Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is about a forty-minute drive from the centre of Canberra and I had never been there which is rather embarrassing considering I have lived in Canberra for over fifteen-years. So, with Covid-19 not allowing me any international travel, my list of local sights to visit is long. And this is one place on my list. I did an internet search to find out a little more about the reserve and Wikipedia tells me the name Tidbinbilla is derived from the Aboriginal word ‘Jedbinbilla‘ meaning a place where boys become men.
I went with a couple of friends and when we arrived we had a nice surprise in that entrance fees were suspended from August to end of the year to encourage more visitors to return. Guess it worked (even though we didn’t know there were no fees).
It was a pretty hot day and Tidbinbilla has twenty-three different walking trails but we decided on a rather easy walk and chose the Birrigai Time Trail which takes around 75 minutes from start to finish. At first the walking trail is wide enough for a ranger’s car and then the trail becomes less wide as it heads off into the bush with man-made bridges allowing easy access over ponds.
Tidbinbilla has extensive Australian wildlife including birds/reptiles and many different mammal species. When we arrived we all said we wanted to definitely see a koala and platypus and also an emu and kangaroo. Within five minutes we saw a huge emu by the side of the road but too far away for me to capture with my phone; shame! Then my friend pointed out two kangaroos under a tree and I took many photos of them as thought that might be all we would see. But as we walked over a small uprise we saw tens and tens of kangaroos resting under trees and some just checking out the crazy humans holding small rectangular items in front of them (I guess it’s what we all do these days if we don’t bring our proper cameras). Unfortunately no koala or platypus were sighted on this occasion.
On this particular day, the skies were pretty spectacular; a vivid blue with interesting cloud formations; looked a little bit like a sky writing plane had been through.
Then more kangaroos…no matter how many I see I still really enjoy seeing them; so beautiful.
Along our walk we saw many rounded granite boulders or rock formations. I must say these were pretty spectacular and so enjoyable to view.
Tidbinbilla Reserve is such an enjoyable day out and if you wanted a strenuous walk there are plenty of difficult treks but I think for our day it was lovely just to enjoy the typical Aussie bush and scenery and take in the sights.
Lookoom said:
It sounds like a nice place, it’s hard to imagine the city being so close. Thanks for sharing.
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Gary said:
Great photos Sue. I’ve only been there once to visit the space centre.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thanks very much Gary.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you very much. It was a really lovely day out of the city.
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Little Miss Traveller said:
The Reserve looks to be very attractive for a stroll and to spot wildlife Sue. One thing that this horrid virus has taught us, is that we are all appreciating lovely places near to our home much more that we might previously have not thought of going to. Marion
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TheRamblingWombat said:
Lovely write up, Sue and nice to see the greenness. I love Tidbinbilla and have now completed all the walks there, a few more than once. When I was last there I was actually wondering if there were still emus in the reserve as I hadn’t seen one for a few years. I am glad you spotted one. Having tasted the reserve I hope you go back and enjoy more of the walks there.
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mavimet said:
What an amazing place to be able to visit. Thanks for sharing it with us and I hope you visit again soon so we can see other trails.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Lovely comment. Thank you Mavis.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you. I actually went back into your blog when I was writing mine to see how many trails you had done.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
So true Marion. So true
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TheRamblingWombat said:
I must have a look as there may be one or two I have not written up yet !
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Amy said:
Thank you for this enjoyable vitual walk, Sue. Beautiful landscape via your lens. 🙂
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JohnRH said:
Wow. Great photos, great trip. It’s nice to get out when you can’t get OUT. We have walked a lot. Now it’s freezing and snowy. It will pass.
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Sunshiny SA, Kavitha said:
Sue, my friend speaks often of his beloved walks and visits to nature.
I must point this out to him.
Thank you for sharing this beauty.
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Lyn Douglas said:
I love these kind of places Sue and this one looks wonderful. I just realised that I had stopped following you, not sure how that happened. Anyhow I am back. Lyn
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Sophie said:
HI Sue, I loved this post. The sky is so blue and the Aussie bush is so interesting for my European eyes to see! I can tell you do love those kangoroos, hehe! I would have very much enjoyed walking with you on the small bridge along the pond. Here in France, we are no longer allowed to go anywhere (again) but to the office. Our autumn is very lovely in Nice though, not cold at all during daytime, and the weather is very sunny. I do wear a little jacket in the morning, and long trousers, but I still insist on wearing sandals at my feet in order to continue having this lovely “summer feel”. What I mean is that it would have been the perfect season for us here to go hike or walk in the local hills and mountains, enjoy the autumn colors / picnics / pictures etc. The fact that you are able to visit Canberra’s area makes me travel a bit too through your eyes, and I am grateful for that 🙂
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vinneve said:
Same here Sue, since covid came I started to find places I am not even aware just closes to our place! I am seeing NZ like a new one and I intend to discover more.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Lovely comments Sophie. Thank you. X
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Oh good to hear Lyn. Thank you.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you very much. Very kind.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you Amy. You are very kind.
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