Charles Sturt University

Charles Sturt University (CSU) is an Australian multi-campus university in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory; Wagga Wagga is CSU's largest campus, spreading over 640 hectares.

The reason for my stay in Australia was to visit my husband who was doing research at CSU; I went there towards the end of his one-year stint. Visiting the uni one weekend, I was amazed at the vast expanse of the campus. It was also amusing to see “different” road signs, such as “echidna crossing” and “duck crossing”.  Vehicles had to be on the lookout for kangaroos that would suddenly appear in the middle of the road!

It was very convenient to get to the uni on workdays since there was a uni bus that stopped right on Baylis St which was just a few minutes walk from Railway St.

Walking around Wagga - Part 1

To get around Wagga, I walked. Before heading out, of course, I would consult the Wagga map that I got for free from the Wagga Visitor Information Center.

Brisk walking for exercise became part of my early morning routine.  Each day I would head out in a different direction, go down a different street, walk a little further. I was soon familiar with the area surrounding Railway St. The route heading south from the back of the house became my favorite for these early morning walks. It was generally an uphill walk, just a gentle (no more than 20-degrees) slope, but it gave me a good aerobic workout. This route passed by the Wagga High School and the Riverina Institute; at the far end was the Wagga Botanic Gardens and Zoo, which was usually my turning point and where I start to walk back. There were some days, however, when I went all the way to the highest point; this gave me a good view of the town.

My days were usually spent at the library and to get there I simply walked north from the house. I cross the footbridge (called Mother’s Bridge) that took me across the railroad tracks and into Baylis St, the main shopping street. Baylis St passes in front of the library and if you follow it across the bridge that goes over the Wollundry Lagoon, the street becomes Fitzmaurice (this is at the northern end, the older part of town). So to get to the library, I pass through many commercial establishments  (restos, boutiques, shopping malls). On a few (several is more like it) occasions, I had gotten side-tracked and have gone shopping (the SALE signs are magnets).  At times I have had to go back to the house to deposit my goodies before heading back out again to make my way to the library.