Canberra: Things to see and do ....? (for a 17 year old girl)

That poor girl. Why the hell would she leave Europe and come to Canberra of all places? Tell her that there is literally nothing to do here and to return home.

Postalgeek said :

National Institutions:
War Memorial- http://www.awm.gov.au
Questacon – http://www.questacon.edu.au
National Gallery – http://www.nga.gov.au
National Library-http://www.nla.gov.au
National Museum – http://www.nma.gov.au
Parliament House (new and old)
National Film and Sound Archive – http://www.nfsa.gov.au
National Mint – http://www.ramint.gov.au
Australian Institute of Sport – http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais

What’s On:
http://www.outincanberra.com.au/events
http://www.visitcanberra.com.au/Events.aspx
Cinemas
-Woden
-Civic
-Belconnen
-Tuggeranong
Pubs (if she turns 18 while here)
Clubs (likewise)
Restaurants
Cafes
Live music
Sunday Jazz
Concerts
-Llewellyn Hall
Trivia nights
Comedy nights
Charity Balls
Theatres
-Canberra Theatre
-Playhouse
-Street Theatre
-Jigsaw
-Erindale
-Queanbeyan

Lookouts:
Telstra tower/Black Mountain
Mt Ainslie
Red Hill

Swimming:
Manuka Pool (Good for kids)
Tuggeranong Pool (Good for kids/ indoor and heated)- http://www.lakesideleisure.com.au
Philip Pool
Civic Pool
AIS Pool
Kambah Pool
Cotter Reserve

Walks:
Arboretum
Tidbinbilla
Botanic Gardens
Climb Black Mountain/Mt Ainslie

Lake Activities:
Sailing – http://www.canberrayachtclub.com.au/adults.asp
Kayaks – http://www.actboathire.com
Paddle Boats – http://www.actboathire.com
Lake Cruises – http://www.canberracruises.net, http://lakecruises.com.au
BBQs/picnics

National Zoo and Aquarium

Skate bowls
Horse Riding
Netball – http://cna.act.netball.asn.au/default.asp
Soccer(Football) http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/canberraunited/yourlocalclub
Volley Ball – http://www.volleyballact.com.au
Archery – http://www.canberraarchery.com.au, http://www.queanbeyanarchery.com.au
Nerf Wars – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-Southern-NSW-Dart-Tag-Nerf-Wars-HvZ/144401038935716
Caving – Wee Jasper
Rock Climbing
-Mithell/Hume Indoor Rock Climbing http://www.canberrarockclimbing.com.au
-National Library traverse
-Namadgi National Park
Go Karts – http://www.superkarts.com.au, http://www.grandprixkarting.com.au,
Geo-caching – http://geocaching.com.au/dashboard/au/act/
Bicycles
-Lakes
-Road – 5 peaks, Cotter, Tidbinbilla, Tharwa, Old Federal/Lake George, Old Cooma Rd,etc etc
-Mtb – Stromlo/Jerra/Kowen/Majura/Bruce/Isaacs/Brindabellas
Dinosaur Museum/Cockington Green – http://www.cockingtongreen.com.au
Inline skating/Rollerblading
Roller Derby
Beach
-Bateman’s Bay (2 hrs)
Skiing/Snowboarding
-Thredbo (2.5hrs) – http://www.thredbo.com.au
-Perisher (2.5hrs) – http://www.perisher.com.au

.

Nothing for a 17 year old girl then?

Ice skating in civic is on at the moment

a pity parliament isn’t sitting – the mla, mebbe? postal’s list is pretty comprehensive; i’d rekkun p. house and some our heritage, like the magna carta copy (mebbe she’ll appreciate having seen that when she’s older?)

are the giants playing at manuka while she’s here? gotta take visitors to australia’s game – mebbe the local actafl (or whatever it has morphed into recently)…

Mooseheads

I want her to have a good time with positive memories of Canberra …..

You’re doing a great thing. Try not to do too much. Give her some space – and unrestricted web access. She’ll want to hook up with other Exchange Students and compare notes – in private. Diversity’s good: art one day, paint-ball the next . . . It’s better to have an outline of activities than a firm plan – flexible and one where she has a sense of control (but you already knew that).

Lastly – shopping. Girls love shopping. The op-shops in Canberra can deliver great finds. Have fun.

Euro will pretty much mean pushbikes are second nature. Well in most of it anyway.
A lap of the lake, either all together or in parts, will get her interest up about the main attractions.
Just follow on from there.
War Memorial (yes even for teenage girls) and National Museum are musts.

Postalgeek said :

dannybear said :

Postalgeek said :

dannybear said :

As an 18 year old there really isn’t a lot to do here if you’re not just messing around with friends, you could take her out to tidbinbilla to see some native animals or if she has some friends here she could rent a bike and ride around the lake, that’s really all that comes to mind.

Next time someone says there’s little to do in Canberra, know that a fleck of paint will offer a more riveting experience than their company.

If she isn’t an outdoor type person that removes most of those options and if she’s not into museums that cuts down to a pretty small list especially considering she’ll probably visit them all on her exchange program.

Well there’s always sex and Facebook. Some people need life handed to them on a platter.

lol! Thanks for all your suggestions, I am just hoping that she will be interested in some of these things! She has horses and rides but the exchange coordinators deem that a “dangerous activity” (along with 1,001 other equally safe activities) and we need to bury ourselves in paperwork before we go.

460cixy said :

No ones tackled the main issue here and ths is…………….. Is she hottttttttt?

I fail to see how this might be relevant to what she might want to do while in Canberra.

poetix said :

Didn’t she bring fake ID?

The legal drinking age for beer and wine is 16 in a lot of European countries so she may not need one back home.

OP, make sure she realises the legal drinking age here is 18!

dannybear said :

Postalgeek said :

dannybear said :

As an 18 year old there really isn’t a lot to do here if you’re not just messing around with friends, you could take her out to tidbinbilla to see some native animals or if she has some friends here she could rent a bike and ride around the lake, that’s really all that comes to mind.

Next time someone says there’s little to do in Canberra, know that a fleck of paint will offer a more riveting experience than their company.

If she isn’t an outdoor type person that removes most of those options and if she’s not into museums that cuts down to a pretty small list especially considering she’ll probably visit them all on her exchange program.

Well there’s always sex and Facebook. Some people need life handed to them on a platter.

Postalgeek said :

dannybear said :

As an 18 year old there really isn’t a lot to do here if you’re not just messing around with friends, you could take her out to tidbinbilla to see some native animals or if she has some friends here she could rent a bike and ride around the lake, that’s really all that comes to mind.

Next time someone says there’s little to do in Canberra, know that a fleck of paint will offer a more riveting experience than their company.

If she isn’t an outdoor type person that removes most of those options and if she’s not into museums that cuts down to a pretty small list especially considering she’ll probably visit them all on her exchange program.

No ones tackled the main issue here and ths is…………….. Is she hottttttttt?

dannybear said :

As an 18 year old there really isn’t a lot to do here if you’re not just messing around with friends, you could take her out to tidbinbilla to see some native animals or if she has some friends here she could rent a bike and ride around the lake, that’s really all that comes to mind.

FFS

National Institutions:
War Memorial- http://www.awm.gov.au
Questacon – http://www.questacon.edu.au
National Gallery – http://www.nga.gov.au
National Library-http://www.nla.gov.au
National Museum – http://www.nma.gov.au
Parliament House (new and old)
National Film and Sound Archive – http://www.nfsa.gov.au
National Mint – http://www.ramint.gov.au
Australian Institute of Sport – http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais

What’s On:
http://www.outincanberra.com.au/events
http://www.visitcanberra.com.au/Events.aspx
Cinemas
-Woden
-Civic
-Belconnen
-Tuggeranong
Pubs (if she turns 18 while here)
Clubs (likewise)
Restaurants
Cafes
Live music
Sunday Jazz
Concerts
-Llewellyn Hall
Trivia nights
Comedy nights
Charity Balls
Theatres
-Canberra Theatre
-Playhouse
-Street Theatre
-Jigsaw
-Erindale
-Queanbeyan

Lookouts:
Telstra tower/Black Mountain
Mt Ainslie
Red Hill

Swimming:
Manuka Pool (Good for kids)
Tuggeranong Pool (Good for kids/ indoor and heated)- http://www.lakesideleisure.com.au
Philip Pool
Civic Pool
AIS Pool
Kambah Pool
Cotter Reserve

Walks:
Arboretum
Tidbinbilla
Botanic Gardens
Climb Black Mountain/Mt Ainslie

Lake Activities:
Sailing – http://www.canberrayachtclub.com.au/adults.asp
Kayaks – http://www.actboathire.com
Paddle Boats – http://www.actboathire.com
Lake Cruises – http://www.canberracruises.net, http://lakecruises.com.au
BBQs/picnics

National Zoo and Aquarium

Skate bowls
Horse Riding
Netball – http://cna.act.netball.asn.au/default.asp
Soccer(Football) http://www.footballaustralia.com.au/canberraunited/yourlocalclub
Volley Ball – http://www.volleyballact.com.au
Archery – http://www.canberraarchery.com.au, http://www.queanbeyanarchery.com.au
Nerf Wars – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canberra-Southern-NSW-Dart-Tag-Nerf-Wars-HvZ/144401038935716
Caving – Wee Jasper
Rock Climbing
-Mithell/Hume Indoor Rock Climbing http://www.canberrarockclimbing.com.au
-National Library traverse
-Namadgi National Park
Go Karts – http://www.superkarts.com.au, http://www.grandprixkarting.com.au,
Geo-caching – http://geocaching.com.au/dashboard/au/act/
Bicycles
-Lakes
-Road – 5 peaks, Cotter, Tidbinbilla, Tharwa, Old Federal/Lake George, Old Cooma Rd,etc etc
-Mtb – Stromlo/Jerra/Kowen/Majura/Bruce/Isaacs/Brindabellas
Dinosaur Museum/Cockington Green – http://www.cockingtongreen.com.au
Inline skating/Rollerblading
Roller Derby
Beach
-Bateman’s Bay (2 hrs)
Skiing/Snowboarding
-Thredbo (2.5hrs) – http://www.thredbo.com.au
-Perisher (2.5hrs) – http://www.perisher.com.au

That doesn’t begin to cover the special interest groups.

Next time someone says there’s little to do in Canberra, know that a fleck of paint will offer a more riveting experience than their company.

Barcham said :

Go pat some Kangaroos at the Zoo.

You don’t need to go to the zoo if you only want to see kangaroos. Anywhere round Mount Majura or Mount Painter is pretty much assured kangaroo spotting. Unsure whether they like to be patted though!

If you are into patting animals, a trip down to Batemans Bay to the Birdland Animal Park is a must. She could pat a baby wombat, kangaroos, hold a snake etc. You could top it off with some fish and chips and pelican spotting along the boardwalk. It would be a great day trip.

Other than that, I always see teenagers hanging round Koko Black in the city. Seems to be the done thing at that age.

Didn’t she bring fake ID?

If she’s European, she’s probably good at making you baked treats.

YeahBuddy said :

Pork Hunt said :

Gee, you’re game. Is it your first time on RA? Upon legal advice, I have declined to comment further…

Long time reader, infrequent poster. I was hoping for genuine suggestions and hilarity.

I think you’re more likely to get banal and flippant from the porker whereas I would suggest Cockington Green or the Dinosaur Museum 🙂

Pork Hunt said :

Gee, you’re game. Is it your first time on RA? Upon legal advice, I have declined to comment further…

Long time reader, infrequent poster. I was hoping for genuine suggestions and hilarity.

Oh! Public art tour! http://the-riotact.com/the-act-public-art-map/109411

Go for a bike ride at stromlo. Bonus, if you go around dusk you’ll see roos everywhere, in the wild. Or, just go for a nice nature reserve walk. Parrots everywhere.

Gee, you’re game. Is it your first time on RA? Upon legal advice, I have declined to comment further…

Depends on what she likes to do and how mature she is, is she a girly girl or otherwise? Does she like art, what type of art, music, what type of music, café culture, food, outdoors, sport, science, shopping, is she a retro girl or a label girl or does she not care about fashion? Does she like quirky stuff, popular youth culture, alternative anything etc? When you find out her interests that may guide you. Most teens like to be with other teens so enlist some teens to come with you, make sure she is amongst people and gets to see the social side of Canberra,check out BMI magazine. Have an Australian BBQ, take her to the beach, arrange a visit to real farm/rural visit/country town/pub, coffee, shopping, movies, bike ride around the lake, see kangaroos/fauna in the wild, take her to the footy, caving, canoeing, bush walking, country race meeting, horse riding. Acquaint her with current Australian bands/music, a gig at ANU, help her experience authentic Aboriginal culture and art. Take her to Sydney. Hot air balloon above Canberra. Does she like taking photos/what type of photos? Invite friends she makes whilst studying around/out to do so what she/they like to do.

Barcham said :

Go pat some Kangaroos at the Zoo.

Kangaroos were the first thing she asked about! Is that all Australia is known for internationally?

dannybear said :

As an 18 year old there really isn’t a lot to do here if you’re not just messing around with friends, you could take her out to tidbinbilla to see some native animals or if she has some friends here she could rent a bike and ride around the lake, that’s really all that comes to mind.

so nothing has changed since i was a teen? Great!!

As an 18 year old there really isn’t a lot to do here if you’re not just messing around with friends, you could take her out to tidbinbilla to see some native animals or if she has some friends here she could rent a bike and ride around the lake, that’s really all that comes to mind.

Go pat some Kangaroos at the Zoo.