Cockatoos and kangaroos: Canberra is no elitist enclave but a city in nature

Australia's capital is green and spacious, and life is less hurried. It is unlike any other city in the country.

- David Fogarty

The cockatoo flared its white wings and squawked at me angrily while its mate looked on nervously. Clearly, I had walked too closely to the nest in the tree hollow just above me. A small group of kangaroos looked on but didn’t pay me much attention.

For some, there’s nothing remarkable about this scene — except that it played out in a hilly nature reserve right in the middle of Australia’s national capital, where the bush blends seamlessly with urban life.

Welcome to Canberra, a city like no other. But what’s that you say? “Where is Canberra?” “I thought Sydney was the capital?” “You mean Canberra in Sembawang?”

I get this a lot. Australia’s capital is far less known than Sydney or Melbourne and stands out with a design unlike any other city in the country — or anywhere else in the world. It’s well-planned, green and spacious. Life is less hurried.

Other common statements: “Where are all the people?” “Canberra is boring! There's nothing to do there!”

Sure, Canberra has a population of 478,000, far smaller than that of Melbourne or Sydney, and is much less frequented by tourists. However, this means that it doesn’t have the congestion of those larger cities. In Canberra, you have space to move around and coming from densely packed Asia, that’s refreshing.

And far from little to do, it has a busy calendar of festivals, fantastic museums, some of the nation's best bakeries and coffee shops and food from all corners of the globe. There are plenty of wineries to visit nearby, with more than 40 located within a 35-minute drive from the city.

Of course, I am biased. It’s the city I grew up in and return to often to see family. Colleagues in Singapore, where I am based, had heard I was going back for one of my visits and thought it was the perfect time to demystify Canberra.