Blogs from Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, Oceania - page 7

A good drive out of Melbourne, and all was looking good. Had to have a short stop to shove some cushions behind Eden's car seat so she could sleep without looking like a nodding dog! About 2 hours north-west of Melbourne is Ballarat, a beatiful lakeside town, where the olympic rowing took place in 1956, so obviously we headed for Lake Windouree - but could we find it? There were boat sheds, rowing sheds, pontoons and all that, but sadly no lake. The drought had taken it's toll and the lake had dried up for the first time since 1914!!!! So, we headed for the botanic gardens, playground and then ice cream before hitting our caravan park for the night. The dream of sitting outside the camper drinking wine with Eden blissfully asleep indoors was soon ... read more

Carol's last week in Ballarat before she set off for the Big Red Dirt is a long long story, she twas slightly disorientated as evidenced by the photo!... read more

On the way to Sovereign Hill, we did a tour of the Wildlife Park. I still get excited seeing kangaroos! They're just so friendly and come up to you hoping you'll feed them. As we sat waiting for our tour guide, there must have been at least 6 kangaroos surrounding me. Got to see a lot of local wildlife up close here, we completed this tour in under an hour. A recommended stop if you're going to Sovereign Hill.... read more

Two months ago, I changed my occupation. After countless years of student status, I've been promoted to research student. As a coursework student last year, I clocked my hours alongside my companionable classmates in the computer lab. We were a chatty mob who gradually acquired a haggard appearance from excessive multi-tasking-- attempting ludicrous feats such as Multiple Regression, Statistical Computing, and Job Hunting simultaneously. Much to my delight, the world of a research student has broader horizons with many more travel destinations. I still frequent my old haunt-- the building engraved School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine-- at Sydney University, and can be spotted ferrying up and down the staircase between my desk and the staff cappuccino maker at all hours of day. It's never long, however, before I have to tuck out the back ... read more

Maureen who was also temping at the State Bank invited another girl, Debbie, Mike and myself over to her place in Ballarat for the weekend. This is located about an hour outside Melbourne (a stone's throw by Australian standards) and is famous for an old, historic gold mining settlement called Sovereign Hill. Maureen gave us all the guided tour. Ballarat was the scene of one of Australia's bloodiest conflicts between soldiers and miners demanding a better way of life. This was known as the Eureka Stockade and resulted in the massacre of most of the miners. Sovereign Hills is still kept as it was back in the 19th century and the people who work there still dress as they did back then. There was a school room there where we were given lessons as they would ... read more