Blogs from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, Oceania

We have finally found an advantage of getting old; we can travel on Victoria's public transport for an entire day for $3.60. Trains, buses, the whole lot. Valentines day, found us on the bus from Creswick to Ballarat, then on another bus, out to the Eureka Centre, the birth of Australian Democracy. This is so new, that unfortunately, it isn't open yet, a little gem that the tourist people forgot to mention. The Director arrived as we were sitting on their front step, but even though he was very nice, still wouldn't let us in. We did take a few photos of the actual stockade site and memorial, then waited in the hot sun for a return bus. The elderly serbian man at the bus stop was very nice, except his command of English, is as ... read more

On our third day, after a breakfast of cereal, yogurt, and the biggest kiwis I have every seen, we set off for the Ballarat Wildlife Park. Best. Thing. Ever. After paying at the gate, we walked in – to find several kangaroos lounging about, looking up hopefully at us in case we had brought any food for them. Petting kangaroos is sort of interesting – if you find the sweet spot, they will actually start thumping it’s leg, not unlike a dog. However, as it turns out, they’re not so big into getting their tummies scratched and they DON’T roll over on their backs no matter how hard you scratch. We had opted to have our pictures taken with the koalas. I was a little dubious, thinking that this would be something like buying your picture ... read more

Well, good morning! I am waking up after one awesome full night of sleep. We arrived here in Australia yesterday after flying first from DC to LA Friday afternoon, then LA to Melbourne on Friday night...arriving at the Melbourne Airport on Sunday morning. The flight on Qantas was amazing - a little uncomfortably crowded, but the service was the best I had had in years. Frankly, it reminded me of what flying used to be like back in the day- when Mom would dress us up to take a flight. Good food, great service - I'd definitely take Qantas again sometime. We loaded the plane at 10:45 pm on Friday, taking off on time at 11:30 pm. A few hours later they served us a good dinner, then gave us a snack pack for the night ... read more

Réveil à 8h dans la fraîcheur, Nico lui est déjà debout depuis une petite heure et discute avec une habitante. Le petit déj et la toilette de chat fait, on revient sur nos pas à Ballarat. Il y a beaucoup à voir mine de rien dans cette ville de 80 000 hab au passé chargé. On se décide à faire la ville en elle-même, beaucoup de bâtiments d’époque ont été conservés, un vrai décor de film ! L’Art Fine Gallery est chaudement recommandée dans le guide et on comprend pourquoi : en plus d’être la plus vieille du pays (1897) c’est certainement l’une des mieux. Uniquement de l’art australien, du 19ème à nos jours, peintures mais aussi sculpture et beaux meubles. Toute une partie est sur l’évènement de l’Eureka Stockade, révolte des chercheurs d’or suite à ... read more

Blog 23 - Macedon, Melbourne, Ballarat We had an enjoyable picnic and walk to the waterfall at Stanley Park in Macedon with Mel, Gareth and Maya. We then all travelled to Airport West in Melbourne to stay the night together. Being without a car only meant that we had to travel differently. Taxis, trains and buses really are quite useful, but maybe not quite as convenient as having your own set of wheels. When travelling back to Macedon the next day we caught the wrong train (thanks to the Station attendant) and so we had to sit in heat at Gisborne for an hour with no pubs, coffee shops or bookshops open. That’s all part of the adventure and we were soon on our way for the remaining 5 minutes of our trip back to Macedon. ... read more