Ballarat

Sunday, 27th May


We left South Dandenong in dull, overcast and cool conditions this morning. Fortunately, being Sunday morning, traffic was fairly light on the motorways and we had not trouble crossing the city and heading for Ballarat. The sun even shone for a few minutes.

We stopped at Ballarat for a couple of hours – after driving all the way around Lake Wendouree looking for the Botanic Gardens. If we had turned left instead of right … After lunch in the caravan, we donned our down jackets, gloves, scarves and beanies (did I mention the temperature was only 10 degrees?) and set out for a brisk walk around part of the lake. We took some leftover bread to feed the swans, although one of us looked more intent on keeping some of the bread! It doesn’t take long to make friends with a swan. This was a lovely area, with lots of walking and bike tracks (and people, and dogs) right around the lake – and it is flat!

We crossed the road to the Botanic Gardens, looked at most of the lovely statues and then discovered the Prime Ministers’ Walk – this contains a bronze bust of all Australia’s prime ministers. We thought one in particular must have been the model for a certain nasty character (whose name mustn’t be mentioned) in the Harry Potter movies. The conservatory was an absolute delight (the display only opened yesterday) with its Christmas wonderland village theme – Christmas tree, reindeers, white flowers and snowflakes and little shops and tables.

By this time we had convinced Cat to leave the warmth of the coats on the back seat of the car for the benefits of some bracing fresh air and then discovered the historical tram was operating. Of course, it was all aboard for a 20 minute ride and a 10 minute talk with the very friendly driver. He even stopped the tram right beside the caravan so we didn’t have to walk too far.

After this, it was on to Stawell and the Corella Rise Bed and Breakfast for the night and to meet some cousins for the first time. Out came the computers as we compared photos and stories and worked out just who was who in the extended family. Needless to say, the conversation did extend somewhat into the late evening. It will be nice to sleep in the “big” bed again, even if only for one night.