Our My Canberra series is about seeing our city with new fresh eyes.  We have sought out well known Canberrans, authors, HerCanberra readers and bloggers to share their favourite parts of Canberra. It has so much to offer, but sometimes it’s hard to find those fantastic places without knowing someone to recommend them. 

Cherry is a 32 year old working mum who was born and raised in Canberra. She has lived on the Southside all her life but ventures across the bridge regularly – mostly for work-related reasons. She works as the CEO at Royal Life Saving ACT and her frequent visits to the local pools allow her to break free from the monotony of office life and see how our city is developing. She loves Canberra and is really excited about its growth and development.

This is HER Canberra.

Northside or Southside?

Southside, but I really do appreciate the features and characteristics of both sides of the city.

High Tea at Ricardo’s

Favourite Cheap Eats?

I was recently introduced to Ricardo’s Café at the Jamison Shops and was very impressed with their, well, everything! Great value for what they offer and the cake display is amazing.

Favourite Mid-range Restaurant?

Double Shot café in Deakin. At first I was a little skeptical of the modern and oh-so-healthy menu options but a friend insisted I try it out and I LOVED it! I’m a regular now. Great coffee too.

Favourite Fine Dining?

Not sure if they’d classify as fine dining as such, but I am so over-excited at the recent reemergence of Plaka Restaurant. This was a family-favourite growing up and I have missed it terribly since the owners closed the doors at their Mawson venue years ago. I think the new Dickson site is going to be great for business and I can’t wait to get back there.

Best Coffee?

EQ Café in Deakin. It’s my local and the service is lovely!

Best Breakfast?

This is a hard call because nothing beats my dad’s at-home BBQ breakfast feasts, but if I was out and about for breakfast I’d have to go with Caph’s in Manuka. They’ve never let me down.

Favourite Book Store?

I’m not much of a bookworm but even I can’t walk past the Manuka Paperchain Bookstore without ducking in “just quickly”.

Best Shopping Spot?

I’m a twice a year bulk shopper and am grateful that we have several major shopping malls to choose from. When it comes to shopping I like to get it over and done with pretty quickly so having lots of options in one place is ideal!

Best walk?

I love the walks inside the National Botanic Gardens but usually the days I choose to go there are the days that EVERYONE else chooses to go as well! For some quiet walking time I love the Mount Taylor tracks (yes – there are several) and Cooleman Ridge at the back of Chapman.

The National Arboretum Canberra

“Must Do” Canberra experience?

There are so many! Apart from the usual touristy points like Questacon and The War Memorial etc, Paddle Boating on Lake Burley Griffin, in my opinion, is a must. Also a visit to the National Arboretum would be high on my list. There really is nothing much else like it and you don’t have to be a scientist to appreciate the value of what has been done with all that land.

How I get away from it all?

Find a mountain and climb it! The views are always wonderful. Standing there taking in the views gives me plenty of space when I just need to regain some focus and perspective. There are so many tracks to choose from too! We are so lucky to have such a variety of outdoor options available to us in our well-planned city. It’s great to see more and more people out and about these days.

Great kid friendly activities?

I like to stay as active as I can with my son. We love ‘Flip Out’ in Hume – although, he does easily out-bounce me!  The awesome Pod playground at the National Arboretum is a favourite as well, especially since finding out that I do actually fit inside the pods!

Exploring around our local waterholes is something we love doing in Summer. We track down bugs and creepy crawlies at places like the Cotter, Pine Island, and Point Hut Crossing. There are BBQs too so it’s easy to take some sausages and have a quick dinner. It’s a good chance for a sneaky water safety lesson too!

Best thing about being a Canberran is….

Experiencing every season in its truest form and having almost immediate access to such great running and climbing tracks wherever I am.

If you’d like to share YOUR Canberra, drop us a line at hello@hercanberra.com.au