A day (and night!) at the cricket

Lights + Manuka Oval + a handful of tickets left = a genius Christmas present for my dad (and an opportunity to see him outside of my usual trip home for Christmas).

Malamay in the Burbury Hotel

Overdue for a date night, we turned to our bucket list of restaurants and chose Malamay, another restaurant to have made the 2012 Canberra Top 20.

Trekking up Tuggeranong Hill

One of the many things to love about Canberra is that if you want to climb a decent hill and immerse yourself in nature, you’re at most only a few suburbs away from doing that. One of the many things to love about Canberra in summer is that you can do this in the hours after you finish work, thanks to glorious daylight savings.

Lunch at Bicicletta

Bicicletta had been getting some rave reviews, and when searching for a place to dine for in the dying days of 2012, it jumped to mind.

Me and Mrs Jones versus Bodega de Pintxos

It’s December, the days are long, the weather is (finally?) warm (hopefully for good!), and what better way to catch up with friends than to venture down to rejuvenated Kingston?

Battling through the thistles on Big Monks

If you’ve ever sat in somebody’s backyard in Banks or Conder, or have looked up when you’ve been travelling to or beyond Tharwa, there’s a chance you’ve probably seen a trig at the top of what looks like a nicely formed mountain. I’d spent a fair bit of time gazing at it from various positions a few hundred metres below, and after finally confirming it was ‘Big Monks’, knew it was a challenge I had to undertake.

Black Mountain Tower in Spring sunshine

Today was a great day. It was Monday. It was the beginning of October. Most of us weren’t at work! And the SUN WAS SHINING. This is what Canberra is about!

Boyfriend and I got on the scooter for the first weekend ride in months and decided to make good use of the 2012-13 Canberra Entertainment Book’s two-for-one voucher to head up Black Mountain Tower. After five years in Canberra, I’ve never been! We’ve always said we’ll do it after we’ve done a walk up Black Mountain (given if you don’t you just end up in a carpark with no views!), but we’ve done that once and you can’t take dogs, and we’re loathe to go anywhere without our Whippet. A ride was the perfect opportunity!

Gossan Hill amble

Gossan Hill Nature Reserve is another one of those places in Canberra which I suspect few people know about – it’s a hill (well, there are two hills) with some pretty decent and at times dense bushland, at a height that allows for some lovely views, and it’s right in the centre of the northside.

Sanur’s Balinese Restaurant, Belconnen

Sanur’s on Emu Bank in Belconnen is a regular haunt for me for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s always packed, with all types of people – a big mish mash of young and old, professional and not, families and couples and friend groups etc. This is always a good sign. Second, the variety of people also lends to a good atmosphere. It’s buzzing but you can hear yourself think – and hear each other talk! Third, it serves a local Canberra wine! A few different types of the Gallagher wine feature on a small but decent (and well priced) wine list. Fourth, the service is quick and friendly. (FINALLY.)

But what about the food?

Booroomba Rocks, Namadgi National Park

There are so many good bushwalks to do in and around the ACT. It took me a few years to realise this, and a few more years to get an appreciation of just how great they are. A great half day walk (even a quarter day walk!) is Booroomba Rocks. It’s nestled just on the other side of Mt Tennent in Namadgi National Park, and provides some extraordinary views of the ACT.