Botanic Garden Archives - Destination's Journey

Australian National Botanic Garden

Covering many of the plant types found in Australia, the Australian National Botanic Garden in Canberra covers 35 hectares. With paths winding through the garden, you are able to experience many of Australia’s habitats in one place.

Getting There

We drove to the Garden and parked in the carpark there. As with most Canberra attractions, this is a paid parking area, so you need to purchase a ticket at one of the machines. From here we walked to the visitor centre where we got a map before starting on our walk.

What to See

We chose to walk the Main Path track because it covers all of the major areas of the Garden. A staff member suggested that we commence at the lower rainforest boardwalk, as the misting effect was about to start. This was a great suggestion and was the highlight of our visit. As we walked through the ferns of the rainforest, a mist drifted through, cooling us off, as it was a hot day, but overall the area was impressive.

After passing through the rainforest we saw banksias in flower before taking a diversion to the Red Centre and rock garden. While walking we passed several water dragons basking in the sun. They must be used to visitors as they did not run off as quickly as others we have seen. We were lucky to get several good photos of them before they decided to hide.

For those interested in birds, a huge viewing platform, the paperbark tree house is available for use.

We found the path to be an easy walk, with no steep grades. The walk took us around 45 minutes with plenty of stops for phots and to look at the plants. A great place to visit, especially the rainforest section.

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Wollongong Botanic Garden

Located at the foot of Mount Kiera, the Wollongong Botanic Garden is a great place to spend time to relax and unwind. Entry is free and the gardens are open every day except Christmas Day. We parked in one of the dedicated car parks, then spent an hour walking through the different themed area.

Our first stop was the beautiful pond and rotunda. Surrounded by flowering plants and palms, it was a nice place to stop and watch the waterbirds. One was even building a nest in the lilies, dragging nesting material across the pond from its edge.

A small stream flows through the gardens, feeding into the pond. By following it upstream, we came across the Japanese themed red bridge. Built as a gift of friendship it symbolises the connection with Wollongong’s sister city in Japan, Kawasaki.

From the bridge, we followed the path through the Australian rain forest section. This is the largest section in the gardens, showcasing a range of rainforest plants as well as those from the Illawarra region.

One of the highlights of the gardens is the succulent section, because of its amazing variety of plants. This garden is positioned on a built-up mound with sandy soil, because the succulents and cacti require good drainage. Large boulders have also been added to form rocky outcrops and slopes.

While walking, look out for interesting sculptures, like the insect hotel and Mercury Fountain.

Overall, a great place to visit and relax.