Since overseas travel is a distant memory, except for those memories that Facebook keeps flashing at me, Gary and I decided that we need to plan some weekends away in our own state and indeed, our own country. So recently, we spent a long weekend in the beautiful Riverina area of NSW.

Spring is the perfect time to hop in the car for a road trip to the Riverina. At this time of the year the canola and wildflower displays are  simply breathtaking. You will want to stop at every opportunity to take in the incredible rolling blankets of yellow canola and purple wildflowers that you drive past.

The obvious place to start is the Canola Trail. Also known as the golden triangle, the trail refers to the three roads that connect the towns of Coolamon, Junee and Temora — where almost a third of all canola produced in the state comes from. That means, for three months from August, the fields lining those roads shine brightly with yellow canola flowers. The sight is a big drawcard for tourists, especially those keen to fill their Instagram pages with the perfect #canolatrail shot.

But wait, there’s more - so much more!

Firstly, there’s…

Wagga Wagga

Situated about half way between Sydney and Melbourne, Wagga Wagga is the state’s largest inland city. It took us exactly 5 hours to drive there. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, in the heart of the Riverina, it’s an important agricultural, military, and transport hub of Australia. We stayed in a cute airbnb in town right next to the section of the Wiradjuri Trail that runs along the river bank. It was a perfect location.

In Wagga, we walked the trail, visited Wagga Beach , and hung out at some of the great cafes, pubs and restaurants. We recommend Uneke, Meccanico and the Victoria Hotel for a huge (and I mean so huge, you won’t eat breakfast the next morning) pub dinner.

Oh, and here’s a bit of trivia for you. Did you know that you can call Wagga Wagga, Wagga but you can’t call Woy Woy, Woy ?

We highly recommend a visit to Coolamon, Ganmain and Junee - an easy drive from Wagga.

Coolamon

Charming streetscapes, beautifully preserved architecture and a relaxed atmosphere combine to make the town of Coolamon a jewel in the crown of The Riverina. The main drag - Cowabbie Street, is one of the most carefully preserved streets in Australia. It’s lined with boutiques, charming country pubs with wide verandas, and little cafés.

Highlights include:

• Coolamon Cheese Company - a community backed dynamic artisan cheese maker. Their cheeses are produced from award winning single source Riverina milk. We had a great breakfast at their Bread & Cheese Synergy Cafe and bought a few kilos of Taravale stone ground whole grain wheat flour. Besides the delicious cheeses, they also sell some local produce including the Taravale Flour, olive oil (sorry, I can’t remember the producer) and Brushwood Oats - which we’ve been buying online for a few years. We love their groat oats. I wrote a blog post on how we like to have them - you can find that here.

• Lumela - a wonderful gift shop in a cute old house.

Ganmain

Ganmain is the next town along after Coolamon on the Canola Trail. Apparently, you can’t visit Ganmain without tasting a famous Ganmain Pie from the bakery. Ummm, we could. The bakery was closed. Who closes a bakery on a Sunday in a touristy area? Ganmain is a small town that punches well above its weight.

Highlights include:

• Fisher + Farmer - a beautiful clothing/homewares/gift store with trademark cowhide pieces and an eclectic style sourced from all over the world.

• Baldo’s Old Wares -  apparently “It’s impossible to leave empty handed.” We didn’t - I bought some vintage spoons and forks. Baldo’s is not for the faint hearted! Don’t be put off by the sheer enormity of it all though! Spanning across 3 separate shops Baldo’s is everything an authentic junk shop should be, full to the brim with treasures (I think the word treasures needs to be taken very lightly in this context). Hanging from the ceiling, spilling onto the foot path, is everything you can imagine. And there’s no dusting or cleaning going on in the stores, either. Just saying!

Junee

I have to admit that the only reason we went to Junee was to visit the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory which is a bit of a landmark in the area. It’s operated by Green Grove Organics, a family owned farm-based enterprise that has been practising organic farming since 1962. The factory building stretches five stories up into the expansive skyline.

shall we just admire the beauty of this region in the riverina?