Government House
While rumours of kangaroos swimming in Lake Burley Griffin remain alive and kicking, the very suggestion screams ‘urban myth’ to any Canberra residents. Still, you’ve got a good chance of seeing them lounging about on the lawns of the Governor General’s house on the lake’s shores, as the property is set on 54 hectares of parkland.
While the official address of the property is Dunrossil Drive, you should enter along Lady Denman Drive, which wraps around the lake and crosses Scrivener Dam. Drive slowly; you’ll see a dirt car park and steps leading to the Government house lookout.
While you’re enjoying the view up the long lawns towards the heritage-listed home, keep an eye out for the many resident grey kangaroos. Remember, dawn and dusk are best spotting times (overcast weather is good too). If that fails, perhaps try a round at the Royal Canberra Golf Club next door; beware though, while roos are regulars there, the club’s policy towards human visitors is strict.
Mount Ainslie
Directly behind the Australian War Memorial, a path leads walkers along a steep bush track up to the top of Mount Ainslie. While the views of the Parliamentary Triangle at the top make it worth the journey alone, it’s also a good place to potentially spot a couple of kangaroos enroute. A better bet is to head to the east side of the mountain, by travelling east along Fairbairn Avenue and turning left onto Northcott Drive (skip Mount Ainslie Drive, that’ll simply take you up the mountain). Park in the car park of the Campbell Park Offices (a government department) and simply stroll anywhere around the adjoining nature reserve (officially called Canberra Nature Park, but known to locals as the side of Mount Ainslie). Chances are, you’ll leave having spotted up to 100 kangaroos – often you don’t even need to leave the car park to find them.
Namadgi National Park
For a day in the bush proper, a strategic trip to Namadgi National Park will reward you with views of so many kangaroos you won’t need to see another one for decades. It’ll take you about an hour from the centre of town to get to the park’s visitors centre; ask them for a map and details about the Yankee Hat walk (your final destination in the park).
Enroute, you’ll pass the ‘valley of 1000 kangaroos’, an open grassy area where you’ll spot so many hundreds of grey kangaroos you’d have to be sleeping to miss them. These are truly wild, so you won’t get as close as you might in Mount Ainslie (20-50ms seems to be the animal’s comfort zone there), but seeing these large mobs in their natural bush habitat will be rewarding for even the most hardened wildlife spotter. Pack lunch and walking shoes – the easy (one-hour walk) to Yankee Hat ends at an excellent, secluded picnic spot, and one of Canberra’s best examples of Indigenous rock art to boot.
Urban fringe walks (Canberra’s parks and reserves)
As the bush capital, the dozens of nature parks dotted around Canberra mean locals are used to seeing kangaroos when they head out for their daily evening stroll. Find these spots either takes local knowledge, but once you’re there it’s usually only a matter of an easy stroll before you’ll spot one, two, or dozens of roos.
Out favourites include: Glenloch interchange (on the north side of William Hovell Drive – try parking somewhere off Bindubi Drive – roos love it around here) or the Pinnacle walk (off Springvale Drive in Weetangera).
You could also try the new walk on Mulligan’s Flat nature reserve, accessible from suburb of Forde on the northern side of Gungahlin. An 11km vermin-proof fence has been installed here, to keep out the foxes and rabbits, and give the native flora and fauna some peace. The kangaroos aren’t guaranteed here, but the birdlife is good and it’s a flat, enjoyable walk through grasslands and local native forests regardless.