Albury is a fairly large regional town in New South Wales (NSW) with a population of about 50,000 people (among the top 10 most populated cities in NSW). It is located on the north side of the Murray River, while its twin city, Wodonga, is located on the south side of the River, which is also part of the state of Victoria. My family and I recently had a road trip and stayed 3 nights in Mercure Albury (the hotel review can be read here). We did not do much there, but we did have opportunities to explore the city a bit and here are our highlights.
If you happen to be in Albury, I recommend that you visit the Wagirra Trail and Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk. The trail is 15 km long (return) and runs along the Murray River. There are many spots for a picnic or for simply enjoying the beautiful views. This place seems to be a favourite for locals since we met a good number of people walking, cycling, and even swimming … well, floating on floaties is more accurate actually.
Besides enjoying nature, this place also offers a series of contemporary Aboriginal sculpture. In total, there are 11 sculptures created by local Aboriginal artists. Below are two of these sculptures. I think they are indeed perfect additions to this place. More information about this Wagirra Trail and Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk is available here and here.
Another place worth visiting, especially with young kids, is the Albury Botanic Gardens. The 10-acre gardens were officially formed in 1877. Currently, the Gardens have over 1,000 species, representing some 450 genera and 95 plant families. This is indeed a serene and beautiful place to relax and enjoy nature. More information about the gardens is available here.
I mentioned earlier that this place is good for kids. Why is that? A section within the gardens is the Children’s Garden. This Garden is fully fenced and is a wonderful place for children to play and even learn. There are many interesting items for children to find and explore, including a life-sized dinosaur, cubbies, a fairy temple, and a troll cave. My daughter was extremely happy when we visited this place. She even made a new friend there. More information about the Children’s Garden is available here.
Finally, I would like to introduce this Japanese restaurant called Zen X Teppanyaki and Sushi Bar. We ordered a variety of dishes and all of them were delicious. We dined here twice since we really enjoyed our first experience. The service was perhaps a tad slow when the place was busy, but the waiting time was still acceptable in general. More information about the restaurant, including its menu, is here.
In contrast, I strongly suggest avoiding Pan-Lan Chinese Restaurant. We went there for lunch and were declined entry at the door (the restaurant just opened and was completely empty). An Asian woman showed us the menu outside the restaurant and asked what we wanted to order. She also said that many people cannot afford to eat here, implying that the place is too expensive for us. Without looking at the menu, we said that we wanted to get some soup and immediately she said that we should go to a Noodle restaurant and closed the door in front of our noses. What a racist individual. She judged people based on their looks. The good thing was that we ended up in the Japanese restaurant I mentioned previously and had a wonderful experience there.
This is what we experienced during our short visit. My overall impression of the city is just so so. It should be noted that my review and impression perhaps do not do justice since we haven’t truly explored the city. Still, we may choose another city to stay where we are in the neighbourhood again.
