Tuggeranong

Getting there

By car

As the region is huge, a car is the best way to get into most of Country ACT as public transport only goes up to Tuggeranong. If you are going to Tuggeranong or Tharwa from the central or northern parts of Canberra, get onto Gungahlin Drive, which starts at the very south of Gungahlin. It is a mostly freeway-grade road passing through the southeast corner of Belconnen (where you can enter the freeway) passing through Woden and Weston. The road changes its name to Drakeford Drive and becomes just an urban road. If you're coming from places like the city, head west onto Parkes Way west and then enter onto the freeway. Once on the freeway, continue until the end of Drakeford Drive, where you'd have reached Tuggeranong. Tharwa Drive branches out from the end of Drakeford Drive, which heads down to the historic township of Tharwa, and from Tharwa, the road splits into two. Tidbinbilla Road heads northwest out to the outer edges of the western Country ACT. If you are coming places like Fyshwick or the airport, getting to Tuggeranong is a piece of cake due to the M23 Majura Parkway (opened in 2024), which is a good freeway with a speed limit of 90–100 km/h (56–62 mph). There are several entry points into Majura Pkwy. Once the freeway ends, continue onto B23 until Johnston Drive. Once on Johnston Drive, immediately turn left on the roundabout until you eventually reach Tuggeranong. If you do eventually continue, you'll reach the Tharwa Drive/Drakeford Drive intersection where you can head off down southwest to Tharwa. However, if you are going to places due west of the city such as Stromlo, you do not have to go around to Tharwa and then come back up northwest through Tidbinbilla Road and Paddys River Road. Instead, you can use either Cotter or Uriarra Road. The former heads directly west, while the latter heads northwest.

By bus The two most important bus routes that come to Tuggeranong are the R4 and R5 lines. Both of the lines head to Civic and pass through

Getting around

As the rural areas of ACT isn't really "one district", nearly all of the time, if you are intending to get around from one place to another, you will be heading through the urban areas of Canberra, owing to the fact that there is no public transport connecting each of the several districts in Country ACT, and also the fact that all roads will head through some urban bit or another.

If you are getting around Tuggeranong, there is a bus network, whose map can be found here. Most suburbs and areas are covered one way or another, but it may not be the most direct route. Outside Tuggeranong, there are no other bus routes that circulate within the district.

See

Historic sites

1 Lanyon Homestead, Lanyon Drive, [email protected]. 10AM-4PM (closed Mondays). Historic homestead of early Canberra settlers, guided tours, walks and a maintained garden. Cafe for lunch, coffee and cake. A three-house pass for $15/10/30 covers Lanyon, Calthorpe's House and Mugga Mugga house in Symanston. $7 adult, $5 concession, $15 family. 2 Mugga-Mugga (Mugga-Mugga Cottage), 129 Narrabundah Ln, Symonston, ☏ +61 2 6237 6500, [email protected]. 10AM–2PM (first weekend of every month). A perfect example and remnant of what Canberra was in the 1830s! (yep, that's the 1830s, not the 1930s). This former workers cottage now has regular tours, and occur during 10AM, 10:45AM, 11:15AM, 12:30PM and 1:15PM when it's open. (updated May 2022) 3 Tharwa Village (via Tharwa Drive, accessible from the Monaro Highway south of Canberra or at the end of the Tuggeranong Parkway). A small village, one of the original settlements in the ACT area. See the old bridge over the Murumbidgee River, visit Lanyon Homestead (see above) and Cuppacumbalong Pottery. Tharwa is also the gateway to Namadgi National Park and Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. 4 Tuggeranong Homestead, 51 Johnson Dr, Richardson, ☏ +61 2 6292 8888. One of the most notable homesteads that was owned by a succession of prominent pastoralists over the last century before ownership was transferred to the government. Today it is used as a venue for special events, conferences and weddings. . (updated May 2022) 5 Tuggeranong Schoolhouse Museum, 34 Enid Lorimer Cct, Chisholm, ☏ +61 2 6161 6383. 10AM–4PM on every second Sunday of the month. Although Canberra's historic homesteads are often only found within its rural areas, this 130-year-old schoolhouse has furniture, artifacts and antiques from the pastoral times of Canberra. (updated Feb 2022)

Art, science and geology

6 Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, 421 Discovery Dr, Tidbinbilla (off Paddys River Road), ☏ +61 2 6201 7880. D

Do

Parks and resorts

1 Pine Island Reserve. A small reserve along the Murrumbidgee River containing quite a lot of pine trees. The reserve has plenty of facilities, and popular recreational activities include swimming, fishing, and kayaking. (updated May 2022) 2 Corin Forest Mountain Resort (Corin Forest Resort), 1268 Corin Dam Rd, Paddys River, ☏ +61 2 6235 7333, [email protected]. M–F 10AM–5PM, Sa Su 9AM–5PM. If you cannot leave the ACT during winter, and don't want to miss the snow, this place gets a bit of snow, enough to be a ski resort and a recreation centre with an alpine slide, ski and snowplay area, and a lodge along with an alpine dining area. It is the only ski resort in the ACT, and it receives surprisingly good amount of snow (on top of the snow machines). (updated Feb 2022) 3 Kambah Pool (take Kambah Pool Rd). Great swimming spot with big boulders in the middle of the Murrumbidgee River. It's a 10-minute walk from your car to the river. (updated Dec 2024)

Sport 4 Southern Cross Stadium, 7 Pitman St, Greenway, ☏ +61 2 6293 2275. A multi-purpose indoor stadium primarily used for basketball. The venue has hosted the Canberra Roller Derby League, but it is not one of the major stadiums in Canberra. (updated May 2022) 5 Viking Park, 4 Amsinck St, Wanniassa, ☏ +61 2 6209 5514. A stadium with a capacity of 7,000 (1,000 seated), multi-sport stadium which has a rectangular playing surface which is used primarily to host rugby union matches but additionally has hosted rugby league, soccer and baseball. It is home to the Tuggeranong Vikings and all matches of the ACTRU Premier Division finals, the Canberra Vikings who compete in the National Rugby Championship and the Tuggeranong Vikings Baseball Club. (updated May 2022)

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

6 Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve can be said to be the Australian Capital Territory's second most important park, after Namadgi. Some would argue that Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is more important since it attracts

Buy

Markets 1 Tuggeranong Market, Webber Cres, Calwell. First Sunday of every month in the lovely Tuggeranong Homestead opposite the Calwell Shops. Lots of stalls, selling amazing stuff. (updated Feb 2022)

Malls and shopping centres

2 South.Point Tuggeranong (Tuggeranong Hyperdome). A major enclosed shopping mall in the Tuggeranong to