Ballarat and Geelong

Once off the boat we headed straight for Ballarat to make our fortunes on the Goldfields!!!  We went to Sovereign Hill which is a Working Museum of life back in the Gold Rush.  It is known as a  Working Museum because it has wheelwrights, blacksmiths, confectioners, candle makers and a battery house (processes gold in the original way) and other such occupations that were important to running a Gold Rush town in it's day.  For it to be classified a museum it has to be authentic so you really got a sense of what it was like in the 1850's.  Naturally the first place we went was the creek to do some panning for gold and it is finders keepers.  Glen got a bit of "gold fever" when he came across a few flecks.  We managed to get a bit of gold in little jars for the kids so they were pretty happy.  However we will have to look for work when we finish the trip as the 20 cents worth of gold we found is just not going to go far!!!!  It was fun finding it though.  We went on a self guided underground tour where they showed to a replica of 'The Welcome' which is the second largest gold nugget found in Australia.  It weighed 69kg and was found near where we were.  The kids enjoyed the demonstration of making boiled sweets and were most impressed with the sample at the end.  Haydan had fun playing old fashioned ten pin bowling with a wooden ball on old timber runs.  We saw the redcoat soldiers do a firing which was very loud as we were standing right next to them!!!    It was also very impressive to see a gold pour where they made a gold bullion worth over $160,000 AU.  One lucky lady in the audience even got to hold it!!!  The most fun part of the day was when we dressed up in period costume and had our photo taken.  The kids looked so cute and Glen was a very dashing gentleman.  It was a great day, just a shame we didnt find a huge gold nugget.  We went for a drive to Castlemaine and caught up with a friend of Glen's who took us on a tour to show us some old gold digs and the remains of an old battery house as well as an old mine shaft, it was amazing to think it was all dug by hand - no explosives back then.  For Australia day we went to a festival around Lake Wendouree  we were all excited as they were to have Fireworks at 9:30pm - weather permitting as it was blowing a gale.  It had been doing this all day so when they said they were not going to do them at 9:30 and they would see what the wind was like at 10pm we went home as the kids were getting cold and tired and we couldn't see the wind dying down.  We got home and it was still blowing as hard as ever and we felt we made the right decision.  The next morning we found out they still had the Fireworks around 10pm - buggar!!!!! While in Ballarat we did parts of the Eureka Trail and saw where they held the Eureka Stockade.  We went to the Art Gallery that has The Flag of The Southern Cross - Eureka Flag -  that was flown during the Eureka Stockade.  We went for a walk up Sturt Street that has monuments that mark significant events in history and enjoyed looking at the old buildings around the city.  It was then off to Geelong. The first day in Geelong we went down to the Waterfront and there was a regatta and a Sails Festival.  There was a lot happening from a side show to market stalls to beach volley ball.  The kids enjoyed a play at the park and would have liked a swim in the toddler pool but it was standing room only in there so we opted not to have a swim.  The next day we went for a drive around The Bellarine Peninsula.  We went to the markets at Portarlington and Queenscliff.  At Queenscliff we scaled the tower to get 360 degree views of the Peninsula and Port Phillip Bay.  We also saw the Fought that protected the Bay back in the day.  At Point Lonsdale we had a look at Rip Lookout where Port Phillip Bay meets Bass Straight.  We then made our way around to Barwon Heads where we found a great beach to spend the rest of the day.  While in Geelong we had a little look around the city and a few shops.  Geelong was quite a surprise to us as it is so close to Melbourne yet it is surrounded by so many sleepy beachside towns.  

We hit the road again now and start heading along The Great Ocean Road.  

Panning for Gold at Sovereign Hill

Haydan and Laura over looking Sovereign Hill

Haydan with the Police Officer at Sovereign Hill

The King Family in the 1850's

Glen and Emmalisa relax at Barwon Heads

Building a sandcastle at Barwon Heads

Haydan's Sandcastle

Emmalisa playing at Barwon Heads  

Bye Bye Tassie

Well our last few weeks in Tassie were spent with Laura's Family.  We stayed in Stanley and the kids enjoyed taking Max for walks and playing in the backyard.  They enjoyed some special time with Grandma, Poppy and Uncle Chris.  They were also spoilt by the next door neighbours John and Heather who also have 2 little dogs that Emmalisa LOVED and wouldn't leave alone.  I think their best memories of Stanley are going to be their visits to 'Bernards Shop'.  This is a chocolate shop that sells ice creams and chocolates and fudge and well the list of treats goes on!! Here the kids enjoyed chocolate frogs, lollies, baby chinos and ice creams, in fact I think Haydan ate his way through every flavour in the cabinet!!!!  We even went there one morning for Laura's birthday and had breakfast.  The kids were most impressed with the French Toast.  To wrap up our stay John and Heather had a farewell/Laura's Birthday party that was enjoyed by all.  We then set sail again to the mainland (the trip was much smoother this time) and have put the kids on sugar detox diets. 

The Journey So Far

Emmalisa gives Max a big hug

All Glen wanted was  a quiet nap!!!!

Emmalisa relaxing in the backyard

Haydan gets stuck into his French Toast at the Chocolate Shop in Stanley ('Bernard's Shop')

Emmalisa enjoys her Baby Chino at 'Bernard's Shop'

In front of the boat before we set sail.

Welcome 2012

Well firstly to everyone, we hope you had a wonderful New Year and that 2012 has got off to a great start for you.  We enjoyed a quiet New Year and had a BBQ with the neighbours.  The kids had a great time playing with sparklers and glow sticks but hit the wall at 10pm and were tuck up in bed (as were mum and dad)  well before the stroke of midnight.  We have based ourselves in Stanley so the kids can spend some time with Grandma, Poppy and Uncle Chris.  We have got out and about a bit though.  The weather over Christmas/New Year was fantastic so we have enjoyed many a walk with Max, the kids have enjoyed the waterslide in the backyard and they even got a swim in at the beach.  We also went for a walk up 'The Nut', this is an old volcanoe vent that sits just over 500 meters above sea level.  We caught the chairlift up and walked around on a very windy day.  Emmalisa was not too impressed when a big gust of wind blew her over!!!!  We then had to carry her most of the way after that.  Even though it was windy the view from the top was still spectacular.  We also did a day trip out to Dip Falls.  The waterfall was not flowing as much as it can but it was still worth a look.  We had a big cook up for brunch over the campfire and just enjoyed the calm after the busy New Year weekend.  We also then went to 'The Big Tree'  This tree is 65 m tall and 16m wide, rather impressive. Not much else has been happening on the tourist side of things but the kids have really enjoyed a big backyard to play in and are loving have Max to play with again. 

We have 2 more weeks left in Tassie and hope to get to the West Coast in that time. We then head back on the boat to the Mainland to continue our adventures.

Kids playing with the sparklers on New Years Eve

Emmalisa on New Years Eve

Haydan and Emmalisa on the Chairlift at 'The Nut'

Overlooking Stanley from the Chairlift

Dip Falls

Kids playing with Max

Tucked up in bed together after a hard days play