Orange (New South Wales) Voyage Tips and guide

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Orange is a small city in the Central West of New South Wales. Orange and the surrounding area are known for quiet getaways and excellent food and wine. Orange calls itself Australia's Colour City due to its large number of European trees and their autumn colours. Late March and April are the best times to visit to see the colours.

Orange is not named for the citrus fruit: the area around the town is nowhere near warm enough to grow oranges! (Somewhat amusingly, Orange is instead noted for its apple orchards.) Rather, it was named for Prince William of Orange, later William I of the Netherlands.

The people of the three rivers, the Wiradjuri people, are the traditional owners of the land. Orange has a population of approximately 41,000 people and is one of the older towns in inland New South Wales. The one square mile village of Orange was established in 1841 and grew quickly due to Australia's first payable gold discovery in 1851 in nearby Ophir and later due to agricultural output.

The City of Orange municipality is in the centre of the Cabonne Shire. The Cabonne Shire consists of farmland and orchards and calls itself Australia's Fruit Basket.

Orange has a mild climate, with very comfortable summers (25-35 ℃ during the day), cool autumn and spring weather (15-25 ℃ during the day, falling as low as -1℃ at night) and, for Australia, cold winters with severe frost at times (0-10 ℃ during the day, falling to -5 ℃ overnight). Because of its elevation (862 m) it is one of the few areas of mainland Australia other than the Snowy Mountains that has relatively frequent snow during winter, and it is one of the very few population centres that gets any significant snowfalls.

33°16′59″S 149°5′46″E

Map of Orange (New South Wales)

Orange is four hours west of Sydney by car. Travellers would take the A32 (Great Western Highway to Bathurst and the Mitchell Highway to Orange).

Orange has several public transport links to Sydney operated by NSW Trainlink Regional & Australia Wide Coaches. The Dubbo XPT stops in Orange daily in each direction and several bus services meet trains at Lithgow. Train or bus from Sydney usually takes five hours. There are also less frequent NSW TrainLink bus services from Canberra. The Broken Hill Xplorer train stops in Orange on its way from Sydney to Broken Hill on Mondays and on the return trip back to Sydney on Tuesdays.

Orange airport is around 15 km from town, and has a nice new terminal facility for arriving and departing passengers. Two airlines, Rex Airlines (tel 13 17 13 within Australia or +61 2 6393-5550 outside Australia) and Qantas, operate flights from Sydney to Orange and return. Flight time is approximately 45 to 60 minutes. Charter flights are also available. There is car hire from Avis and Hertz at the airport, but the site isn't permanently staffed. They will drive a car out to meet you if you book in advance. Drop off is just parking the car and dropping the keys in the box (the two car hire companies share a key-drop box). A taxi into town will cost around $40, so a hire car may be cheaper if you're just going into town for the day.

• -33.2868149.10361 Orange railway station, Peisley St. (updated Dec 2020)

Public transport in Orange is limited to the town itself, and to links to other towns in the district. Since most tourists will be interested in attractions around the town and in the Cabonne Shire, using a car is the best way to see the Orange area.

• -33.2831149.08771 Cook Park, Summer St. Cook Park is a large park occupying a city block in Orange. It is full of established European trees and is spectacular in early autumn. (updated Jan 2020)
• -33.2566149.09552 Botanic Gardens, Kearney's Drive (northern outskirts of Orange). A 17-hectare garden, the Botanic Gardens have concerts and performances in summer. (updated Jan 2020)
• -33.3442148.9823 Mount Canobolas. The highest point in Australia west of the Great Dividing Range at 1395 m, is 20 km west of Orange. The view from the summit is excellent and there are many day walks on the slopes. Although Orange itself has only a few snowfalls a year, snow is common on Mount Canobolas however, due to safety concerns it is closed when snow or ice is present.  
• -33.2814149.10374 Orange Regional Art Gallery, ☏ +61 2 6393-8136. Civic Sq (off Peisley Street). Free. 
• -33.258149.13555 Banjo Paterson Memorial Park, 330 Ophir Rd. This park is located at the Narambla homestead, birthplace of AB "Banjo" Paterson, Australia's most famous poet and author of the lyrics of "Waltzing Matilda". (updated Jan 2020)

• Picnic at Lake Canobolas, the town's old water supply dam located approximately 15km west of Orange. Lake Canobolas is a recreational area with swimming, walking and a deer park.
• Pan for gold at the Ophir Reserve, 25km outside Orange, site of Australia's first payable gold discovery. The reserve also has picnic and barbeque areas.
• Let the kids play at the Orange Adventure Playground. Admission is free, the playground is huge, and the kids will love it. There is a small cafe there for coffee for the adults who don't want to play too. Right next to the Botanic Gardens, just out of town.

One of the food baskets of Australia, Orange is known for its fruit picking. Many kinds of stone fruits, berries and pomes can be picked depending on the season. Ironically, oranges and other citrus do not grow around Orange as the climate is not warm enough!

• -33.2539148.98761 Hillside Harvest, 1209 Escort Way, Borenore, ☏ +61 2 6365 2247. (updated Jan 2020)
• -33.2901149.00892 Thornbrook Orchard, 39 Nashdale Lane, Nashdale, ☏ +61 427 269 437. Daily 9AM-4PM. (updated Jan 2020)

• Coles Supermarket, 227 - 237 Summer St, ☏ +61 2 6361-2666. 6AM - midnight M-Su; closed some public holidays. 
• Woolworths Supermarket, 197 - 203 Anson St, ☏ +61 2 6362-4655. 7AM - 10PM M-Su; closed some public holidays. 
• SUPA IGA Supermarket, Summer Centre, 82 Summer St, ☏ +61 2 6362 0775. 7AM - 9PM M-Sa, 8am-8pm Su; closed some public holidays. 
• Ascroft's Supa IGA & Liquor, 210 Peisley St, ☏ +61 2 6362-7233. M-Su; closed some public holidays. 

• -33.281801149.0969491 LolliRedini, 48 Sale Street, ☏ +61 2 6361-7748. Tu-Sa dinner from 6PM. LolliRedini has attracted attention from Sydney food critics, regularly rating one hat in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. From $60 for two courses up to a $140 degustation menu with matching wines. 
• -33.316669149.1466662 Highland Heritage Cellar Door, Mitchell Highway (5 minutes east of Orange), ☏ +61 2 6361-3612. Highland Heritage Estate specialises in local produce. Mains around $40. 
• -33.28139149.0969053 The Arthouse Bar and Courtyard (Belgravia @ Union Bank), Corner of Sales and Byng Streets, ☏ +61 2 6361-4441, fax: +61 2 6365 0646, [email protected]. Daily noon–2:30PM, M-Sa 6–9PM. A wine bar and cafe near the centre of town, and a cellar door for the vineyard. Lunch from $12 for sandwiches to $25 mains, dinner $18–25. 
• -33.342971149.015194 The Mountain Teahouse, 42 Mount Canobolas Road (Base of Mount Canobolas, 15 minutes out of town), ☏ +61409445339. M 10AM-3PM, Tu-F 9AM-4PM, Sa Su 8:30AM-5PM. Excellent cakes, but really the attraction is the fresh air and the views. 
• -33.283684149.1025975 The Parkview Hotel, 281 Summer Street, ☏ +61 2 6361-7014. The Parkview's bistro (entrance at the side in McNamara Street) serves good quality lunches for $15-20, table service. Steak, roast and cooked seafood are the main fare. The bistro is quite spacious and quiet. 
• -33.28139149.0969056 The School House Restaurant, 84 Byng St, ☏ +61263111750, [email protected]. Dinner Thursday to Saturday from 6PM, Lunch Friday to Sunday from noon. The School House is in the Mayfield Vineyard to the east of Orange. The French inspired menu changes monthly based on seasonal produce availability. 2 courses $55, 3 courses $65. 
• -33.2838149.09697 Scottys On Summer, 202a Summer Street, ☏ +61 2 6362-3838, fax: +61 2 6361 4717. Scottys is a nice little sandwich and cake shop, good bread and fresh fillings. It's a reliable place for a bite if you're in the centre of town. However, locals know this too; it can be hard to get a table. 
• Anything Grows. Just another cafe in Orange. (updated Apr 2021)

In autumn, drive out to one of the many apple orchards immediately to the west of the town and buy a bucket of freshly picked apples, keeping in mind that it may make it hard for you to eat the year-round supermarket variety in the future.

• Hotel Canobolas, 248 Summer Street, ☏ +61 2 6362-2444, fax: +61 2 6362 9361. 
• Royal Hotel, Summer Street - across the road from Hotel Canobolas. Popular with 20- and 30-somethings. This hotel is converted into a club on a Friday and Saturday night.

Like most Australian towns, there is a big drinking culture within Orange, due to the social focus of the local pubs, as well as due to the local wineries.

Wineries in Orange and Cabonne open for tasting include:

• Ibis Wines, 239 Kearneys Drive, ☏ +61 2 6362-3257, fax: +61 2 6362 5779, [email protected]. 
• Mortimers of Orange, 786 Burrendong Way, ☏ +61 2 6365-8689, [email protected]. 
• Orange Mountain, ☏ +61 2 6365-2626. Corner of Forbes Road and Radnedge Lane, Borenore (next to Hillside Orchard). 
• -33.3167149.14671 Highland Heritage Estate, 4968 Mitchell Hwy, ☏ +61 2 6363 5602, [email protected]. Good range of dessert wines and Riesling. (updated Jan 2020)

• -33.2832149.09291 Central Caleula Motor Lodge, 60 Summer Street, ☏ +61 2 6362-7699, toll-free: 1800 024 845, [email protected]. Check-in: 1400, check-out: 1000. This lodge is close to the centre of town and provides high quality standard motel rooms with queen or king sized beds and private bathrooms. $180 per night (king sized bed) or $144 per night (queen sized bed).. 
• Down Town Motel, 243 Summer Street, ☏ +61 2 6362-2877. Doubles from $65. 
• Turner's Vineyard, ☏ +61 2 6369-1045, fax: +61 2 6369 1046, [email protected]. Mitchell Highway. This new hotel 5 minutes east of Orange is aimed at conference and business visitors. 

Australian mobile (cell) phone companies provide very good coverage inside the city. Coverage in outlying towns and villages is being progressively improved however it might be patchy traveling between destinations.

• Orange Health Service, 1502 Forest Road, Orange. Phone: +61 2 6369-3000. Public hospital with emergency room.
• Community Health Centre, 96 Kite St. tel +61 2 6392-8600.

The Indian Pacific transcontinental train passes through Orange westward to Perth. Dubbo and Forbes further west are the next inland towns. Cowra's Japanese Garden and World War II war cemetery are a good day trip.

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