre can be found at Tidbinbilla Reserve Rd in Paddys River, just along the T-junction with Gilmores Road – look to the south. There is parking available, and the visitor centre has some maps for you to pick up before you start bushwalking. If you need to call the visitor centre, call.

It's also worth noting that there are fees to enter the reserve too, but it's not much. For a day pass, you'll need to pay $11 per vehicle (up to 8 seats), or if you want an annual pass, it's $32 – the latter is often targeted at Canberrans rather than non-Canberrans, but if you're going to stay at the park for three or more nights, it may well be worth it. Note that New South Wales national parks passes are not valid in Tidbinbilla or any other ACT park. A full list of all walking trails can be found at the ACT Parks website, but some of the most notable trails as follows:
 * Birrigai Time Trail – a 3-km walk that will set you back in back in time giving you a better understanding of the Indigenous history of Tidbinbilla. This trail is a predominantly flat walk, starts at the visitor centre and ends at the Birrigai Rock Shelter, which is the world's oldest inhabited rock shelter with artifacts dating to over 25,000 years!
 * Congwarra Trail is a trail more family-oriented and takes around an hour to complete. The trail covers a distance of, starting at the visitor centre, and terminates at the nature discovery playground.
 * Church Rock Heritage Loop – a short 2.5-km trail taking you through ruins of the late 19th century where many historic remnants remain to this day.
 * Gibraltar Peak is a hard and steep 8.2-kilometre trail taking 2–3 hours to complete. However, once you get up the top, you'll get a full panoramic view of Canberra and the nature reserve.
 * Sanctuary Loop is one of the best trails to see Australian wildlife such as brush-tailed rock-wallabies, platypus, echidnas, and many different kinds of birds in their natural habitat. It's an easy 2.5-km loop, and is wheelchair accessible.
 * Turkey Hill Trail – a short 500-metre trail (1,600-ft) up Turkey Hill. You'll see some excellent granite boulders and panoramic mountains, so make sure to have a camera with you. The walk is only 15 minutes, but you will need to take your car from the visitor centre 2 km southwest to the.

Eat
Unlike in many parts of Canberra where you can get a different range, the range in Tuggeranong is pretty much similar to what the range you can expect to find in a normal regional New South Wales city – both in terms of the range of food, and the price range (which is usually about ≈A$15-20). Unusually though, there are many Turkish eateries, and so you can never be short of pide!

Most of Tuggeranong's eateries are located within or near, and are within a few minutes walk.

Budget
Budget eateries are fairly limited in Tuggeranong and non-existent in Country ACT, but there are several budget eateries in the town centre and in South.Point's food court. Fast food chains like Maccas, Pizza Huts or KFCs can be found throughout Tuggeranong, but as there aren't any "budget" eateries in Country ACT, that also means no fast food chains in the rural areas.

Camping
There are several campgrounds within the two primary parks of Country ACT – Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Campgrounds in Namadgi National Park can be found at Namadgi National Park &sect; Sleep, while this page covers all campgrounds outside Namadgi National Park, including Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.

All campgrounds require a booking, which can be made on the Parks ACT website.

Connect
There is Wi-Fi available at the major malls and shopping centres in Tuggeranong. Some parts of the airport may have some too.

5G connection exists pretty much everywhere where you're inside the urban areas of Canberra, but fades out once you head out into the bush and non-existent in much of Namadgi National Park.