It's easy to see why, in 1911, the Commonwealth Government chose this beautiful part of New South Wales to form the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Canberra itself, with a name deriving from an aboriginal term meaning 'meeting place', has literally hundreds of walks and treks, ranging from gentle strolls through the undulating countryside to serious hikes across the mountain ranges that span the territory.

Canberra is fairly spread out, so makes for excellent walking even if it's just to get from one attraction to another. If you are sightseeing, there are a good walks to be had in and around the various governmental buildings and embassies that make up the Parliamentary triangle on the south side of the huge Lake Burley Griffin.

The lake, named after Canberra's American designer Walter Burley Griffin, is the focal point around which the city is arranged, and also one heck of a beauty spot. The 35km shoreline of the man-made lake provides a perfect place to stretch the legs or cycle around. You can even hire a boat and paddle across the lake, but watch out for the Captain Cook memorial water jet, which shoots a massive column of water into the air at intermittent spurts and drenches anyone within a wide range.

Canberra is at its most beguiling in spring (that's September to November for all you northern hemisphere readers), all the trees bristle with foliage and the various types of flowers burst into a plethora of colour. Spring also sees Floriade, the city's wonderful month-long festival of flowers. Along with the spectacular themed displays of flowers, the festival features entertainment, arts and craft fairs including mosaic totem poles, gourmet food marquees, trade stalls and -- quite uniquely I suspect -- a scarecrow competition!

A year-round feature that attracts Canberra's residents and visitors alike is the Canberra Nature Park: 27 separate areas of outstanding natural beauty right on the city's doorstep. The O'Connor and Bruce ridges in particular have some of the best recreational areas, full of eye-catching walks, cycle-ways and playing areas.

These are a must on any visitors 'to do' list; go enjoy them but do it soon. The ACT government, in its infinite wisdom, deems it necessary to plough a four-lane highway through the ridges sometime in 2004. There is a Save the Ridge campaign in full swing and I hope it succeeds. Helping to stop the building of a highway will not only save the ridges for future generations to enjoy, but also safeguard one of the elements that make Canberra so special.

Many people who visit Canberra berate it for its lack of vitality, saying "It's not Sydney, it's not Melbourne". Well it's not meant to be Sydney or Melbourne, we already have one each of those and they're doing very well thank you very much. Canberra is a different city altogether -- it works with the environment, it doesn't have large corporations or build block after block of skyscrapers, and that is what makes this place so wonderful.

Canberrans enjoy a great lifestyle, with the bush literally on their doorsteps. The city will grow in size and needs to develop further but it should do so in an ecologically sound way. In fact, it's perfectly placed to lead the way in sustainable living and eco-efficient development of the infrastructure.

Advantage could be taken of Canberra's location amongst the hills and mountains to generate energy, wind turbines would flourish here and the amount of sunlight Canberra gets could be harnessed through the widespread use of solar panelling on buildings. The infrastructure could be served in an eco-friendly way by a light urban rail link instead of the proposed highway development. These are just a handful of many environmentally friendly ways of growth. It's just a matter of giving a bit of thought to the future. There is an African proverb that I think particularly suitable, "The world was not left to us by our parents, it was lent to us by our children." There are notable beauty spots in the nature park the survival of which is assured. These include Black Mountain, which is great for hikes, picnics and has some good swimming spots along the Murrumbidgee and Cotter Rivers. There are also great walks of discovery at Jerrabomberra Wetland, Mulligan's Flat and Cooleman Ridge.

Bring your binoculars to spot various native wildlife including possums, swamp wallabies, gliders, lizards and the unusual spotted burrowing frog. Over 70 species of native and migratory waterbirds can be found in the Jerrabomberra Wetlands or at the an area of water held by the dam at Mulligans Flat. The best time to catch a glimpse of the birds is just before dawn and at dusk.

All of these areas are within easy reach of the city, but if you're feeling a little more adventurous and want to explore deepest darkest ACT, where the wildlife is more abundant and the walks turn into hikes and treks then there are plenty of options thanks to the excellent choice of reserves and national parks further out of town.

Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is a forty-minute drive south west of the capital and you are guaranteed to see some of the animals that are synonymous with Australia, including wallabies, koalas, emus and red kangaroos, along with a wetland habitat that is a hive of frantic activity all day long.

The fantastic visitor centre offers all manner of information and maps to plan your day together with some helpful advice from staff on ranger guided walks and activities. Although there are some good walks in Tidbinbilla, such as Hanging Rock Trail and the Turkey Hill Geology Trail, serious hikers will want to head next door to the Namadgi National Park.

Namadgi is by far the biggest park in the ACT, occupying over 105,000 hectares of land, or half of the entire territory. It is the most northerly of the Australian Alps' national parks and boasts eight mountains over 1500m high, providing some strenuous hikes and bush walks. Over 170km of marked walking tracks range from short walks to such places as Booroomba Rocks to longer treks of around six hours to sights such as Mount Gingera or Cotter Gap. Listings of all the walks, their estimated duration, and level of difficulty are available from the visitor centre located at the park entrance.

For very experienced hikers, there is nothing better than going off the beaten track and heading through some really stunning wilderness. There is no limit to where you can roam in this huge park, but be sure to plan it well. Make adequate provisions for the entire round trip and, for your own safety, you are required to register your route with the visitor centre. Some walks can take days, so camping in the park may be necessary for which a permit is required from the visitor centre.

Unfortunately those parts of the Namadgi that were worst hit in the bushfires of early 2003 are still closed to the public. Hopefully it will not be too long before Mother Nature works her magic and it’s 'access all areas' once again. Bushland is very susceptible to the ravages of fire thanks to being tinder dry, and with the immense stores of oil within eucalyptus trees to fuel any conflagration that takes hold. Less well known is the bush's capability for regeneration; it doesn't take too long before all that's been blackened bursts into a luscious green once more.

Canberra, and the whole ACT, is a truly amazing environment that is a real pleasure to immerse yourself in, with its wonderful parklands, ridges, reserves, mountains and falls. It's an explorer's paradise in which you could easily spend weeks roaming through the valleys and over peaks, breathing in all there is to see and hear – life, at the pace and level of serenity it should be.

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"Having briefly stayed in Canberra, I totally agree with everything here, but would also mention the kindness, hospitality, humour and generally helpful manner of the 'Canberrians', which added to the 'home from home' feeling that I experienced as a 'whinging pom'. Canberrians can be proud and privileged to live in one of the worlds leading cities!" Chris