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Published: October 31st 2017
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Lake Cargelligo Lake Cargelligo - Hill End So apparently there isn't a lot to do around Lake Cargelligo, but we had a nice relaxing day. A visit to the Tourist Information centre wasn't very informative. I find it hard to understand why people would volunteer for a job that they are so obviously not suited to - this lady should have a job that doesn't involve talking to people.
The pamphlets about the lake suggest that Lake Cargelligo is big on water sports, fishing and bird watching. There is a Sail & Power Boat club on the edge of the lake, and apparently there was a big fishing competition here a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure how much water sport actually happens here though - walking along the lake we saw a couple of warning signs, one about underwater hazards and the other about blue-green algae. There are two bird hides provided for bird watching - one on the lake and one near the sewerage treatment plant.
After breakfast at the only cafe in town (take-away/bakery) we wandered along the lake, visited the bird hides and drove around the area. The town seems to be in a bit
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Lake Cargelligo of a decline - I don't know if it is busy in 'peak' tourist season (summer/school holidays) but there are a lot of businesses (including both motels) and homes for sale, and the caravan park is not busy at all - sad to see...
Lake Cargelligo was once a gold rush town, with gold found in quartz under what is now the main street. The shafts that were dug eventually filled with water and had to be closed and apparently there are still old shafts under some of the stores.
From Lake Cargelligo we headed cross country to Hill End - a place that I have often thought of visiting but never got to, yet. Here we stayed at the National Park campground in the village. Most of the town is now owned/controlled by the National Park and there is evidence of repairs being made to the old historic buildings. There is now only one area where fossicking is allowed - we were keen to try our luck at a bit of prospecting, but the shop that hires equipment was closed mid-week so no gold panning for us this trip. We still went to the fossicking area and
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Lake Cargelligo watched a couple of guys with a portable sleuth. They managed to find a bit and they gave us some tips for the future - maybe a new hobby for Kevin...
Other things to do in Hill End besides fossicking include the village walk, lookouts (Merlins/Bald Hill), Golden Gully walk, Bald Hill walk and Mine (which we didn't do) and two cemeteries (which we did do). In the 1870s Beaufoy Merlin photographed Hill End and the surrounding area. These photos are being used to restore some of the buildings in the village and can be seen in the interpretive centre along with a scale model of the town. There is a general store (open 9am-3pm) and the Royal Hotel which is open for lunch and dinner and has accommodation available, and there are three National Park campgrounds (one near the village and two out of town). Golden Gully (about 2km north of Hill End) is where many Chinese miners came to find their fortune. Alluvial gold is easier to find using basic equipment. Apparently the Chinese miners always dug round shafts, not square. The reason for this is not technical but superstition - ghosts (evil spirits) have nowhere to
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Lake Cargelligo hide if there are no corners.
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