Abode Hotels - A+ Magazine Autumn/Winter 2016 by Abode Hotels

AUTUMN/ WINTER 2016 WINE MEATS CHOCOLATE NATIONAL TREASURES: NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY A STUNNING LANDSCAPE

SUPPORTING OUR COMMUNITY There is arguably nothing more stressful than having a loved one in hospital. The Canberra Hospital Foundation supports families that find themselves away from home while they support a loved one receiving treatment at the Canberra Hospital. One important way the Foundation does this is through providing accommodation during such a difficult time. Abode is proud to support the Foundation with the donation of a twobedroom family room for that purpose. We like to think we are helping by ensuring that families have one less thing to worry about as they concentrate on their loved oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recovery.

Welcome to Abode Hotels. And welcome to autumn and winter in Canberra.

GENERAL MANAGER’S WELCOME

In autumn, it’s all about beautiful trees, preparing for the cooler months and enjoying Canberra’s natural beauty. In winter, it’s all about great food, experiencing Canberra indoors and visiting the snow! There is so much on offer in the capital throughout these two seasons and we hope you get to experience as much of it as you can. Wherever you go, you will always return to a warm welcome at your home away from home at Abode Hotels. We hope you enjoy some downtime with our A+ Magazine. Rien Donkin General Manager Abode Hotels

CONTENTS

A NEW TASTE TO NARRABUNDAH

HIKING IN CANBERRA

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GETTING OUTDOORS BUT STAYING IN

CANBERRA TRAVEL TIPS

WINE MEATS CHOCOLATE

NATIONAL TREASURES: NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

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KIDSPOT: SNOW DAY!

A STUNNING LANDSCAPE

TIPS FOR STAYING WARM

Creative Direction Amy Brosnan & Andrew Sanchez

CANBERRA’S GREATEST TREES FOR FALLING LEAVES

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AN AUTUMN/WINTER ADVENTURE

WHAT TO COOK FOR DINNER

A BIT OF COOL-CLIMATE CULTURE

THE MOVIES IN CANBERRA: A HISTORY

PUBLISHED BY:

Art Direction, Design & Photography Andrew Sanchez Words by Amy Brosnan Contributors Carly Jacobs Stephanie Dempster Advertising Enquiries Sean Smith sean.smith@abodehotels.com.au

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A short drive north of Canberraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s town centre and you will find yourself transported to the countryside, welcoming you with open arms, giant trees and a long line of wining, dining and atmospheric activities to fill your autumn/winter days. We spoke with just three of the wonderful Murrumbateman hosts who are ready and waiting for you to enjoy their delectable chocolates, delicious wines and delightful dishes from their backyards and around the world.

Shaw Vineyard Estate. Photo credit: VisitCanberra.

CLONAKILLA WINERY

Clonakilla vineyards Photo Credit: David Reist

Situated on an estate at the edge of the Murrumbateman Township, Clonakilla Winery was the first commercial vintage to be established at the now worldrenown cool climate wine region of Canberra. With its rich history and accolades to match, Clonakilla is a must-visit gem. Perhaps a place that perfectly crafts and bottles the best of what the region has to offer. We spoke to Tim Kirk, chief wine-maker and CEO of Clonakilla to give us his thoughts on his wines and the beautiful region of Murrumbateman.

What is Clonakillaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s back story? How did it come to life?

In your opinion, what are the perfect autumn/winter wines and why?

In 1971 John Kirk established Clonakilla vineyard on an 18ha farm near the village of Murrumbateman, just north of Canberra. This was the first vineyard to be planted in what was to officially become the Canberra District.

In the cooler months of autumn and winter we move to the warming styles of red wines. Here, our shiraz works beautifully with slow-cooked meats laced with the dark spices that so aptly reflect the spice in our medium-bodied reds.

How is Clonakilla unique?

How are they made?

Over the years we discovered that our vineyard in Murrumbateman has a particular affinity with shiraz and the white variety viognier, one of those rare combinations in the world of wine that can produce something truly exciting. Andrew Caillard MW of Langtonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s has recognised that the Clonakilla Shiraz Viognier marks 'one of the most important advances in the development of Australian Shiraz since the release of 1952 Penfolds Grange Hermitage'.

Our task as winemakers is simple: capture what is good and true in the landscape, and bottle it for people to enjoy. We hand-pick our fruit, selecting the best bunches, gently destem the berries and guide them into our open fermenters. Soon after, we press the fruit and fill French barriques with the young wine where it matures for around twelve months. Bottle, and drink!

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What do your autumn and winter picks pair well with? All our wines are food friendly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the combinations limited only by your taste and imagination. Experiment! What are some of the activities visitors can participate in at the winery? All our visitors are invited to participate in a tasting of our available wine range. Visitors are welcome to linger in our outdoor areas enjoying stunning views of our vineyards. What do you love about Murrumbateman? Murrumbateman offers a genuine country experience yet is close enough to a major city that offers many wonderful food and cultural experiences. What is the best thing about Clonakilla? Apart from making world class wines, we pride ourselves on offering a friendly and welcoming environment to all those who visit our cellar door. Come and see!

Photo Credit: David Reist

Clonakilla Winery is located at 3 Crisps Ln, Murrumbateman Website: clonakilla.com.au Facebook: facebook.com/Clonakilla Instagram: @clonakillawines

Tim Kirk Chief Wine-maker/CEO Clonakilla Winery Fermentation process Photo Credit: David Reist

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POACHERS PANTRY

Photo credit: Andrew Sanchez

A short drive from the edge of town will lead you to the more than picturesque destination that is Poachers Pantry, a sweet family-run business with delicious food, a winery of its own and a handing of the baton from parents to children happening as we speak. We spoke to Katie Crook, daughter of owner Susan and Robert Bruce, about the future of this amazing location. How did Poachers begin? Poachers sbegan in 1991 when we started manufacturing smoked meats made by chefs for chefs so they were going on menus across Australia, and then we started to focus quite heavily on retail so the smoked meats were being made for retail purposes and chefs. Then in 1998, we planted a vineyard which is now Wily Trout wines. The grapes are grown here on the property and we harvest them and take them down to Eden Road wines and

they process them for us. Once we had the wine and the meats running alongside each other we thought, why don’t we showcase this in a restaurant? We opened the restaurant and we planned for 40 people a weekend. It quickly blew out but it was a really great experience because people could see for themselves how to match the meats with wines in a gorgeous a la carte menu style. So that started growing and the café/restaurant opened in 2002 and then in 2004 we had our first idea to ask about hosting weddings. What was really special about that was we weren’t trying to get in to the wedding market, it came to us. Since then, we’ve just built and built on weddings and it’s a massive thing for us here. In winter we might have three or four weddings throughout which are generally smaller and super romantic weddings, restaurant style with the fireplace going. Through the warmer months, we can do

100 people in the restaurant and up to 200 people in the marquee. We find that even when people are around the 70-80 mark, they’ll usually go with the outside marquee option because it’s a blank canvas and you can put your own look to it and own ideas into the space. We also hold a wedding open night four times a year and that’s when we invite all of our suppliers out here that we know and trust to do a great job. We set up the spaces for an amazing wedding for guests to see and that’s a great evening. My brother Will and I are the next generation. Our parents Sue and Robert Bruce have run this and now we’re taking over. Will runs the Wily Trout Vineyard and he does all the harvests, the farms, the grounds, the landscaping, making sure everything is gorgeous. And then I’m very wholesale, restaurant, factory-focused, very Poachers Pantry-based and running that side of it.

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Autumn is just stunning out here. With all the different trees changing colours and the lovely stable weather, sitting at 20oC, it’s just a gorgeous spot to come out and have a glass of rose in the sun. What does the future hold for Poachers Pantry?

Photo credit: Andrew Sanchez

Mum has been really great at handing us the reins but is still there for advice and to bounce ideas off. Dad has been amazing at passing over his knowledge with managing the sheep and vineyard. It’s really great to focus on both of our strengths and take the family business forward. What else can people look forward to when coming here? From the minute people drive down our driveway to come into the car park and walk down the garden path, it’s an absolute experience. It’s not just coming to a cafe or a restaurant; it’s a drive through the countryside. You come down and see the sheep, the alpacas and our resident dog, Meeka. She’s very old but very cute. And maybe you have a table booked, maybe you’re just lobbing in. One of the things that we always strive to do is have a really interactive tasting with our smoked meats and our wines matched together so you get a really good story of how we started and what meats match with which wines, and you can also decide on what wines to have with your lunch here. Then you sit down have your gorgeous lunch, and because we have such a large space, people can walk around, through the veggie patch, through the gardens; it’s just a really great experience. So can you buy the meats and wines to take with you? Yeah, absolutely. We’ve got quite a big retail space here but for our products, they’re in the cool room at the restaurant, full of cheeses, smoked meats and wines. People can purchase those, pop them in one of the esky bags we give you and take them home, and they’ve already learnt what goes together and can host parties at home! Where else can you purchase Poachers Pantry products? We distribute to delis and supermarkets throughout Canberra and quite heavily in Sydney, as well as some places in Melbourne and Brisbane too, but mainly in Canberra at Supabarn, IGA, SPAR, little gourmet delis and restaurants. Note: the full list of stockists is on their website!

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Can you explain the Poachers Way collective and who’s involved in that? Poachers Way is a collective of businesses in the area. It originally started about ten years ago when we thought we should pull all of the amazing local businesses together and have more of a song and dance about this entire region. At the moment, there are about nine active members. It was designed that there would be a pamphlet, website and other publications so people can click through and see what there is to do in Canberra, or just outside of Canberra. We’ve also got a map journey with marked wineries, galleries, accommodation and cafes that people can visit. What’s the best thing about the Murrumbateman area?

We’re closing down for six weeks over winter for a massive renovation after the Queen’s birthday long weekend in June. We will unfortunately be closed but will open again after the six weeks and a really exciting renovation! Something I really want to work towards is setting up Poachers Pantry as an event space, almost once a month, holding an event where you’ve got friends coming from out of town and I want Poachers to be at the top of your mind and wondering what we’re doing this month. We’ll be doing different things like chilled beats in the garden with an outdoor bar, giant Jenga, lawn bowls, a chef hosting an intimate cooking demonstration out in the veggie patch and other really cool, handson things. Poachers Pantry is located at 431 Nanima Road. poacherspantry.com.au thepoachersway.com.au facebook.com/PoachersPantryNSW

I think Murrumbateman has so much to offer. There are so many businesses really close to each other. It’s a gorgeous drive. If you’re a city slicker and you’re stuck in traffic throughout the week it’s really nice to come out and take a half-hour drive through these bumpy roads and see kangaroos and the like, and then stopping in at one of the businesses and meet the owner of the winery you’re visiting, or meet the smoker of the smoked meats or the family that owns the business. It’s just seeing that glow and that passion from the people themselves who run the show, and they’re all out to make this experience awesome. What’s the best thing about Poachers in autumn and winter?

Katie Crook Poachers Pantry

I’ll talk about winter first. One of our products, our award-winning duck breast, is an amazing winter product and matching our duck dishes with our pinot noir is just unbelievable for winter. So duck and pinot [noir] nights, coming down and sitting in front of a roaring open fireplace and having a glass of mulled wine or snuggling in with family and friends – day or night. One of the things we’d like to work on is showcasing how beautiful winter is out here. In general, we’ve just got such defined seasons, and in winter it’s bare and beautiful with gorgeous striking trees with no leaves which we can wrap fairy lights around and have braziers on the terrace. We can make it really warm and cosy and wonderful.

Will Bruce Poachers Pantry

ROBYN ROWE CHOCOLATES

Photo credit: Andrew Sanchez

As you drive further and further down Nanima Road, you will soon be wondering how deep in to the countryside will you go before reaching Robyn Rowe. Once you’ve said hello to the kangaroos and alpacas in the fields beside the road, you will find the most delightful little shop next to a little pond and be greeted by the chocolate maker herself, Robyn Rowe. How did Robyn Rowe Chocolates begin? Robyn Rowe Chocolates began after I read an article about the Margaret River Chocolate Company in about 1999-2000, just after we came to live in this part of the world [Murrumbateman]. At that stage I was an embroiderer, quite a sedentary thing but I loved all that fiddly detail and it’s an art from, so I really enjoyed it. I also used to go to the Hall Markets and sell my goods, make my handtowels, grow

my lavender, dry the lavender and put it in the bags I embroidered and then sell it. I obviously liked all that detailing but then I read the article and thought I’d like to find out more about that [chocolates]. I belonged to a little craft cooperative up in Yass and a few of the women there were starting to make little tarts and biscuits, so I thought I could do that. Then I began getting orders from people but it really wasn’t what I wanted to do, it didn’t grab me but this idea of the chocolate did. In 2004, I went to Sydney and did a course every Monday for about a month and it was literally just an introduction to chocolate. It was during this time that I found out about the couverture chocolate which is the one I wanted to use. I talked about it a while after that and someone said ‘oh stop talking about it, I’ve got a wedding and I want umpteen varieties and I want umpteen bags of them’ for their guests, and that’s how it started.

When did the shop open? The shop opened in January four years ago, prior to that it was a home-run business; we had all the things we were required to but we just outgrew it in the end and had to make a decision whether to stop or go full steam ahead. So that first wedding order was 2006 and it grew from there. We used to have just one display case and a small seating area but then found we were getting bookings for groups of 20 and other visitors in a day so we opened up the space for more seating and now have two display cases so everyone can get a look at and have somewhere to sit whether it’s inside or outside. We’ve still got another counter to put in but we’re getting there! What variety of chocolates do you create? We use the Belgian Callebaut couverture chocolate which is fair trade chocolate,

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and we have about 26 varieties in a good week. The one thing about the Callebault chocolate, is that it’s such a beautiful chocolate to work with and create with; whatever they do in Belgium, it’s just so smooth and sweet. They just seem to know what to do. They don’t use any other oils to help spread the bottom line for their business. In Europe, you’re allowed to use up to 5% of other oils to spread the bottom line, whether it’s palm oil or other oils and Callebaut just don’t do that. Always check on the back of a packet for that information! So that was one of the things that drew me to Callebault. The other was the fineness of the chocolate and the fair trade properties that made me settle on it. The company that actually imports the chocolate to Australia is quite supportive of what we’re doing here. In fact, I’m taking my staff to Sydney to the Altitude Restaurant at the Shangri-La for a demonstration by a French chef based in Chicago, and I’ve been invited by the importers. From the chocolate being so pure, as I mentioned, we follow through on that with all of our fillings. We don’t use any artificial preservatives. What kind of process do you use to create the chocolates? The chocolate comes in these little buttons, Callets they call them, and we have melting tanks that hold about 6kg. The chocolate is melted overnight and then, the next morning, when it’s usually around about 45oC, I have to bring the temperature down to about 31oC. I do that with the thermostat and by adding more cold buttons to it, and then lots of elbow grease and mixing. This is called tempering. Tempering is having the melted chocolate's temperature come down and getting the stable molecules settled in the chocolate. Time, temperature and movement – they’re the three most important elements of chocolate tempering. How do you decide on the flavours and what to add in? Well I’ve been to several courses now, lots in Melbourne, and we’re given recipes that I don’t fiddle with because you’ve got your chocolate molecules that have to be properly tempered and, with the fillings too, everything has to be in balance. So the fats, the water content, all of that can alter the shelf life of your product, so I don’t fiddle once the experts have made the recipe. We do a range of fillings. We make little and often, so the flavour is always fresh and not full of preservatives. Which is one of the reasons why you don’t see them [Robyn Rowe Chocolates] everywhere; because they won’t keep, they’re so fresh and not full of artificial things. We figure if the chocolate’s pure, let’s keep it that way right to the end product.

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Photo credit: Andrew Sanchez

We do desserts here as well, we make our own ice cream so we know what’s in our coffees and hot and ice chocolates. So, if you had to choose, what are your favourite chocolates? I love the Banana Flambe. It’s made with fresh bananas and fresh roasted almonds. It’s a little bit like a fudge but has a wonderful aftertaste. Probably my all-time favourite is the Clonakilla Muscat Mousse – Clonakilla is a winery in the area. We try to use as many locally sourced products as we can, and when I first started making chocolates, Tim Kirk (owner of Clonakilla Winery) gave me the bottle of muscat and said "see what you can do with this". And that’s become our signature one. So, like many of the chocolates, that one is made into a slab, cut and then hand-dipped, and I place the handmade toppings for the chocolates. The other one that we sell out of every weekend is Coconut Lime Zing. That’s coconut puree and fresh limes, and we strain off the zest but we keep the juice, and the flavour is just beautiful.

from blood orange puree, and then the biscuit is put into the caramel. So, a lot of cutting, a lot of hand-dipping but that’s what I love about doing this. I like moving away from using the moulds so my chocolates are a little bit different and it allows me to be creative. What do you love about Murrumbateman and being in the area? I think Murrumbateman has the best of both worlds. It’s a rural community, it’s a closeknit community, everyone gets to know each other. It’s halfway between Canberra and Yass so we’ve got the best of a small country town and then we have the benefits of a city like Canberra. Everyone works together and the scenery is wonderful. Robyn Rowe Chocolates is located at 1153 Nanima Road, Hall. robynrowechocolates.com.au facebook.com/robynrowechocolates

We’ve got honey, butterscotch, a few different types of caramel fillings. We actually made some caramel chocolates for Canberra’s Centenary and had little Centenary tops made for those chocolates in Antwerp (Belgium). Antwerp is where all of our moulds come from. Another one is a bit different and you might not find that in many other places; it’s called Open Sesame and it’s filled with tahini, sesame seeds and chocolate. We also make butterscotch snaps and, from time to time a Speculaas chocolate. Speculaas is a Dutch biscuit, and we make the biscuit and then make a caramel made

Robyn Rowe Owner/Creator - Robyn Rowe Chocolates

Artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Impression | Min EER 6 12

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DID YOU KNOW? You can create delicious meals in your room with the help of the Abode Pantry at reception, providing for your needs throughout your stay including food, beverages and other essentials.

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CANBERRA’S GREATEST TREES FOR FALLING LEAVES

erhaps the greatest thing about autumn is the stunningly attractive multi-coloured leaves that hang from the tree branches and, in their own time, descend slowly towards the ground making for a magnificent pile of colours that crunch with one light footstep. Canberra is rife with wonderful trees that hold these very leaves and we have listed the places you need to go to find them on your autumn day out in the capital. Beginning with the obvious, the Arboretum at the top of Forrest Drive has the most spectacular variety of trees that throw the most colours at you from the incredibly diverse range that call this place home. Not to be missed is a stroll down by the lake and the National Library of Australia. Walking alongside a lake always brings on reflective, emotional moments and throwing some tall trees and falling leaves in the mix will make

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Photo credit: VisitCanberra

for the perfect pretend music video. Enjoy some solo drama time. A lovely tree staple of Canberra’s is that of the Claret Ash tree. Claret Ash trees can be found in many streets across the capital, all you have to do is look! These trees are most prominently found in the suburbs of Dickson and Downer, but which streets, we’ll leave that for you to discover.

of Ainslie, Red Hill and Yarralumla. This should surely satisfy the need to see an abundance of beautiful autumn flavoured trees! Even if you’ve missed the falling leaves, the stark contrast of a bare winter tree still makes for a beautiful view to fit into your day out in Canberra. Our landscape always puts on a show for every season.

Another interesting tree for autumn colours is the Chinese Pistachio, which can be found in the suburbs of Garran, Red Hill and Downer, too. Road Oak trees can be found in Red Hill, Hackett, Forrest and more. Manuka also has a little something to offer with its Liquidambars, as does Narrabundah, which is widely known as Canberra’s leafiest suburb. And if you still haven’t got your fill, hop in the car and take a long drive through the suburbs

A NEW TASTE TO NARRABUNDAH

Nestled among the tall trees of Narrabundah lies the suburb’s newest fab restaurant and Canberra’s newest addition to the long list of seriously good food spots we can offer our visitors. XO in Narrabundah is the latest and greatest in Asian fusion cuisine and is a must-try for guests dropping by the capital. We spoke to co-owner Greg Lally about how this hip new eatery came to be. How did XO come to life? What’s the back story behind it? Kent [co-owner Kent Nhan] and I have be good friends since we studied at Australian National University. I completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) and Bachelor of Science (Psychology) and Kent a Bachelor of Commerce.

Kent’s family has run a very successful Vietnamese restaurant in Griffith for many years and he worked in the restaurant on and off throughout childhood. The shop was always a regular hangout for our friends and extremely popular for the Canberra community, including many politicians and their staff. While we took different paths since university, Kent and I have always shared a love of food and wine. We have wanted to work together on a project in Canberra for some time and have been on the lookout for a chef that could help us execute our vision. We found this in Kent’s former colleague Anand Ramakrishna (co-owner, called AK by his mates) - an incredibly talented and passionate chef who has a stellar CV training in top restaurants in Australia and overseas. Kent and I spent a few months regularly travelling between Canberra and Sydney where AK was based to brainstorm ideas.

We quickly realised that we were all on the same page with what we wanted to achieve and most importantly, became very close mates. Together, the three of us set out a gruelling schedule of food trials and late nights spent on a business plan. We finally located the perfect site, and bit the bullet and committed to making the project happen. We engaged my childhood best friend Dean [co-owner Dean Papas] to manage the fit out. Apart from doing an outstanding job on the space, he also became hooked on the idea of what we were doing and came on board as a key member of our team. We are great mate’s first as well as business partners, which has made the process a whole lot of fun. We also bring experience and knowledge from different walks of life, and a strong, hard work ethic that was vital to get XO off the ground and operating so successfully in a relatively short space of time.

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What makes XO the perfect place to visit in autumn/winter? We are right in the heart of leafy Narrabundah. It is one of Canberra’s oldest suburbs and its leafy streets really are at their most spectacular during autumn and winter. Having grown up in Canberra, we put a lot of thought into making the restaurant a comfortable spot through Canberra’s cooler months without being completely separated from the landscape. We have close to a kilometre of underfloor heating, allowing us to closely control the temperature and make a perfect sanctuary for a long winter’s lunch or dinner. What do you love about Canberra in autumn/winter? We are all huge fans of Canberra, and have a particular love of winter. We grew up travelling to Thredbo for weekends on the slopes and spending nights around town at Canberra’s fantastic bars and restaurants. There is something about a crisp winter’s day in Canberra that immediately wakes you up and motivates you to spend time with friends and family, particularly around a meal and a glass of wine. What can diners look forward to in the near future from XO?

What kind of food can people look forward to? The head chef behind XO is AK who, in alliance with Jeff Shim, is responsible for turning our dishes from an idea thrown around in one of our regular late-night brainstorms to staples on our menu. Our food is driven by inspiration from friends, family, childhood and travel. Our dishes are rooted by memories of food Kent and AK grew up eating, reimagined with a twist. We want to surprise and to challenge diners, while still offering something familiar. Our shantung bao has been a favourite, with many calling it the best in Canberra. A super soft home-steamed bao, twicecooked pork belly with cucumber, pickled daikon and ginger. A small plate that gathers plenty of attention is our Asian bolognaise – stir-fried udon in XO chicken ragout with a 60oC egg. This is an example of a childhood recreation, with Kent’s mother throwing it together to feed the family in his youth, topping the noodles and chicken with a fried egg to make it attractive for him as a child. The crispy lamb ribs are also a crowd favourite. Braised to perfection and tossed in a sticky plum sauce, it is a sentimental favourite that marries Australian lamb with Asian flavours.

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Finally, as no meal is complete without dessert, the gluten - and dairy-free black rice pudding with a coconut ice-cream, golden honey-comb and lime meringue never fails to put a smile on our customers’ faces. What was the idea behind offering this kind of food? What we always wanted to do with XO is to blur the boundaries between fine dining and casual restaurants. Growing up in Canberra there has traditionally been a clear gap in the market between the two and we really didn’t like the fact that you couldn’t afford to dine out regularly and get top-notch food.

We keep our menu as seasonal as possible to make the most of the fantastic produce that we have at our fingertips in the Canberra region. We will definitely be pushing the boundaries with our food and wine program tailored to cool Canberra days and cooler Canberra nights. We are confident that our winter menu will challenge the misconceptions that South East Asian flavours are not suited to cool climates. We are really looking forward to our first winter season here! XO is located at 16 Iluka Street Narrabundah. xo-restaurant.com.au/ facebook.com/xonarrabundah Instagram: xorestaurant

With XO we have sought to offer a unique perspective on traditional South East Asian cuisine that is grounded by a commitment to making unpretentious food that is accessible to everyone without compromising on quality. What’s your favourite item on the menu? If you can pick! Our Asian bolognaise is favourite of us and by many. As I mentioned, Kent’s mother used to throw it together to feed the family, topping the noodles and chicken with shallots and a sunny side fried egg. AK’s take on this uses chicken crackling instead of the fried shallots for texture and switches up the sunny side for a 60oC egg for some added richness.

NATIONAL TREASURES: NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY

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photographic triptych, Simone Young (2002); Petrina Hicks’ arresting 2008 image of world champion surfer, Layne Beachley; and eX de Medici’s 2001 watercolour on vellum portrait of rock band Midnight Oil. Through gift, purchase and commission, and particularly with the support of many donors and benefactors, the collection has multiplied almost a hundredfold from the twenty-eight artworks acquired during the Gallery’s first year as an independent institution. It creates a means for people to connect with the lives of others: the people we variously revere, revile or desire; those we are most inspired, moved, perplexed or intrigued by; those who best illuminate historical experience and circumstance; and all of the other past or present-day companions whose lives might cause us to reflect on or understand our own. Come and see which face most moves you!

estled alongside Lake Burley Griffin in its stunning, purposebuilt home, Australia’s National Portrait Gallery is the youngest of our national cultural institutions, with its dedicated building opened by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in December 2008. A realisation of the ceaseless efforts of Melbourne philanthropists L Gordon Darling AC CMG and Marilyn Darling AC, who began the push for its creation as early as 1988, the Gallery’s award-winning halls now house a collection approaching 2500 works, bearing the official mission ‘ … to increase the understanding and appreciation of the Australian people – their identity, history, culture, creativity and diversity – through portraiture.’ And what can a visitor expect to find? Well, a bit of institutional history brings context to the delights on offer. Inaugural NPG director Andrew Sayers, appointed in 1998 when the Portrait Gallery was first established (in three rooms at Old Parliament House), once noted it presents a national story that reads like ‘a tapestry, not a tombstone’. It is this concept of an Australian yarn with multiple threads that underpinned Gordon and Marilyn Darling’s nascent vision a decade earlier. They conceived the model, developing an exhibition that would ‘show people in various parts of the country a sample of what a National Portrait Gallery would do for Australia’. Featuring 116 portraits of sitters from fields including politics, exploration, the arts, science, business and sport, the exhibition Uncommon Australians: Towards an Australian Portrait Gallery opened at the National Gallery of Victoria in May 1992, and then toured the country. It introduced visitors not just to the concept of a national portrait gallery, but also to the unique interpretive approach such an institution might take – an interplay of art, word and biography, to create an enriching and accessible narrative of the country’s history, culture and people.

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portrait.gov.au In March 1999, the National Portrait Gallery’s first exhibition as an independent institution, The possibilities of portraiture, opened in the expanded gallery spaces at Old Parliament House. At the same time, the Gallery unveiled its founding acquisitions – including Clifton Pugh’s Barry Humphries (1958), the first of many artworks to be gifted by the Gallery’s founding patrons; Tracey Moffatt’s wisecracking photograph of actor David Gulpilil, The movie star (1985); and Howard Arkley’s lurid and striking portrait of musician Nick Cave, one of the first two works commissioned by the Gallery and now one of the icons of the collection. And now, in 2016, the Gallery’s collection continues to grow, expanding from those purposeful foundations with a dedicated home to match, designed by Sydney architectural firm Johnson Pilton Walker. Accordingly, the Gallery’s collection and temporary exhibitions are housed in carefully proportioned rooms, inviting a personal engagement with the artworks. The portraits encompass the great, the good and the famous alongside the humble, the flawed and the obscure. Powerful contemporary works – such as Guy Maestri’s Archibaldwinning Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu (2009), Adam Chang’s Charles Teo (2012), or Brook Andrew’s stunning (2009) unique screenprint of academic Marcia Langton – might be found alongside those in a more traditional idiom, among them the immensely popular paintings of actor Deborah Mailman (by Evert Ploeg), scientist Frank Fenner (by Jude Rae), Indigenous leader Lowitja O’Donoghue (by Robert Hannaford) and Portrait of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark by Jiawei Shen. There is the beguiling Lola Montez; Cadel Evans, stark in technicolour; and Captain Cook and William Bligh, striking powerful poses. There are portraits in new media, such as Warwick Thornton’s 2013 portrait of musician Paul Kelly, and the 2008 video depiction, by David Rosetzky, of actor Cate Blanchett. There is Bill Henson’s dramatic

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS National Photographic Portrait Prize Saturday (19 March - 26 June, 2016) Photographs in this exhibition are selected from a national field of entries, reflecting the distinctive vision of Australia’s aspiring and professional portrait photographers and the unique nature of their subjects.

Polly Borland 2015 John Tsiavis Digital Print

Mysterious eyes – Arthur Boyd portraits from 1945 (4 May - 14 August, 2016) A young man whose soft features betrayed the intensity of his own self-image, Arthur Boyd portrayed others with equally concentrated emotion.

Self-portrait 1945-46 by Arthur Boyd (1920-1999) oil on canvas Collection: National Portrait Gallery, Canberra Purchased with funds provided by the Liangis family 2014

There’s nothing quite like autumn and winter in Canberra. Beginning with the striking colours throughout our natural habitat and morphing into stark and bare trees and land, there are plenty of ways to enjoy the natural beauty of the capital. Of course this is mixed in with our very best food, drinks and national attractions. We have put together a full day’s itinerary to make sure you see the best of Canberra in autumn and winter.

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Wake up but stay rugged up in your room and just appreciate a quiet winter morning with a book or familiar television program to get the day going.

Breakfast time at Chatterbox in Belconnen. This place won’t ever disappoint with its delightful brekky dishes that include delicious salmon, poached eggs, avocado, hash browns and more! And it has fantastic coffee and freshly made juices to match.

Layer up and make your way to Lake Burley Griffin to take a stroll along the banks and see the falling leaves of colourful Canberra in autumn. If you’re heading out in winter, it makes for a striking view with the naked trees and calm waters.

Lunchtime at XO Narrabundah. See how South East Asian cuisine really is a great food option for winter. Afterwards, take a short stroll through the leafy suburb that is Narrabundah and experience its beauty.

Time for an afternoon of history and remembrance. The Australian War Memorial offers a fantastic exhibition of the Anzacs, especially now as they pay tribute to a selected soldier and family each day before closing. A great autumn/winter idea with Anzac Day falling on 25 April. Don’t forget to walk down Anzac Parade and see the length of tributes to our soldiers, past and present.

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A hot chocolate or two is a welcome treat throughout the cooler months and where better to find such a treat than Koko Black in the city? Sitting right underneath the Canberra Centre, Koko Black is known for its delectable chocolates and delicious drinks. Stock up on some sugar to keep your warmth up!

After such a sweet treat, it’s time for more exploring to work a bit of it off. Drive up to the National Arboretum in Forrest and take your time moving through the gardens that are home to 94 different kinds of rare, endangered and symbolic trees from around Australia. There’s even a playground for the youngsters.

After heading back to the hotel to freshen up, it’s time for dinner at Jamie’s Italian back in the city. From the legendary chef himself, Jamie Oliver’s relaxed restaurant boasts the dishes inspired by Italy and the food that Jamie loves. Perfect to take in with a clean glass of red.

Just because it’s a bit chilly outside doesn’t mean you need to hibernate! Make your way to Bentspoke Brewing Co in Braddon after dinner, where a cold but heart-warming craft beer, cider or ginger beer is waiting for you underneath the heaters both inside and outside. Enjoy the laidback setting to end the night in perfect relaxation and appreciation of the capital’s changing seasons.

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Enjoy your autumn/ winter day out. We promise to have your room perfected by the time you return.

HIKING IN CANBERRA

Photo credit: VisitCanberra

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t may seem a little crazy to be hiking in the middle of autumn or winter but these hiking ideas are for day trips only. Sometimes when the blistering heat is absent, it can be a nice change for the avid hiker. You should take a guide or practise your hiking skills before heading out on these hikes alone, especially in winter. Beginning with the big leagues, make your way to Tharwa to begin your hike of Canberra’s portion of the Australian Alps. That’s right, Alps. The Australian Alps Walking Track runs from Walhalla in Victoria right across to Tharwa in the ACT. The track is 655km so obviously you can’t do this in a day, but it is a wonderful hike to try to get as far as you can and back! The end-to-end walk takes about 50 days so it is broken up in to sections for you. Test yourself on this one if you dare and you’ll be rewarded with a stunning view of the natural Australian landscape. A fantastic hiking trail in town is the 145km Centenary Trail. You can walk a portion of the 145km trail in a day and the rocky wilderness of the Namadgi National Park will not disappoint with the flora and fauna you’ll find along the way. The trail has already been broken up into day sections for you to make the most of the track while you’re visiting. You can walk any length of the trail at a time, joining or leaving the trail in between the one-day sections. It follows

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fire trails, walking tracks and shared paths in both urban and natural areas so you get a fully inclusive tour of the National Capital. The trail is designed to be low intensity but you can pick up the pace and walk more than the suggested distance for each part of the trail and make your mark. Another great option is to head to Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve (a part of Namadgi National Park) and walk the trails around this area. These can be either with a guide or without, you just have to look it up on the website to find out when the guides are going. For the less intense hikers or to build up your skills, there is always Canberra’s old faithful hiking tracks that require a good amount of effort to conquer and serve as a great exercise option. These include Mount Ainslie, Black Mountain and Mount Taylor, along with bushwalking trails you can find at Tuggeranong’s Pine Island and the Cotter Reserve and surrounds which connects with the 27km Murrumbidgee Discovery Track. Remember to rug up and take plenty of water and snacks!

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve tidbinbilla.act.gov.au

As the first leaves begin to fall, Canberra comes alive with blockbuster exhibitions, delicious food and wine events and fantastic festivals. Autumn is the perfect time to enjoy a mini-break in the national capital, so come and let our beautiful city surprise you.

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Animal Encounter, National Zoo & Aquarium

FAMILY FUN The city’s national attractions have plenty of family-friendly activities and exhibitions on offer throughout autumn. • • • •

Spiders, Questacon — The National Science and Technology Centre Animal Encounter, National Zoo & Aquarium Weekend tours, National Dinosaur Museum KSPACE, National Museum of Australia

Art, Not Apart

Groovin the Moo. Image courtesy Tao Jones.

MUSIC TO YOUR EARS Dance, sing or hum your way through autumn as Canberra hosts some entertaining music events. • • • •

13 March, Symphony in the Park 24 -28 April, National Folk Festival 29 April-8 May, Canberra International Music Festival 3 May, Groovin the Moo

Segway around Lake Burley Griffin

PARTY, PARTY, PARTY!

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Canberra has a month-long party planned for March this year, with an event or festival guaranteed to suit every taste.

Make the most of Canberra’s beautiful autumn weather by getting out and about over the next few months.

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15–20 March, Canberra Comedy Festival

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12–20 March, the Canberra Balloon Spectacular

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19 March, Art, Not Apart

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Segway around Lake Burley Griffin

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19 March, Skyfire 2016

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Bushwalk in Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve

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BOOK DIRECT AND SAVE! 26

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KIDSPOT: SNOW DAY!

s the winter weather settles in, it means only one thing; time to play in some snow!

Canberra is surrounded by many beautiful snow-capped mountains that can be seen with the naked eye, which means there’s plenty more where that came from. Once the snow has stuck to the mountain tops, it’s time to begin looking around for the best places to visit for the day. The options begin with the family-friendly, always-impressive, Corin Forest (1268 Corin Road, Tidbinbilla Range). This mountainside winter wonderland is perfect for a snow day thanks to the state-of-the-art snow making machine to help out a little when the weather isn’t cooperating. Build your snowmen, plan your snowball fights and hop in line for tobogganing competitions with your family and friends! There’s even a little cafe to grab a warm drink and a quick snack in between toboggan rides and alpine slides. Perisher Valley (Kosciuszko Road, Perisher Valley) is a fantastic option for both the older and younger kids, with plans and courses for beginners, and skiing and snowboarding paths for the more experienced. There’s tobogganing and the popular Tube Town, providing tube rides down a hill the whole family will enjoy. The delightful restaurant at the base of

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the mountain, in the centre of the village, will provide a perfect hideout or winddown spot for those done for the day and wanting a great meal in an incredibly cosy setting with views that will take your breath away. Thredbo (Thredbo Alpine Village, Friday Drive, Thredbo) is another option for the high-adrenaline, extreme sports-loving kids and families. It is also home to the Snow Play area for those who simply love the snow and love to play in it. There’s tobogganing, snow tubes and wide open spaces that are fashioned as the perfect places to create pretty snow angels and for those epic snowball fights! They also have hiking and biking options around the mountains if they aren’t covered in snow. Both Perisher and Thredbo will provide the kids and dults with clothing and gear, and teach the kids new skills through programs for children through to teens. Soon enough they’ll become the skier or snowboarder of their dreams.

with penguin friends to help for balance and a rocking soundtrack to accompany the kids around the rink for hours of fun! Make sure you check the conditions for each snow adventure area before you head out, in case of road closures or severe weather conditions.

For more information visit, Perisher.com.au. Corin.com.au Thredbo.com.au Inthecitycanberra.com.au

Both also have fantastic options for winter gear shopping, museums that celebrate the sports of winter and a variety of special events and fun family nights! Check out their websites for the details. And last but not least is Canberra city’s own winter extravaganza, Skate in the City. An annual traditio, it brings an outdoor iceskating rink to the centre of Garema Place

Got a recommendation or question for our Kidspot activities? Tweet us @abodehotels with the hashtag #kidspot 27

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Traveling for work can be an excellent experience. It can also get really tiring eating at average restaurants and pubs all the time. If you travel a lot and you’re craving a home cooked meal, here’s a quick and easy recipe you can make in most serviced apartment kitchens. You just need a fry pan, a saucepan and a basic supermarket. This recipe is perfect for a mid-week dinner when you need a break from convenience food. Hot tip: you can take the leftovers to work with you the next day so you don’t have to eat dry conference sandwiches for the fourth time this week. You can buy plastic containers from most supermarkets but failing that, if your hotel has a restaurant you can grab a takeaway container from there.

WHAT YOU NEED • 500g raw prawns • Pasta • Bunch of basil (roughly chopped) • 1 large chilli • 1 small chilli • 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes • 1 small red onion • Olive oil • Garlic

Carly Jacobs Founding Editor of Smaggle

WHAT TO DO 1. Start the pasta cooking, by the time it’s finished cooking the rest will be ready to toss through. 2. Finely chop the onion, garlic and chilli then sauté on medium heat with enough olive oil to make a layer across the pan (use more than you think - it essentially becomes the sauce). 3. When the garlic is fragrant in the pan, halve the cherry tomatoes and sauté them. 4. When the cherry tomatoes start to lose their structure and are easy to squish, turn up the heat and toss through the prawns. 5. When the prawns turn opaque, turn the heat off and toss through the basil. 6. Mix the pasta and prawns together.

Carly Jacobs is the founding editor of Smaggle (smaggle.com) which launched in 2007 back when blogging was weird. Her work has appeared in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Cosmopolitan, Cleo and Vogue magazines. When she’s not writing she’s teaching people how to blog at Little Blog Big (littleblogbig.com), and recording her two podcasts Straight and Curly (for self improvement junkies) available on iTunes and Sweet Teen Club (for 90s tragics) at jackrabbit.fm/sweetteen-club/. Hoop earrings are totally her thing and she once had a really awkward conversation with Guy Pearce in Paris. Website - smaggle.com Instagram - @smaggle Twitter - @smaggle Facebook facebook.com/smaggle

7. Serve with salt and cracked pepper.

Words by Carly Jacobs

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GETTING OUTDOORS BUT STAYING IN

THE RIDDLE ROOM

The headliner for autumn and winter indoor activities, is The Riddle Room. A new and quirky addition to the Canberra entertainment scene, The Riddle Room is full of riddle-ridden activities that you must solve to open locks, find keys and solve more puzzles to progress through the storyline and make your way out of the room in 60 minutes or you fail! You can receive hints if you get stuck. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a new form of exciting adventure game. The Riddle Room is designed for groups of two to four people, and is recommended for people aged over 16 (kids can participate but they must be accompanied by an adult). If you start to feel slightly claustrophobic or itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just not for you, there is an emergency exit and you can stop the game at any time. Give it a try this season! riddleroom.com.au

THE MOVIES

A favourite cold day pastime, the movies have always provided stellar entertainment for the masses along with the delicious snacks and drinks to treat yourself to. The movies are especially appealing in Canberra at the moment with a total renovation and revamp of the Hoyts Belconnen and Hoyts Woden cinemas. Every seat is now a cushy and comfy recliner chair to stretch and put your feet up without bothering the person next to or in front of you! Make sure you book in first, as these seats sell out fast. Limelight cinemas in Tuggeranong, Palace Electric in New Acton and Dendy Cinemas in the city are also wonderful alternatives to these two larger cinemas.

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Here’s a list of exciting and fun things to do in Canberra that also happen to be indoors and blocked from the sometimes icy chill of an autumn/winter wind.

RESTAURANT PRECINCTS

Canberra is bursting with amazing food that seemingly reaches new heights of quality and taste. With a vast variety to choose from, we’ve made a list of the top restaurant precincts to help narrow down the choices (although it probably won’t help, they’re all that good).

Books, books, glorious books. What better way to spend a cool winter’s day than curled up with a sensational story to transport you to another world? Public libraries are all over Canberra including:

LIBRARIES

ACT Heritage Library, Phillip Gungahlin Library Belconnen Library

Kingston Foreshore Lonsdale Street, Braddon Mort Street, Braddon Kingston town centre Manuka town centre Canberra city Emu Bank, Belconnen

Kingston Library Civic Library Kippax Library Dickson Library Tuggeranong Library Erindale Library Woden Library

Gungahlin Marketplace

Kingston Foreshore. Photo Credit: VisitCanberra

BEST BARS

National Library of Australia Photo Credit: VisitCanberra

A delicious hot toddy or warm glass of merlot on a cold day seems to be just what the doctor ordered, but not too many of course! Here are some favourites around the capital that will not disappoint with their quality drinks, service and, of course, style.

A must in the cooler months, coffees, teas and hot chocolates warm the cockles of your heart. Especially when paired with a tasty biscuit or another sweet treat. Here are the best-known cafes for coffee, tea and hot chocolate in Canberra.

COFFEE, TEA & HOT CHOCCIES

Molly – Canberra city Monster – New Acton Honkytonks – Canberra city Bentspoke Brewing Co. – Braddon Hippo Bar – Canberra city 54 Benjamin – Belconnen

ONA Café – Fyshwick Two Hands Café – Fyshwick Max Brenner Chocolate Bar –

Haha Bar and La De Da – Belconnen

Belconnen and Kingston Foreshore

Hopscotch – Braddon

The Cupping Room – Canberra city

Siren Bar and Restaurant – Gungahlin Knightsbridge - Braddon

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Adore Tea – Gold Creek Koko Black – Canberra city

Coffee Lab – Canberra city Lonsdale Street Roasters – Braddon

A STUNNING LANDSCAPE

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Yerrabi Pond, Gungahlin

Murrumbateman landscape. Photo credit: VisitCanberra.

A snapshot of the beauty that surrounds our Abode Gungahlin.

mong Gungahlin’s many attractive characteristics that include the proposed light rail, the prominent marketplace, home to restaurants and bars galore, and the close proximity to other prominent town centres, it’s the easy access to Canberra’s natural beauty that takes the cake. Gungahlin guests can enjoy the stunning landscapes from around Gungahlin all the way up to the historic town centres of Hall and Murrumbateman in just one short drive. Begin your journey in Gungahlin and head to Yerrabi Pond. This giant lake is perfect for a peaceful wander, a swift run or a place to settle in for an afternoon of people-watching. It also has an adventure playground for the kids that includes

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a giant Tarzan swing, tandem flying fox, Burmese bridge, skateboard area, barbecues and picnic tables. When you have had your fill of Gungahlin, drive 10 minutes to the north arriving at the ACT suburb of Hall. This tiny village is surrounded by open country and resembles a sweet country town from an era gone by. Standing long before Canberra’s selection as the capital city, Hall still has many of its original buildings and homesteads, regularly hosting historic tours that include the general store and post office, historic churches, the Memorial of Trees and the famed Hall Markets.

open spaces. This charming little village is a humble home to many and puts on wine festivals and village markets worthy of endless praise. Murrumbateman is also home to antique stores and historic buildings from early Australian settlement days. If you’re missing the country or need a breath of clear, fresh air, perhaps followed by a glass of fine wine alongside the mountains, trees and animals, then Murrumbateman is where you want to spend the day. Have a chat to the hotel manager to find out the best ways to get around to these stunning landscapes and sweet villages.

After you have explored the delights of Hall, move on further into the countryside and up to Murrumbateman. Technically a part of New South Wales, Murrumbateman has been adopted by Canberrans as we make frequent visits to their wineries, festivals, the local historic pub and striking

A BIT OF COOL-CLIMATE CULTURE

Glassworks courses. Photo Credit: VisitCanberra

Autumn and winter are not the most ideal times to be walking around outside. This means that Canberra really puts on a show indoors, from our main attractions to the lesser-known hotspots.

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3 Seeds cooking classes and demonstrations. Photo Credit: VisitCanberra

Constant throughout the cooler months are craft fairs and markets that include crafty workshops. To learn a new skill from sewing and crocheting to designing and painting, the Hall Markets, Trash & Treasure, Canberra Handmade Market and Hustle&Scout are here to help. Keep an ear out for their market dates and locations. Pick up flower arranging and terrarium making as a lifelong skill that will serve you well later in life and means great things for your own garden and your home décor. Moxom + Whitney are the people to see for this one.

3 Seeds cooking classes and demonstrations. Photo Credit: VisitCanberra

his is the perfect time to experience a little bit of culture in Canberra from theatrical plays, cooking demonstrations and glasswork courses. We have come up with some indoor activities you should definitely try while you’re in town.

The Canberra Theatre is Canberra’s premier destination for plays, musicals, ballets and more. From the Russian Ballet Company to the Canberra Comedy Festival and important demonstrations of social issues, the theatre won’t disappoint in providing some high-level performance art culture.

Beginning with Arthouse movies, Palace Electric Cinemas in NewActon and Dendy Cinemas in the Canberra Centre always have a long list of powerful independent films that rarely make the big cinemas’ lists.

Cooking demonstrations don’t get much better than the culinary classes held at 3 Seeds Cooking School. With worldrenowned chef Andrew Haskins taking the lead, you’ll learn everything from entrees to desserts when stepping foot in the state-of-the-art kitchen within a welcoming family business.

Moving on to the Arc Cinema, within the National Film and Sound Archive, you will find everything from important historical films to feature films from around the globe and striking documentaries about the world’s social, political and environmental issues. The cinema seats 250 people, is heritage listed in its design and is located in the art deco dream that is the Northern Exhibition Gallery. Take a look online to find the showing times.

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This of course pairs nicely with wine tasting and learning the beginnings of the sacred art of a sommelier. Wineries within Canberra and just on the outskirts provide basic matching skills on how to pair delicious dishes with the perfect wine. Poachers Pantry in Murrumbateman is particularly reputable in this department.

To work on all facets of your artistic flair, the Belconnen Arts Centre hosts a range of workshops that involve art with alternative materials, movement classes, cartooning and caricaturing, and so much more. You’ll have to keep an eye on their events page to keep up! It’s now time to take a step back in time to an era where perfecting the right cocktail or heavier drink was an art form and something you most definitely should know when entertaining guests. Kremlin Bar and Hippo Co in the city, and Polit Bar in Griffith are the masters for these classes. Check their websites to book yours. A fun activity that everyone can try is glasswork. The Canberra Glassworks holds professional workshops, short courses, ongoing courses and even classes for kids and school groups, especially in the holidays! Booking in is essential. And there you have it: a list of activities to fill your days in the cooler months and a chance to learn a little something from a variety of cultures that, over time, have all meshed together to create our wonderful capital.

CANBERRA TRAVEL TIPS

Photo credit: VisitCanberra

When travelling to the National Capital, there are some things to remember. Here’s a range of tips and information to help you on your travels to the capital. The Canberra and Region Visitors Centre is located at 330 Northbourne Avenue in Dickson and has all the information on attractions, transport, restaurants and more! Also, the parking is free. Some fun facts about Canberra in case you ever attend a trivia night that has a sole focus on the capital’s minute details: Canberra’s population is currently sitting at 388,488 people; it is surrounded by New South Wales; the city is 150km inland and 571m above the Pacific Ocean; it is 281km from Sydney and 660km from Melbourne. The latitude and longitude is 35o south and 149o east. CANBERRA 2016 PUBLIC HOLIDAYS • • • • • • • • •

New Year’s Day: Friday 1 January Australia Day: Tuesday 26 January Canberra Day: Monday 14 March Good Friday: Friday 25 March Easter Saturday: Saturday 26 March Easter Monday: Monday 28 March Anzac Day: Monday 25 April Queen’s Birthday: Monday 13 June Family & Community Day: Monday 26 September • Labour Day: Monday 3 October • Christmas Day: Sunday 25 December • Boxing Day: Monday 26 December

CLIMATE The average temperature throughout the autumn and winter months can be found in the table below to help you plan for extra layers of clothing, the need for umbrellas and how to set out your days. SEASON

AVERAGE MIN*

AVERAGE MAX*

Autumn

7 (45)

20 (68)

Winter

1 (34)

12 (54)

* Degrees Celsius (Degrees Fahrenheit in brackets) Data collected from VisitCanberra.

ARRIVING The airport is approximately 8km from the city, 14km from Abode Woden, 23km from Abode Tuggeranong, 19km from Abode Gungahlin and 8km from Abode Narrabundah for any fliers out there. There is also an airport shuttle that goes to the city centre if that’s where you need to be before you go to your hotel. GETTING AROUND Canberra has several taxi companies at your disposal including Silver Service Taxis, Canberra Cabs and Canberra Elite.

Buses can take a little bit longer as they have more ground to cover on their travels. Bus timetables can be found on the ACTION Bus website, at newsagents and the visitors centre. Be advised that these times change on weekends and public holidays. Driving your own car is relatively easy because Canberra’s roads are wide and plentiful, but you will need a map! Peak times are the same as anywhere; early morning before work and on the way home after work. Parking is also relatively easy. There are cycling paths on just about every major Canberra road. If there are no cycling paths on the road, there are walking paths that usually line the roads on each side, unless they are major highways (for obvious safety reasons). A light rail or tram has been proposed to make its way from Gungahlin to the city and a bit beyond to help with commuters on their way to work. Construction for the light rail is set to begin shortly and will be completed in stages. Those are the basics, to find out more about what to do when you get here and how to make your visit to the capital the best it can be, visit yourabode.abodehotels.com.au.

Canberra now has Uber! Uber is super easy to use and quite a convenient new addition to the capital’s transport system.

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supporting young men in Canberra since 2002 Through our free counselling, volunteer mentoring and education programs in Canberra, we help socially isolated or troubled young men get their lives back on track. We also change the lives of our volunteers. Because we believe everything is possible.

Need to talk? Want to get involved?

menslink.org.au

READING NOOK A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Wolfe Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Curling up with a good book is hard to beat on a cold and gloomy day. A perfect book can transform the winter blues into a day full of fantastical characters, spectacular new worlds and thrilling storylines. We have sorted through lists of the most popular ‘must-reads’ to achieve in a lifetime in contemporary, fiction, non-fiction, classics and children’s categories and have displayed them here for you. We won’t tell you which book belongs to which category; why not dive in and find out along the way if you don’t already know? The only time to check is if you’re considering reading to your children! Some of the stories listed are a bit ‘adult-themed’, you see. Take a look at the blurbs, the reviews and the insights into these stories and decide for yourself which is the best to buy or download for your cosy day in.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain Don Quixote by Miguel De Cervantes Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

It’s going to be a good one.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodsgon Burnett

1984 by George Orwell

The Colour Purple by Alice Walker

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

The Diary of a Girl by Anne Frank

Emma by Jane Austen

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

The Shining by Stephen King

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The Shipping News by Annie Proulx

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Ulysses by James Joyce

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

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TIPS FOR STAYING WARM

Whether you’re indoors or outdoors it’s sure handy to know some lifesavers to keep you warm throughout the day and night! Here are some DIY things you can do in your room or when walking the chilly streets of the capital.

TIP #1.

Wear a hat. It’s a known fact that a large percentage of your body warmth escapes from your head so wrap that baby up with fashionable head pieces, hats, beanies, scarves, whatever you please really and trap that heat.

TIP #2.

Layer up! The more layers of clothing, the more warmth you can trap in them and it creates a thicker layer between your skin and the wind!.

TIP #3.

Snuggling. As warm-blooded animals it makes sense that sticking us together with other warm-blooded animals would lead to really warm blooded animals. So snuggle up to your family, friends or that special someone to make it through the cooler months.

TIP #4.

Sugar and water. Hydrating and keeping your blood sugar levels up provides your body with the energy it needs to stay warm. So, in scientific terms, super important.

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TIP #5.

Avoid too much alcohol. This might not seem true but it really is! An alcoholic beverage may seem to warm you up but in the long run it actually is one of the factors most responsible for body temperature drops.

TIP #6.

Turn on the ceiling fan. You might be thinking, ‘are you crazy?’, but we know that hot air rises so if you turn the ceiling fan to its lowest setting, that hot air will slowly move back down to where you are.

TIP #7.

Switch between hot and cold water in the shower. Okay, now you’re probably really thinking ‘are you crazy?’, but stay with me. Cold water helps the blood circulate meaning there’s a steady flow and the warmth is easier to spread through your body. Maybe only switch it for a few seconds here and there.

TIP #8.

Block the drafts. Cover all door openings with a towel or one of those door-stopper noodles and stop the cold air cold in its tracks! Get it?

TIP #9. TIP #10. Become an avid baker. Baking all day long means long periods of time spent by the oven and heat flow. It also means you’re moving around, working up a sweat while mixing the day away. Plus this type of activities usually ends in delicious snacks to enjoy afterwards.

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Blankets, blankets, blankets. A little tip for the millions of blankets you’ve got on your bed or couch right now; put the thinnest, most dense ones on the top to prevent convective heat loss and have the fluffiest blankets closest to your skin for optimal warming operation.

ABODE HOTELS BALLOON PACKAGE Hot air ballooning is without a doubt one of the best ways to take in the stunning landscape of Canberra. In celebration of the Abode Hotel balloon landing we are proud to present you our balloon package. Feel the magic of soaring over a changing landscape at sunrise, suspended in a basket under a glorious hot air balloon. Take in the panorama view below; from the lush greenery of Lake Burley Griffin and its famed landmarks to the rugged Australian landscape over the Arboretum, Canberraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s numerous tourist attractions are available for soaring over! Prices start from $630 per night in a Premium Studio or $660 per night in an Executive Studio for 2 adults and includes flights for 2. Call 1300 1 ABODE (22633) today to check availability and take the flight of your life. *Bookings must be made minimum 7 days in advance. If the flight is cancelled it can be either rebooked or refunded. All flights include champagne and fruit juice. Offer only available at Abode Woden.

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1300 1 ABODE abodehotels.com.au

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THE MOVIES IN CANBERRA: A HISTORY Signs and screen of Sundown Drive-in Cinema, Canberra, 1970. Photo credit: National Archives of Australia

The movies, the talkies, motion pictures, films. Whatever you like to call them, the cinema has been an integral part of entertaining society since its inception.

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Dendy Premium Cinema Foyer. Photo credit: VisitCanberra

he cinema scene in Canberra has been a rich and interesting one with the cinema scene following along as Canberra slowly grew in to the city we know and love today. Here is a quick look through the history of cinema in Canberra. The earliest cinema experience for the capital was at Triumph Hall in Queanbeyan, built in 1913, followed by Star Pictures in 1925. Being a country-like town, moviegoers would make their way to the theatre by horse and cart, bus or by foot to see the latest films from the United States and the United Kingdom, and sometimes Australian-made films. Canberra’s first dedicated cinema was the Capitol Theatre. Opening in 1927, this theatre still stands today in the suburb of Manuka, now home to Greater Union cinemas. The theatre had more than thousand seats when it first opened, and presented a mixture of theatrical acts and films throughout its lifespan. Later cinemas included the Civic Theatre open from 1936–1973; this was replaced by the Civic Twin until 2007. The Enrico Taglietti-designed Center Cinema was open from 1966–2003, and the family-run Boulevard Twin later known as Electric Shadows was open from 1973–2006. These have led us to the cinemas we now know, mostly making major shopping centres their home. These include Hoyts in Westfield Belconnen and Westfield Woden, Dendy

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Cinemas in the Canberra Centre in the city, and Limelight Cinemas at the Hyperdome in Tuggeranong. Some special exceptions to this rule include Palace Electric Cinemas in NewActon at the base of the Nishi Building. Palace Cinema shows fabulous arthouse movies along with the favourites, adding a different flavour to the Canberra cinema scene.

today. Canberra’s second drive-in theatre was the Sundown Drive-In that opened in Narrabundah in 1969 and closed in 1991. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough business for the drive-in industry based on both advances in and the preferred comfort of home theatre and indoor cinemas. But, hope is not lost as evolved versions of the drive-in continues to pop up in the present.

The Arc Cinema that lives within the National Film and Sound Archive, presents films and documentaries from our history. It provides a fantastic insight into filmmaking of the past and major points of importance in Australian history.

The Canberra drive-in made a short comeback a few years ago with the drivein cinema setting up on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin. This experience has since transformed into the Ben & Jerry’s Open Air Cinemas with beanbags and deck chairs spread across the grassy lawn instead of cars, which is also quite nice. So, for those of us who didn’t get that Grease-like experience, the drive-in era may be over, but the love of the drive-in will never end.

Drive-in movies in Canberra were, as was the case all over the world, a major form of entertainment. Any teen movie set in the 1950’s or 1960’s that features a drive-in is what a lot of us imagine the Canberra drive-ins were like. We especially think of scenes from Grease where people walk off on their own mid-movie to sing some songs and swing on the swings. Canberra’s drive-ins were the Starlight Drive-In and the Sundown Drive-In. The Starlight Drive-In opened in 1957 and was just off the Federal Highway in Watson. A sparkling, neon-lit sign signalled the entry to the Starlight and was enjoyed by families, daters and everyone in between during its run from 1957 to 1993. The Starlight was considered such a special part of Canberra’s history that the Starlight sign became heritage-listed and is still preserved

The movies themselves continue to make a significant impact on the culture and entertainment of the public that leads to events such as the Canberra International Film Festival and the varied way Canberra chooses to display films; from colossal outdoor experiences to the much smaller, arthouse exhibitions.

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750,000 kilos of love!

Ozharvest Canberra has rescued and delivered More than 750,000 kilograms of free excess fresh food to around 60 local charities and refuges in Canberra, Queanbeyan and Yass to date. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot of love to share around!

HELP US HELP OUR COMMUNITY GIVE A LITTLE LOVE

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