Sovereign Hill Goldfield

Amazing place. The reconstruction of the period around 1854 is quite spooky. We spend most of the day there, visiting the boiler room which supplies steam power to the blacksmiths,other metal workers and the gold stampers. We watched the stamper batteries pounding quartz and washing out the gold, which was purified by the local blacksmith into a small ingot valued at $120,000. There is so much to see there. After lunch we crossed the road to the Gold Museum and saw replica nuggets that boggle the mind, some of them found as recent as 2003. Another amazing exhibition.
At 9pm we went back to Sovereign Hill and saw the "Blood on the Southern Cross" show which was brilliantly done. Started with a cinematic intro, then we piled into open sided transporters which took us to the top of the hill and down the other side to a hotel which opened up onto a hillside stage (2-3 acres), recreating the Eureka stockade of 1854 where the diggers rebelled over the licence fees and other injustices from the corrupt government of the time. It was done with lights sound and fire, down to the wagon ablaze that trundled through the middle of the set at one part. There were no actors, instead parts of the hillside lit up, tents, the pub etc, voiced by the commentator and the characters involved. 22 diggers and up to 8 soldiers perished in the storming of the stockade which lasted 15 minutes. The rebellion marked the beginning of the end of colonial British rule and the beginning of democracy in Australia. The diggers flag, the Southern Cross, is kept in the Ballarat Art Museum. When that part was over (about 3/4 of an hour) we hopped back in the transporters and returned to a main street hotel where the leader of the rebellion in period clothes (real person) spoke to us from the balcony and ended the show. It's a must see if you ever pass through Ballarat. The correct Aborigine name is "Balla Arat" or meeting place.

Tuesday 15 Dec
Went to the Ballarat Art Museum this morning and saw the original diggers flag - it's a lot bigger than we thought - tomorrow we go to the Eureka rebellion site.
Tonight we went out to a local diner and had dinner. Plain and very tasty - chicken in pyjamas and fush & chups - cleaned it all up and came back to the van for pudding, strawbs frozen yoghurt and Bula cream.
Just before dark at least 50 rabbits came out into the paddock next door to munch on the short grass - the place is lousy with them.
Ballarat is approx the same size as Bendigo, ie pop 100,000 people, 1,000,000 bunnies

Top and bottom photos: Original Southern Cross flag; the Ballarat Art Museum where it is on display.

Ballarat, gold town

Well they all are around here, Bendigo, Daylesford, Ballarat where the miners revolted over licence fee increases at the Eureka (mine) stockade. After leaving Bendigo this morning we climbed into the central highlands, passing through the distinctively unique town of Daylesford with its many handicraft and botique shops. More used to the flat land around the northern Murray riverina, it was a change to be in amongst the hills again. The caravan park we are in on the Western highway is not as nice as the one we left, but it is certainly a lot less pricey than the two BIG4 Caravan Park alternatives here. Road noise is almost a non event, but neighbour noise from the morons in a nearby cabin, whose cretin existence for this drugged drunken and deaf duo, is saturation drinking and saturation music from their car stereo. Let's hope it's only for the weekend - if they last that long.
Went into Ballarat central after we got set up, it's only 5 mins away, and walked through the Bridge Mall and little side malls in this very pretty town. Picked up some fairy Christmas lights from Sams, along with some treats and an unusual looking 4-egg poacher, a second choice to the helicopter I wanted, but that's another story.
It's been a cold day, at one stage we even had the heater on for a while. Daylesford was very chilly and so we didn't hang around there for too long.
Photos: Ballarat Mall, being stalked by a pig in chilly Daylesford

Golden Square, Deborah Triangle, update

These are the names of two prominent gold mining areas (quartz) in Bendigo, now tourist spots and very interesting. Everything is in place, even the underground bit where you can spend an hour 60 metres below ground (just call me "claustro"). We didn't descend, but we did spend a while looking around the processing plant and even panned for the yella. Even with my vast experience of panning for alluvial gold on the west coast (NZ), only Chris got a flake in her pan (flash in the pan I calls it). So, $8 richer, we left as a thunderstorm rolled in.
This morning we went out to Lake Eppadock, it was cool and windy. I hooked a small trout right at my feet and it was so unexpected, it got away. From there we drove south to a quaint little town called Heathcote, had nice coffee and sweet cakes at a cafe-cum-antiques shop and returned to Bendigo via the Deborah Mine.
Tomorrow we start packing up ready for departure to Ballarat on Saturday morning.
Hello to Olivia and Jamie, talk/see you soon on Skype.

p.s. change to travel plan: After Ballarat we are now cutting across the top of Melbourne to Sale (camp overnight) and then on to Lake Jindabyne NSW before parking up in Queanbeyan ACT for Christmas and New Year.

A day in Bendigo

Rain

People around here in Bendigo are jumping for joy. 5mm plus has fallen overnight and this morning. Meanwhile in north and west NSW extreme bushfire conditions exist. Was going into the CBD today to have a look at the shops and get some photos but will have to leave that until tomorrow. We also want to visit the Chinese Museum in town, this is about the gold rush of the late 1800's in Bendigo. In the meantime it's a stay inside day to wrap Xmas presents and write cards.

Yesterday we drove up to Echuca and spent most of the day there. Went down to the wharf area and watched the paddlesteamers moving up and down the river. Walked up the main street and poked around in the little botique shops. There is a lovely chocolate shop there where we picked out some treats like rocky road, choc liquorice etc, but when we left, forgot to go back and get them !!. Had lunch at the Beechworth Bakery, upstairs overloooking the Campaspe river which runs into the Murray at Echuca.

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS to Olivia 2nd Dec, Rosie on the 6th, Helen W on the 10th, Harry Knoppers on the 13th, Lily Healy Sanctuary Gardens 5th birthday on the 13th. Lily & Maisie we remember you bringing us cupcakes at the gardens when you were TINY !.

Photos from the top: Beechworth Bakery Echuca overlooking Campaspe river, Paddlesteamers on the Murray, Chris in the pool at the caravan park Bendigo, Kennington Reservoir Bendigo.

Lake Eppalock

38km east of Bendigo. A pretty lake in an open valley. Saw plenty of Roos lying in roadsides paddocks on the way and at the Lake itself is a yacht club, a boat club, a kiosk, and lots of picnic areas with tables etc spread over this large park. Myriads of tracks lead off in all directions to boat ramps and launching spots. I drove down to one of the sheltered arms and started fishing near a big stump at the waters edge just off the wind line. Didn't take long before a feisty little rainbow trout grabbed the red woolly bugger (real name). I was using Grandad's flyrod reel and wet line, with one of my homemade lures. Not long after that another one slightly bigger took the lure and I landed her also. With a fishy tea assured, I moved around further to a rocky point but no more takes. The wind had started to come up and I changed rods to a threadline and veltic spinner. 3 retrieves later I hit a snag, only this one started to move away and I was attached to a strong fish. It was stubborn and refused to give up but I kept the pressure on and to my surpise a good-sized Redfin Perch came to the bank. It was just on a kilo in weight. The Rainbows were 500gms and 700gms respectively. They look different to the kiwi Rainbows, being hatchery bred and stocked into the lake as fingerlings.
There were several small boats out on the lake, and these started to trickle back in as the wind came up - time for me to leave. The fish are there, and I hope to get back and have some more fun - at least I've broken the duck and tonight I'll have the little 'uns on the BBQ with their tummies stuffed with butter, fresh mint, and wrapped in tin foil to keep the juices in. (SORRY GRANDAD)

The Jacaranda trees are out in flower - that lovely pale lilac colour - I'll post some pics during the week.

Petrol is $1.11 per litre at Caltex

TV: A new series of Red Dwarf starts on Monday ...... hooray
Supernatural also returns on Monday ......... spooky

All Blacks defeated France at Le Stade Velodrome Marseille 39 to 12 on Sunday morning. It wasn't just a defeat for the French, it was a rout on their home field. I listened to it on the internet via NZ Radio Sports feed.

BENDIGO Monday 30th
Raining and cool again. No complaints, it's good for the lovely state of Victoria. The Country Fire Authority (CFA) will be glad of the temporary respite.
Just a mention that the BBQ'd trout were very tasty done in tin foil, along with homemade potato wedges on the side. Porterhouse with vegs is on the menu for tonight.

Wednesday 2nd Dec
Did a tiki tour of the reservoirs around Bendigo. Primed the GPS for all the locations and let it take me there. First off was Crusoe reservoir, an amazing 7 mins drive from the caravan park. An attractive place with tree planting, tracks and seats, the water very low but not muddy so I threw a line in for half an hour. Nothing came to the hook but the water was low and warm. From there I went into town and then east to the suburb of Kennington. The lake there is quite lovely surrounded by native trees and well formed tracks. Rather than fish I went for a walk around the tracks. Lara the GPS then took me back to a small reservoir near Crusoe, called simply "No.7". This is a national park area with BBQ's, seats and formed tracks. The information board said that there was a colony of black parrots living in the local trees which apparently is quite rare for this part of the country, so we might go back one evening while in Bendigo and see if we can spot them. In the afternoon I joined the crowds at the shopping mall Kangaroo Flat.

Bendigo

Pop of 100,000 on the Calder Highway to Melbourne. It's no small country town.
The van is in a Caravan Park about 10kms south of the CDB at a place called Kangaroo Flat. KF is a large commercial area with banks and K-Mart and The Warehouse, Coles, Safeway, Centro with it's bunch of shops and cafes, and the shopping village where they sell cheap groceries etc. Lots of takeaways too.
Another big thunderstorm heading our way - saw it on the dopler radar and it looks nasty. Got the Van well tied down and braced.
Sunday if the weather is reasonable (want the barometer moving up) I'm off to Lake Eppalock to catch some fish. I have one of Grandad Angus's flyrod's and reel to try out, see if it brings me some luck for a change.

Saturday 26 Nov
Storm arrived 11pm and passed through quickly, dumping some rain and a bit of thunder in the distance. Not as violent as the one at Tongala. Today is cool (17) and overcast. Going into Bunnings (where queuing is just the beginning) to get some hose fittings and some tubing to fix the radio aerial I broke yesterday.

Getting back on track

Grandad is settling into his new abode - there are new faces to get to know and it's quite different from public hospital - not so many staff. He has his good and bad days, but he is still bright and alert.
I am flying back to Melbourne on Wednesday to shift the van down to Bendigo, a little closer to Melbourne on a main highway system. Chris is following in 9-10 days time. We still have Echuca Bendigo and Ballarat to spend some time at, then do a big loop back up north via the Hume highway via Albury to ACT. Won't be going down to Lorne and the great ocean road area, nor the Mornington Peninsula, it's being plagued with bush fires so perhaps a place to avoid, will do that bit another time perhaps. Will also not be going through Gippsland east of Melbourne - another fire prone district. Can't give any dates - have to play it by ear.
Weather in Christchurch is fine and 20's. I heard from Deb in Melbourne that it's been raining .... whoopeeee !

Update from Un Zud

Arrived Christchurch in a blustery norwester - interesting landing.
Saw Grandad, he was weak but awake. No change since we have been here. Tomorrow he is going to an aged care home with hospital facilities near the Avon river here in Christchurch where they have a bed for him. Has to have 24hr care. Sat up on edge of bed a couple of days ago and had his lunch but effort exhausted him. Very alert and looking forward to the change of scene - ward 26 is a working cardiac ward and very noisy.His new room overlooks a rose garden so that will be a nice view for him.
Once he is settled in, we are looking at coming back to Victoria around the 25/26 Nov. With a daily high here of only 13-18, going back to high 30's is going to be a challenge.

Change of plans

Chris has had to fly back to NZ as Grandad is gravely ill in Christchurch Hospital.
I drove her down to Melbourne airport today to catch an evening flight.
Thank heavens for our GPS (Lara) - she took us right to the entrance to the International Departures area, and then took me back to Tongala. If things worsen over in NZ I'll leave the van parked here and fly over myself. Deborah, family friend who lives 15 mins from the airport has offered to park our vehicle (s) while I cross the ditch - thanks Deb). There won't be any updates for a while, but we will come back here and continue our trip thru Echuca, Bendigo, Ballarat etc.

update 13/11/09
I'm heading over to Ch-Ch tomorrow to join Chris for a while. Depending on how long we are away in NZ will prob have to shorten the tour of Victoria by heading north again from here via Albury and the Hume highway, to ACT Thredbo and Sydney. We'll see

Tongala - Kyabram

We are at the caravan park Tongala, a small town 20mins drive south of Echuca.
Nice grassy site and inexpensive. Booked in for 5 nights.
Today drove 10mins to large country town of Kyabram to do some banking. Picked up some cream cakes from the bakery, filled up the Triby's tank and came back. Just waiting on passports to arrive from Brisbane so Chris can go back to Christchurch via Melbourne airport and see Grandad Small who is still in hospital.

Heatwave

Arrived at the camping site Tocumal early afternoon to be greeted by 40 degs in the shade and lots of flies. Got the awning up quick smart. Camp was fairly loaded and many people swimming or sitting in the Murray river. One group had their camp chairs in the water and were sitting back drinking stubbies !. Nothing wrong with that. Unbearable inside the van so we retired to the local pub to cool off outside and inside. Chris met up with a scrapbooking friend and we spent a pleasant arvo around the table in the coolest bar.

Tues 3 Nov (Melbourne Cup day)
Overnight the temp dropped dramatically and is now 21.5 with a firm wind from the southeast - that's a big relief and it has just started to rain. Two weeks ago in this same spot it was freezing. The little wood duck family of chicks that we saw then have all grown up and are flying with their parents. A lot of the campers are moving out this morning making it less crowded. Tomorrow we move on to the Echuca area of the Murray, ie Tongala 30kms south. The camping prices around this popular tourist area (Echuca) over the Cup weekend have skyrocketed (call it gouging) with tent sites costing up to $50 a night, so we are staying well out of it. Motorcycles: there are more of them on the roads than ants. Not hundreds but thousands. After the recent races at Phillip Island, the roads were choked with them returning home for more than a week.

Movin' on

Leave Tallangatta tomorrow for Tocuwal and Echuca.
Eastern Victoria is a beautiful place this time of year, it is so green, and full of history, Ned Kelly, The man from Snowy River and many others. We have met some great people, some live here, others are travellers like us. This is a place we will have to come back to sometime in the future to see more of the alpine area, and fish the lovely streams. Hope the rest of the state is as good as this.
Grandad Small is in hospital at Christchurch and not so good, but he's been through a tough spell and recovery at his age is slow.

The Man from Snowy River

Corryong, 80kms east of Tallangatta, over the top of Mt Lawson state forest. We first went to Khancoban dam, on the way a young rabbit crossed the road ahead. The Snowy river project starts on this side of the mountains. In summary, large pipes bring water down the mountain to the dam, the water exits thru a small hydro-electric generating system, and this forms the beginning of the large Murray River. I fished this part of the river, but no takers. We went to the town centre of Khancoban and visited the "Queens Cottage" up the hill where HRH stayed in 1963 to open the Snowy project. We were invited in by the lady owner (it's now a B&B) and she showed us all the memorabilia and even the Queen's bedroom- bit of an unexpected treat. Had coffee at the shopping centre and drove back to Corryong. There was a shop with flyfishing gear and I was rapt. Got my birthday present early. Went to the information centre in the main street for directions to Jack Riley's (the man from Snowy River) grave in the local cemetery. The chap there was married to a kiwi and was also a fly fisherman - not only that but he has a property on a prime local trout stream ! but wait there is more - he wants us to bring the van up to the valley where he lives, park it on his place (with power) and help him catch fish in one of the best trout streams in Victoria !. How could we refuse but it will be a little while before we can get back - but get back to this lovely part of the country we will. Got the directions to the Corryong cemetery and we found Jack Riley's grave. Buried there in 1914 - I didn't realise it was that long ago. On the way back to Tallangatta we diverted into the valley of the perfect trout stream and drove 30kms to the bridge circled on the map he gave us. Excellent large free area to camp, right on the stream. Saw 2 small trout in the shallow water below the bridge. Being a lovely warm afternoon, I dropped a line into a pool downstream but again no takers. On the western side of Mt Lawson we came across an old disused railway tressle bridge and stopped to get some photos. Animals we saw today - 2 rabbits, a hare, a small brown snake on the road, two red parrots, a dark bush wallaby near the tressle bridge, a couple of wombat burrows and a blue fairy wren bird.