Monday was a day for sight-seeing. During breakfast at the hotel we watched two ducks enjoying life by the the swimming pool. We then set out to explore Albury. Our first destination was the Albury Visitor Information Centre located in a building near the railway station. When we turned into Dean Street we noticed a banner, which had not been there the previous evening, strung across the road welcoming the over 70s cricketers to Albury. This was a good start to the day.
The Albury Railway Station is a most impressive building. It was built during 1880 and 1881 and has been placed on the NSW state heritage register. The information centre is located next to the station.
The lady in the information centre was very friendly and helpful and provided us with pamphlets with information about places we could visit. As we were leaving the centre, Bruce Pooley, who lives in the area, arrived to collect information leaflets for the carnival information bags.
 |
| View from Railway Station along Dean Street to the Memorial on the hill |
We then walked back in the opposite direction along Dean Street towards the Murray River which we discovered when we turned left at Wodonga Place then proceed to the corner of Hume Street. It may have been easier to walk along Hume Street which runs parallel to Dean Street.
It was very peaceful at the river as we watched a group of canoeists paddling on the river.
At the end of Hume Street is Hovell Tree Park. In 1824 the explorers Hume and Hovell marked trees in this area near the river. Only the
Hovell tree survived.
Monument Australia has an image of the Hovell tree and a little more information. If we return to Albury this is one area we could investigate further. The trees were located at a section of the river still known as Crossing Point. A sign provides information about the history of Crossing Point.
 |
| Crossing Point sign - click image to enlarge |
Several days later when we visited the Botanic Gardens I located a monument to the Hume tree which had been erected on site of the original tree after the tree had been destroyed by fire in the 1840s. The monument was later relocated to the gardens.
A plaque provides additional information.
 |
| Click image to enlarge |
Whenever we stay in a new town we always look for a shop that sells a good hot chocolate. We located the
Chocolate Labrador in Olive Street. Not only do they serve an excellent hot chocolate we also sampled a piece of cinnamon chocolate toast. On another occasion Robin also had a slice of toasted sour dough bread with marmalade. This was the first of several visits to the
Chocolate Labrador.
In the afternoon we drove to the war memorial on a nearby hill. The area was closed due to construction works around the site so we parked the car and walked to get a closer look. Waling around the top of the hill provided views of Albury and the surounding area.
Back in the car we drove to the beginning of the Yindyamarra sculpture walk by the river.
We encountered a number of different artworks along the first section of the walk.
 |
| Reconciliation Shield (2014) - Tamara Murray |
 |
| Creature Seats (2014) - students of James Fallon High School |
 |
| 'Googar' Goanna (2014) - Darren Wighton |
It was an enjoyable walk.
There are a number of walks available in this area.
 |
| Click to enlarge |
We then drove to Wonga Lagoon and Wetlands for another walk.
At the beginning of this walk we encountered this old tank stand
and farm shed, remnants of early days of farming in the area.
There were also examples of a Wiradjuri campsite.
We then continued the relaxing walk through the wetlands.
After a busy day we had dinner at the
SS&A across the road from the hotel. It is necessary for visitors to sign in to visit the facility which includes a number of restaurants. For dinner we enjoyed prawn linguine and a sea food basket - great.
