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Practicalities
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Roughly halfway between Sydney (470km) and Melbourne (435km), Wagga is just off the Sturt Highway, the main route between Adelaide and Sydney. Interstate Greyhound
buses
heading to and from Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra all pass through, stopping at the train station, a little out of town. To
get around
, you can rent bikes from Kidson's Cycles at 107 Fitzmaurice St (tel 02/6921 4474), or a car from Avis, on the corner of Edwards and Fitzharding streets (tel 02/6921 9977). Baylis Street, the main strip (and Fitzmaurice St, its continuation), extends from the train station to the bridge spanning the Murrumbidgee River.
The Wagga Wagga Visitors Centre , on Tarcutta Street, close to the river (daily 9am-5pm; tel 02/6926 9622, www.wagga.nsw.gov.au ), dispenses free handy driving maps. It doesn't book accommodation , but does have information about farmstays in the surrounding countryside. In town, the old Romano's Hotel , on the corner of Sturt and Fitzmaurice streets (tel 02/6921 2013; $35-50), has been beautifully renovated; rooms are decorated in late-nineteenth-century style, and some have showers. The Victoria Hotel , 55 Baylis St (tel 02/6921 5233; $20-35), has no-frills pub doubles and reasonable singles, while The Manor Guesthouse , 38 Morrow St (tel 02/6921 5962; $70-90), is a good B&B with excellent weekly rates for singles, next to the beautiful riverfront park. The best-situated caravan park is the shady and peaceful Wagga Beach Tourist Park , 2 Johnston St (tel 02/6931 0603; en-suite cabins $35-70), with a free gas BBQ and a backpackers' room right on the town beach, five-minutes' walk from the main shops. One of the best places to eat is the Wagga Wagga Winery (tel 02/6922 1221), fifteen-minutes' drive out of town on the Oura Road. The wines themselves are mediocre, but the excellent local food and the setting, in an old pine log building with disabled access, a large verandah and a garden area, combine to make a very pleasurable experience. In the town centre, the Baylis/Fitzmaurice strip and its side streets provide fertile eating ground. Sugars Coffee Lounge at 16 Forsyth St has fresh and healthy focaccia and American-style bagels, as well as excellent coffee and a wide range of breakfast fare. Romano's Hotel has a modern and very stylish cafAŠ/bar that makes a decent espresso and serves breakfast all day, and the slick Victoria Hotel at 55 Baylis St has an extensive, quality bistro menu and upstairs balcony open Friday and Saturday nights. For Mexican, try Montezuma's cosy wooden cantina at 85 Baylis St (lunch Wed-Fri, dinner Tues-Sun). The Tourist Hotel at 97 Fitzmaurice St has a great place to eat out back - Bernie's Veggie Restaurant (lunch Wed-Fri, dinner Wed-Sat), serving an array of sumptuous, cheap meals, in an open-fire room with retro decor.
Wagga also has several huge
clubs
providing free courtesy buses.
Wagga RSL
, on the corner of Dobbs and Kincaid streets, also has a Chinese restaurant and Friday-night piano bar, while the
Wagga Leagues Club
, Gurwood Street, has a good brasserie and live entertainment every Saturday. For drinking and dancing, the town's most popular spot is the newly refurbished and ever-lively
Victoria Hotel
, whilst
Maddison's
at 146 Fitzmaurice St (Wed-Sat) is Wagga's venue for bands and irresponsible student shenanigans. The
Black Swan Hotel
(alias "The Muddy Duck") in North Wagga, close to the university, is eternally popular with the student population. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Australia,
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