There’s gold in them hills

We had a 3-4 hour drive today so it was important to leave on time. Not as easily said as done ,however, since Amber has truly made the transition to ’tween’ and is now sleeping in. I dragged her out around 8.30am for breakfast and then we packed up in lovely sunny (not overly windy) conditions.

We weren’t far down the road before we spied an alpaca farm called Blue Moon and diverted to take a look. Hand-feeding seems to be rather a trend for us at the moment, so we couldn’t miss the opportunity to add another species to our list.

Then we were off driving down the Goldfields Tourist Route to Bendigo. I listened to Eva Cassidy while Amber caught up on her sleep once again. (Add this to her tremendous appetite at the moment and she must be doing a growth spurt!).

I started to get excited as we neared Bendigo. The idea of being around the goldfields that my great, great grandparent worked was exhilarating. We stopped at the Central Deborah Gold Mine where we had planned a ride in a miner’s cage and a mine tour.

First came the cage tour with Laurie and we dropped four levels in a matter of seconds, getting out to pitch black and learning how miners went to work this way until the 1950s. Then we joined Georg, Snowy and John for an extended tour through the second level. We donned our miner’s helmets complete with back-battery packs. We learnt about reefs, dynamite, drills and different lighting methods  and all the guides imparted this knowledge in a humorous way. It was easy to see why this is an award-winning attraction and I would recommend it for all kids (unless they are really scared of the dark).

Back at surface, we drove to Big4Bendigo Ascot Holiday Park and checked into our cabin. That’s right, we had given ourselves a treat and booked a cabin to completely relax tonight. A little TV, dinner cooked for two nights and a hot shower, and we are ready for an early wake-up call in the morning. We have even mapped out different parts of Bendigo to visit where John and Emily Grimson lived or worked... very exciting!