Noreuil Park on a wet day on the Albury Wodonga Loop road trip

For a long time Albury would be the half way mark on the long journey up or down the Hume Highway from Sydney to Melbourne. But the quest to reduce driving time has seen the Hume Highway upgraded with many towns being by-passed. Once such town is Albury. But if you come off the highway you will be pleasantly surprised. You will discover not one town, but two towns on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, hugging the Murray River. If you visit one, you should visit the other. And how do you see both? Well, you drive the Albury Wodonga Loop.

Many by-pass Albury and Wodonga while driving the Hume Highway. If you hop off the highway and stay a day or two or more, you will be treated to some great NSW and Victorian small towns and countryside. In this post I will take you on my Albury Wodonga Loop road trip drive. It is considered one of the best ways to see many great places in Albury and Wodonga. I’m sure you will be pleasantly surprised, like I was at what I discovered. And will ensure the next time you will visit these towns rather than by-pass them while driving the Hume Highway or while on your big lap of Australia. 

Here’s what to see and do on the Albury Wodonga loop to discover two cities and two states on either side of the mighty Murray River.

Where is Albury and Wodonga

Albury and Wodonga are twin cities which are separated geographically by the Murray River and by a state border. Albury is on the New South Wales side of the Murray River and Wodonga on the Victorian side. But they are usually said in the one breath – Albury Wodonga. You could say Albury and Wodonga are about a 5-6 hour drive south-west of Sydney and a 4-5 hour drive north of Melbourne.

What to See and Do in Albury & Wodonga

The Albury Wodonga Loop

One of the best ways to find out about Albury and Wodonga is to drive the Albury Wodonga Loop. This was recommended to me by the ladies in the information centre opposite the Albury train station. And this sounded like a good idea. The Albury Wodonga Loop is a road trip that links some of the best things to see and do in Albury and Wodonga. They are linked by a road you can follow which, if you look at a map, roughly looks like a loop. Here’s how the day went and how you could spend 1 day in Albury and Wodonga.

Start at Noreuil Park – with a breakfast at River Deck

Noreuil Park is a beautiful park on the banks of the Murray River in Albury. It was named Noreuil after the 13th Battery of the Australian Field Artillery in the attack on Noreuil in France during World War One. The park is a tranquil place with a walking track along the river, plenty of open space to throw down a blanket for a picnic, has a great kids playground and is home to the River Deck Cafe and Restaurant.

And the River Deck Cafe in Noreuil Park is where I started my Albury Wodonga Loop. I enjoyed a fabulous breakfast of apple pancakes before walking them off on a walk along the river. The Murray River plays a big part in the Albury Wodonga area providing water to the area. If in Albury and Wodonga during the summer months, many locals swim in the river to cool off.

Start the Albury Wodonga Loop with a good breakfast at the River Deck Cafe followed by a walk along the Murray River

Monument Hill War Memorial

Next stop on this Albury Wodonga Loop road trip is a visit to Monument Hill War Memorial. This is an incredible place to visit, it is not only a humbling war memorial but it provides fabulous views over Albury, the Murray River and Wodonga. 

The memorial was designed by architect Louis Harrison and the site to erect the memorial was chosen by the town planner Charles Reade. The monument is a tall, white concrete tower and looks like a tapered lighthouse that is surmounted by a ‘torch of liberty’. The torch is 1.8 meters high with 40 panes of prismatic glass. During the day sunlight plays through this glazing giving the torch the illusion it is lit. A walk around the monument is a must to read the information boards and plaques dedicated to those who lost their lives during the wars. And then take time to check out the views. You can see right down Dean Street, the main street through Albury to the Albury Train Station.

view from Memorial Hill over Albury to Albury Train Station

Dean Street, Albury

Dean Street is the main street of Albury and you can spend the morning walking up and down the street checking out many old buildings. You could visit MAMA – the Murray Art Museum Albury. This art museum presents exhibitions of some of the best local, national and international art. It is open daily and free to enter. There are also plenty of stores to pop in to if wanting to do some retail therapy. And plenty of eateries if you are ready for lunch.

Walk along Dean Street and see the old Court House and MAMA

Albury Train Station

Albury railway station is a heritage-listed railway station at Railway Place, Albury, New South Wales and is adjacent to the border with Victoria. This gorgeous old building was built from 1880 to 1881 and stands proudly overlooking Albury. You can walk to it from Dean Street or you can drive and park. Just nearby is the Information Centre where you could get more inspiration of what to see and do in Albury and Wodonga on a 1 day or more, visit.

Albury train station has a grand Victorian Italianate style station building. It has a tall central tower topped with a decorative cupola. Walk inside and discover high ceilings with decorative architraves along with a central booking hall and ticket office.

Walk through to the platform and discover one of the longest train platforms in Australia at 455-metre-long (1,493 ft). This was due to NSW and Victoria once having different train gauges meaning, you had to change trains at Albury, thus, they had a long platform. Thankfully, this has changed and you are no longer required to change trains if you want to travel interstate between Melbourne and Sydney by train.

See one of the longest train platforms in Australia

Lake Hume Dam

Next stop on this Albury Wodonga loop is to follow the B58 or Riverina Highway to Lake Hume and the Hume Dam. Hume Dam is 16 kilometres east of Albury on the NSW-Victorian border and is a pleasant drive through countryside. 

Hume Dam, formerly the Hume Weir, is a major dam across the Murray River. It’s purpose is for flood mitigation, irrigation, hydro-power and water supply. As you arrive you will see Lake Hume and if wanting some accommodation, you could consider Lake Hume Resort or Discovery Park Lake Hume. Both are right on the lake so you can enjoy water sports and fishing.

The biggest feature is dam itself. It was built in the years after World War 1 and when finished in 1936 it was one of the biggest dams in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world. It’s a good idea to stretch your legs here and walk across the dam wall. If you do, you will be treated to spectacular views of Lake Hume and also the River Murray. While walking across you will cross from the NSW side to the Victorian side of the dam wall. How cool!

Lake Hume & Hume Dam

Cross the NSW-Vic Border to Bonegilla Migrant Experience

On leaving the Lake Hume and the Hume Dam follow C451 Bonegilla Road and you will drive through NSW countryside then cross a bridge into the Victorian countryside. Next stop could be the Bonegilla Migrant Experience. This is a post war immigration centre that housed over 300,000 migrants. Very interesting to visit but what caught my eye was all the kangaroos in the fields surrounding the centre.

From the Migrant Experience turn onto B400 Murray Valley Highway and head towards Wodonga. You will pass the Bandiana Army Museum which houses Australia’s largest and most diversified military collections. It is open Thursday to Saturdays from 10am to 3pm. Get more details and admission cost from Bandiana Army Museum’s website.

Shortly after the Bandiana Army Museum is the Huon Hill Lookout offering fabulous views across to Lake Hume, the Alpine Region and Albury Wodonga. I, unfortunately, missed the turn off and ended up in the main road of Wodonga, Victoria. Wodonga, like Albury has lots of retail outlets, cafes and restaurants servicing the locals. You could stop here for dinner, or head back into Albury for an evening meal along Dean Street.

cross the border and travel through Australian country-side maybe see some kangaroos on the way to Wodonga

And so ends this road trip along the Albury Wodonga Loop. Have you done this drive? I’d love to hear.

Where to Stay in Albury and/or Wodonga

If you decide to stay in either Albury or Wodonga for a break on the Hume Highway or coming to discover the area, you will need somewhere to stay. There is a variety of accommodation in Albury and Wodonga.

Check out accommodation options in Albury here.

Check out accommodation options in Wodonga here.