STRIKE IT RICH!

Ballarat, Victoria’s southern goldfields region, is a history-lovers’ gold mine

WORDS BY TRINA MORRIS, PHOTOGRAPHY BY TRINA AND RAY MORRIS

The Ballarat region – with the Eureka legend at its heart – is a fantastic touring destination, and requires a stay of several weeks to see and do everything on offer. It is loaded with amazing places to visit, quaint villages, food and wine festivals, markets, nature reserves and historical-based attractions. The camping options are excellent, from classy caravan parks to well-serviced campgrounds, and primitive bush camping in quiet nature reserves.

Our stay began in a lovely pet friendly caravan cark in Creswick, beside beautiful Lake Calembeen. From there we visited Ballarat’s highly acclaimed big tourist operations of Sovereign Hill, the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (MADE), and Kryal Castle. They are all marvellously entertaining and educational places to visit.

SOVEREIGN HILL

Sovereign Hill was first on our list, and every minute of our two-day pass was needed to experience this sprawling spectacle depicting 1850s goldfield society. The place was teeming with local volunteers in period costumes, and talented craftsmen working at their various trades – some with fire, horses and metals, and others with whips, muskets, candle wax, old-time confectionary and massive gold-ore working machinery. We went deep underground on a miner’s tramway and toured a working mine, we saw coachbuilders and wheelwrights at work, and we watched blacksmiths create art from rods of iron. The evening show, called ‘Blood on the Southern Cross,’ is absolutely superb, during which the Eureka uprising is re-enacted through an exciting light and sound extravaganza. A must-do experience!

The entry fee into Sovereign Hill includes access to the Gold Museum, just over the road. We thoroughly recommend taking the guided tour which brings the exhibits to life and provides a fascinating insight into the world of gold, and Ballarat’s gold rush history.

MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRACY

Perhaps the most surprising discovery of all – a real eureka moment – was our visit to the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka, known as MADE. Australia’s most significant historic political events are presented through the contemporary channel of gigantic electronic touch screens. I never knew how interesting political history was until I visited this place!

“Democracy is organic – we must keep looking at it to keep it pliable” says Jane Smith, the Director of MADE. “We’ve used a whole lot of innovation to bring Eureka to life. It’s about participation!” She implores visitors to “get into it” and enjoy MADE with excitement and laughter, not in hushed, reverential tones. She’s a bright and enthusiastic person – clearly an asset to the place.

Even the most computer-illiterate visitors can easily learn to swipe and touch their way through a magnificent presentation of the history of Australian democracy. If anyone is unsure of the process, the wonderful staff are eager to pop over and help you get started on your discovery of Eureka. You just need to ask!

There’s an important aspect of MADE which deserves a special mention: their Saltbush Kitchen café serves delicious and creative food from local produce, influenced by native Australian flavours. Our relaxing lunch on the lawns – snuggled in colourful beanbags – was the perfect interlude to a wonderful day at MADE.

KRYAL CASTLE

Kryal Castle was a very pleasant surprise. We’d unfairly predetermined it to be a kid’s Disneyland theme park, instead we found it to be an enthralling interpretation of medieval life, with knights, dragons and torture chambers! The recently revamped grounds and facilities, housed within massive basalt rock fortress walls, provided an impressive insight into medieval architecture and society. Every imaginable aspect of castle life is on display, including a chapel, dungeons, a throne room, markets, farm animals, a museum, stables and an armoury. Try your hand at archery, laugh at jesters, tackle the maze and watch wizards at work.

The castle arena features a fabulous daily show, with constantly evolving themed performances, all of which star magnificent galloping horses carrying jousting knights in full body armour. Through the wonders of digital photography, a resident dragon even chases visitors who are not paying attention! We loved every minute of our day at Kryal Castle and wished we’d had our grandkids along for the ride.

GOLDFIELDS REGION

The city of Ballarat is an awesome place to spend a week or two, but there is so much more beyond the city limits just begging to be explored. Throughout the Goldfields touring region there’s a wealth of quaint heritage towns to visit, with Daylesford, Creswick, Maldon and Castlemaine being our favourites.

The Goldfields Drive touring route between Ballarat and Bendigo takes these gems into its fold, but one day isn’t long enough to really get to know them all. We recommend you stay in one of the many camping grounds dotted throughout the region, and get busy exploring.

There are many interesting things to do, such as browsing shops selling antiques, vintage collectibles and second hand books, buying fresh supplies from farmers markets, relaxing in cafes, visiting museums, wineries and lavender farms. The Ballarat region also has a wonderful range of festivals featuring music, food and wine, comedy, vintage cars, gardens, quilting, cabaret, photography and cultural celebrations. The Macedon Wine and Food Festival is particularly worthwhile, and the little town of Buninyong holds a brilliant festival centred on living ‘The Good Life’.

HANGING ROCK

A highlight of the southern goldfields region for me was our trek up into the tors of Hanging Rock. Rising 100m from the plain, Hanging Rock is a small, steep-sided volcano where six million years of rainwater has gradually eroded the rock into unusual geological formations, including ‘The Cathedral’ and ‘The Black Hole of Calcutta’. In spring, the area bursts into a colourful display of wildflowers, but it’s an active environment year-round with 100 indigenous plants and 40 species of birds, koalas, kangaroos, sugar gliders, echidna and wallabies.

Climbing Hanging Rock has been on my bucket list since I fell in love with the Picnic at Hanging Rock movie as a young girl. My experience was every bit as wonderful, and mysterious, as anticipated. The walls of rock resonated with a supernatural force of some kind – where history meets mystery! We spent hours clambering around the huge rocks and crevices.

HEPBURN SPRINGS

The extinct volcanic crater of Mount Franklin in Hepburn Regional Park, 10km north of Daylesford, was a particular favourite. Its lush amphitheatre shelters a lovely camp ground, which offers excellent facilities, is free, and welcomes two of our favourite camping ingredients, dogs and campfires. The road to the summit and around the rim of the crater is fairly steep, but is accessible by caravans.

The Hepburn Springs Mineral Reserve is a lovely mix of heritage and nature. Created in 1865, it was Australia’s first mineral reserve. It has five different springs to sample, and you can spoil yourself at the Pavilion Cafe or Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa. The reserve offers graded walking trails and has a series of delightful picnic areas with good facilities.

THE GREAT DIVIDING RANGE

We also toured the network of tracks in the 15 hectare koala park in Creswick Regional Park, and walked the shores of beautiful St George Lake, where waterbirds and platypus frolic. We didn’t spot a koala, but many visitors do.

A must-do experience is to sit under the spray of Trentham Falls, Victoria’s highest single-drop waterfall. Deep in the Wombat State Forest, the Coliban River plunges 32m over glossy basalt columns, and splashes onto a bed of quartz gravel below. The base of the falls is a beautiful dell with moss-covered rocks, constantly dripping fern fronds and fluttering birdlife. There’s also a lovely picnic ground by the river with excellent facilities and several walking tracks to enjoy.

On the eastern periphery of the Ballarat region is the magnificent Macedon Regional Park. It forms the southern tip of the Great Dividing Range and completely dominates the surrounding landscape, with unforgettable views and forest a new forest eco-trail to explore.

The Ballarat region of Victoria’s southern goldfields is a top place to spend a week, or a month. Having discovering all the best places to stay and things to do, we’ll be heading back there soon to saturate ourselves in history and nature. Eureka!