Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla (
&
02/6270 4000
); the
U.S. Embassy
is found at Moonah Place, Yarralumla (
&
02/6214 5600
); and the
New
Zealand High Commission
is at Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla
(
&
02/6270 4211
).
Emergencies
Call
&
000
for an ambulance, the police, or the fire
department.
Eyeglasses
For repairs, glasses, and contact lenses try
OPSM Express,
shop 5, Lower Ground Floor, The Canberra Centre, Civic (
&
02/6249 7344
).
It's open 9am to 5:30pm weekdays (to 9pm on Fri) and 9am to 4pm on
Saturday.
Hospitals
For medical attention, go to the
Canberra Hospital,
Yamba
Drive, Garran (
&
02/6244 2222
), or call the
Accident & Emergency Depart-
ment
at
&
02/6244 2324
(24 hr.).
Hot Lines
In Canberra you have access to the
Rape Crisis Centre
(
&
02/
6247 2525);
Drug/Alcohol Crisis Line
(
&
02/6205 4545, 24 hr.);
Lifeline Cri-
sis Councelling
(
&
13 11 14);
Salvation Army Councelling Service
(
&
02/
9331 6000);
Poison Information Centre
(
&
02/6285 2852); and
National
Roads & Motorists Association (NRMA)
(
&
13 21 32).
Pharmacies
The Canberra Centre Pharmacy,
Civic (
&
02/6249 8074
), is
open during general shopping hours. A number of after-hours pharmacies
are listed in the Canberra Yellow Pages.
Photographic Needs
Fletchers Fotographics,
Shop 2, 38 Akuna St., Civic
(
&
02/6247 8460
), is the best place to buy camera gear and films. They
also repair cameras and sell secondhand equipment.
Post Office
The
Canberra GPO,
53-73 Alinga St., Civic (
&
02/6209 1680
),
is open Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5:30pm. The Poste
Restante address is c/o Canberra GPO, ACT 2601.
Restrooms
Found near the city bus exchange, City Hall, and London
Circuit.
3 Where to Stay
Canberra has a good scattering of places to stay, and generally accommodations
are much cheaper than in most other state capitals. Many people travel to Can-
berra during the week, so many hotels offer cheaper weekend rates to put heads
on beds. You should always ask about special deals. The rates given below are
rack rates, or what the hotels hope they'll get on a good day—you can often get
a room for less. The Canberra Visitors' Centre (
&
1300/554 114
) can also pro-
vide you information about accommodations options.
VERY EXPENSIVE
Hyatt Hotel Canberra
Visiting heads of state and pop stars make this
their residence of choice in Canberra, and it's not hard to see why. It has a great
location, only a 2-minute drive from the city center, in the shadow of Parliament
House, and between Lake Burley Griffin and the Parliamentary Triangle. Orig-
inally the Hotel Canberra, it was opened in 1924 and was based on the low-
slung “prairie” design of the now-destroyed Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. For many
