Truffle Degustation at Benchmark Wine Bar

It’s a typical cool cold Canberra evening in the middle of truffle season when my friends and I descend onto classy Benchmark Wine Bar (near the Novotel and bus station on Northbourne). Benchmark Wine Bar has had truffle degustations each Tuesday of the past few weeks, but the menu’s changed each time; we’ve no idea what to expect from our four courses.

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Treasures Gallery and Bookplate

There are so many tourist places I’ve never visited in Canberra, or which I only visited properly once, when I first moved here. When I thought about it recently, it seemed odd: so many of our tourist institutions are living, working places which are always changing – or at least usually have a new exhibition on. It’s this which leads me to make a concerted effort to get to these places over the next few months: and the National Library of Australia is where I start!

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.

Snow (just an hour from Canberra!)

As a born and bred Queenslander, there’s not a lot that gets me more excited than the possibility of seeing snow. I’d heard rumours before that snow could fall quite nicely up in the Brindabellas and having been up Mounts Franklin and Ginini in May, was keen to see how the scenery had transformed.  Having taken my trusty steed Pedro (a Suzuki Swift) up previously, I knew the road was quite dangerously marked with potholes. So, in true T1 style, I begged a friend with a 4WD to take us up for the day… and we weren’t disappointed.

Give me some of those Perisher Blues…

* This post was by T2, a co-author of In The Taratory from 2011-2013. *

While many complain about a lack of things to do and see here in the nation’s capital, one of Canberra’s draw cards is its proximity to the ski fields. Yes, I do realise that I’m writing for a blog aimed at promoting experiences in Canberra – but the famous Snowy Mountains, located in Kosciusko National Park, are close enough. A mere 2.5-hour drive south of the border will put you right on the doorstep of two of Australia’s largest ski resorts: Thredbo and Perisher Blue.

T1 reviews The Bridge Between at Gundaroo Colonial Inn (Fireside Festival)

The ACT and surrounds’ annual Fireside Festival has always seemed to me to make the usually bleak arse-end of winter (aka August) a little more enjoyable. Frustratingly, the many enticing events have usually been well booked out by the time I’ve kicked myself into gear.  This year of course was no different, but by the last weekend in August there were still a few events which seemed a) decent and b) available and— crucially—c) other friends decided to go to one and organised me.