JUNEE – NSW

Posted onAuthoracl

Junee is one of those very quaint rural towns located in the NSW Riverina area situated 40 kms from Wagga Wagga. We were only planning on staying overnight but as there were a few things we wanted to explore we ended up staying 3.

First port of call for us is always the Visitor Information Centre. The Broadway Museum and Junee Visitor Information Centre is found in the old heritage listed Broadway Hotel building. As usual the volunteers were more than helpful. There’s also a great café in the building. On the same street is where you will find the Junee bakery if you’re after some freshly baked bread.

Junee is a railway town that dates back to 1870 and if you’re a train enthusiast you will love it. In the heart of town you will find Railway Square. It really is lovely and was built in a French Renaissance style back in 1881. Apparently the square was popular back in the day when people enjoyed a stroll to the shops and square. The Railway Café we were told is a stunner inside filled with nostalgia and 6 metre high ceilings. Unfortunately the day we decided to walk through town it was closed being a Sunday.

A little further out of town is the Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum which is one of the few Railway Roundhouses in the Southern Hemisphere and was opened in 1947.

My two favourite things in Junee were firstly visiting the Monte Cristo Homestead (1876) that is said to be the most haunted house in Australia. Graeme was not thrilled to take this tour and made light of it but I thought it was cool. No we didn’t see any ghosts but check out one of Graeme’s photos of a male mannequin. They were taken within a few seconds of each other and I swear that in one them the mannequin is smiling. Anyway the house has a great history and must have been absolutely awesome in its heyday.

My second favourite is the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory. Yum licorice and chocolate and of course I could not leave without a bag of goodies. The factory is full of rustic character and rural charm where you can easily spend an hour or two looking around. The café has great eating areas either inside or out. There are several viewing windows where you can see the products being made, but you just have to be lucky to be there on a day when they are working. The second floor houses Ambience Gift Store which not only sells all sorts of kitchenware but they also have an extensive range of ‘crocs’.

Our base for the duration of the stay was at the Junee Golf Club which you can find on WikiCamps. Now I have to be honest here and say that the Golf Club has seen better days. It’s showing the effects of time and I guess the economic effect of the drought. The toilets that we had 24hr access to were clean but could do with a makeover. However, if you’re into golf it boasts one of the most challenging courses in rural NSW with a picturesque 18 hole, 72 par course. The course itself is green and looks like it’s very well cared for.

In the evening the ladies toilet turns into an out of hours uni-sex toilet which can only be accessed with a code through an external door. Now if you’re absolutely busting to go be aware that the code does not always work first time round. Sometimes you just have to be very patient and use the cancel button and then enter the code again and again and maybe again.

The code is obtained if you happen to get hold of one of the very friendly committee volunteers on the day you arrive and pay for your stay. Otherwise you can leave your money in the honesty box and hope that a fellow traveler will let you know the code.

There are 4 powered sites at the front of the club house on the abandoned bowls green and 4 at the back of the building as well as a few unpowered sites on the second bowls green. Not quite sure how the powered sites worked at the back, just make sure you have a long extension cord. If you’re lucky to get a site at the front of the club you will find that they are very level.

👍Grassed level sites at the front with power and water
🚻Uni-sex toilet for out of hour’s access
📱Excellent Telstra and TV reception
🐶Dogs allowed if on a lead
💩No dump point – but there is one near the showgrounds on the other side of town.
✅Bonus discount for CMCA members for two or more nights with power and water.
💲$20 for a powered site $10 for unpowered
🚮Rubbish bins

It’s a nice quiet area and only a few caravans came through during our stay.

Thanks Junee we really enjoyed our stay at the Junee Golf Club. The price was superb and we were able to spend a couple of days exploring the local area and a day shopping and sightseeing in Wagga Wagga as per the previous post.

Below are a list of others places we have visited that may be of interest to you:

Cheers

Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Instagram

Happy Aussie Caravanning Lifestyle

Dixie and Graeme