Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

In the hills south-west of Canberra beneath the Brindabella Range, Tidbinbilla is the capital's great wildlife reserve - five and a half thousand hectares of bush, wetland and granite peak. Kangaroos and emus graze the valley floor, platypus surface in the Sanctuary wetland at dusk, and koalas doze in a stand of manna gums along an easy boardwalk. Walking tracks range from flat wetland loops to the steep climb up Gibraltar Peak, and the reserve played a quiet role in the space age as neighbour to the Deep Space tracking station. It is the best place near Canberra to meet the wildlife in its own country.