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Victorian Road Trip 2019
  • We are Living the Dream
  • We are Living the Dream

Victorian Road Trip 2019

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    The Grotto

    17 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Back in the car for about 5 min and we visit the Grotto. The Grotto is a sinkhole geological formation, it is a blowhole, archway and cave all in one.This was really cool and worth the very windy walk.

    At the lookout you walk down wooden steps which wind down the cliff face to the bottom.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante
    Golf course right next to the road and alongside the coastline.We timed this well we are the only ones visiting this lookout

    Bay of Martyrs

    17 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    Back in the car and a little further down the road we found Bay of Martyrs. Apparently there is fascinating history surrounding this area, which is alluded to in the place names of other bays and lookout points. Massacre Bay, Massacre Point, Bay of Martyrs.

    According to stories that have spanned generations, Europeans killed a large group of Karrae-Wurrong Aboriginal men here. They did so by running them off the cliffs, whilst the women and children were supposedly killed in a swamp that is close by.

    However, there are many contradicting stories and, more importantly, no written evidence of what happened. All that is known is that the population of Aboriginal people dropped from a few thousand to almost none. Some theories believe this was caused by mass migration, but local folklore has other ideas.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Bay of Islands

    17 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ 🌧 11 °C

    This was also a little further down the road and very similar to The Martyrs with similar stories.

    Again showing how rough and tumble our coastline is. The photos do not show how blue the water was in the bay area.

    Still very windy and cold, and it is very tiring getting in and out of the car and walking to the lookout points.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Cheese World

    17 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    All the tourist cold windy places finished for the day and back on the road.

    Further along the road we found Cheese World and thought we would stop for a cheese tasting. All the cheese was very nice, some better than others. We purchased the better ones to eat with some crackers as our trip continues.Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante
    Fletcher Jones gardensFletcher Jones sculture

    Leaving Warrambool

    18 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Home made muffins in the pie maker before hitting the road. Starting to dislike unpacking things for 1 night and packing up the car. Getting in and out of the car. Feels like being on a tour. At least only 1 more night of 1 nighters.

    We found a large antique store in the Old Fletcher Jones building. We did not buy anything which is great.

    Now to drive to Sovereign Hill. The sun is shining today and not windy now that we have finished sightseeing along The Great Ocean Road. 🤨

    Music today are 70's hits another bargain from the op shop in Apollo Bay. Starting with Suzie Q The Wild One.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante
    Local school children engage in activities undertaken in the past.John has a go at an early version of ten pin bowling. He knocked over three pins.Sweet making in action.A workshop of the past.

    Sovereign Hill

    18 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    We visited here many years ago when Michael and Melissa were children. It is still the same but still enjoyable. The school children playing in the grounds and attending class. We chatted to some of the residents of the houses back in the 1800's.

    It is described as an open-air museum. Sovereign Hill depicts Ballarat's first ten years after the discovery of gold in 1851. It was officially opened on 29 November 1970 and has become a nationally acclaimed tourist attraction.

    We have not done the gold mining section yet . We think we will do this tomorrow. Staying at the Hotel gives you your own entrance . We walk around for a few hours today purchasing a few bits and pieces.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Winter Wonderlights

    18 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    One of the reasons we selected Sovereign Hill Hotel was becase they have a Christmas in July Celebration called Winter Wonderlights. It is like a mini Vivid and done very well indeed. The buildings in the main street had light shows on most of the buildings and snow was being pumped out so it was very winter like.

    We also went to a Christmas in July dinner in was a little light on for Christmas but still very enjoyable.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante
    Inside a Chinese workers tent
    John panning for additional retirement incomeInside the a former mineWhere the stopped for meal breaks

    Sovereign Hill

    19 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    All checked out of the Hotel and now back to walking around Sovereign Hill again. When you stay at the Hotel you get a 2 day entrance pass.

    Today we went to the Chinese area and took 2 mine tour's. They were very informative.

    John and I think that the Sovereign Hill Historic Park has improved since we came with Michael and Melissa when they were younger. We had fun wandering around and can recommend it for everyone to visit.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Kyneton Bushland Resort

    19 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ☀️ 10 °C

    We are finally at a place were we can unpack and tour the area more slowly.

    This is one our Classic Holiday places and it is similar to others we have stayed but what makes this a little different is we have our house set in the bush. We will walk around tomorrow and take photos.

    Once we arrived we basicaly threw everything inside and went out to Woolworths for our groceries. I can finally cook something on a cooktop not the piemaker and have some veggies.

    We have now unpacked and catching up on emails and other computer work. John will go outside into the pitch black and cook a BBQ for dinner tonight, he has missed his steak. Not sure why there are no lights outside. We did find a large torch so John will use it to find his way to the BBQ.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante
    View from Cloud Nine Winery

    Lazy Morning and then Wineries

    20 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    The morning was a lazy start 9.00am and still in bed. Shower and breakfast was the next item on the to do list before John started planning the next week's activities. Apparently we are going to be busy with lots of activities around the area to keep us entertained. John researched and I did all the washing.

    Whilst researching John worked out that a number of wineries are only open on weekends. So we decided the wineries required a visit from the Hopwood's this afternoon. We selected 4 but only 3 were open. They are all boutique wineries with mum and dad operations which made it just like popping around to a friends place for a wine and a chat. We purchased wine from each of the wineries, some to drink whilst away and some to bring home. One of the wineries supplies his wine to 5 star restaurants like Aria, Long Grain, Icebergs and Rock Pool.

    Back at Kyneton now getting dinner ready and catching up on computer work which never seems to end.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante
    Daylesford markets
    One of Daylesford's interesting buildings.

    Daylesford

    21 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    The morning started in Daylesford's local markets. We wandered around for an hour so and tasted the local food even purchasing some goat cheese and a piece of corned beef which is from a local cattle farm.

    We then drove into town to find a place for coffee. We selected a café called Himalayan Café because we thought it was odd, so we asked why and they explained it was because of the meridian for Daylesford south of the equator is the same as the Himalayas north of the equator. We checked and this is not correct. We did enjoy our coffee and cake though.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Hepburn Springs

    21 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    We then drove to Hepburn Springs which is only a short drive from Daylesford. Both towns are from the gold rush times of 1860's. The mineral springs were formed about 5 million years ago by volcanic activity. In 1838 Captain John Hepburn was the first European to settle.

    Hepburn Springs is very pretty, lots of historic houses and some very modern houses. I guess they might be holiday houses for the people with money from Melbourne.

    We visited 2 springs but only one was working. We both had drink from the spring but it was not that special.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Lavandula Swiss Italian Farm

    21 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Back in the car for another short drive, this time to visit a Lavendar Farm.

    The farm has the original farmhouse which was built in 1860 by a swiss man who came out to Australia for the gold rush. But the gold was almost gone in this region so he purchased 100 acres and built the farm as a dairy.

    In the late 1980's, Carol White and her family restored and re-imagined the old dairy farm and it has become one of Victoria's most important rural properties.

    We also had lunch a very nice pizza and lavender champagne cocktail.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Trentham Falls

    21 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ☀️ 8 °C

    We decided now was time to taste a few wines, so back in the car. First winery was closed. So off to the second, as we drove up you could tell it was a larger concern than the ones we had visited. It was quite a nice looking winery but the wine was dreadful so no purchases today.

    Now it is time to head home via Trentham Falls. The falls apparently are the longest single drop waterfall in victoria, plunging 32m over basalt columns. They were nice but not that impressive.

    When we pulled into our driving space we had 2 friends who were visiting.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Kyneton

    22 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

    Our morning started with a walk around the complex. Kyneton Bushland Resort has 55 individual villas spread amongst 120 acres of natural Australian bushland and it even has resident kangaroos. There are also seven apartments which overlook the 5 acre lake.

    It was a little chilly this morning but still a pleasant walk.

    We then went into town to explore Piper Street which is the old section of town. Most shops were closed but we did find a very nice cafe for Morning Tea.

    Back in the car for the trip to the main shopping section and this was very much like most other small country towns but again most things were closed. However, the main reason for going to this part of town was to try the pies at the Country Cob Bakery and Cafe. The bakery has been awarded as producing the best pies in Australia for the last 3 years. They tasted OK but nothing to drive out of your way to try.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Barfold Olives

    22 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Back on the road this time for a short drive out of Kyneton to Barfold.

    Barfold Olives was our destination as we both like olives and a good olive oil.

    The olive grove is family run and we met both Pam and Sandra who are mother and daughter in law, Jason the son was not on the farm at the time.

    George (now passed away), Pam and Jason purchased the land (40 acres) in July 1999 and from November 1999 through to the end of 2001, approx. 2200 table and oil varieties were planted in three stages, along with extensive irrigation works. In 2004, they installed a 50kg per hour processing machine, but soon realized that we needed a much larger processing machine. So in time for the 2006 harvest, they installed a state-of-the-art 400kg per hour processing machine. .But on Saturday, February 7, 2009 their efforts and dreams, were destroyed by the Black Saturday fires – their homes, workshops, processing facilities and business, equipment, cars and tractors were reduced to rubble, and the olive trees and fruit were scorched. Some 12 days later, with a massive effort by a group of their friends, local people, and people they didn’t know, the irrigation system was restored, and they were able to water the damaged trees. Gradually the olive trees started shooting mainly from the base in the form of water shoots, but some not so badly scorched, re-grew leaves in the canopy. So in 2011 following the rain over the past 12 months, they had their first crop of olives – although a small one, since the fires. Just goes to show you how olives can be so resilient.

    We tasted heaps of lovely olive oils and olives and purchased bottles of olive oil and olives. Pamthen took us on a tour of the working area in the shed, it was very informative

    Melissa we did not get any for you but we can order them online and have some delivered.

    After our tasting and tour it was time to head back to our little house in the bush.

    Afternoon tea was now in order so I made doughnuts in the pie maker, they were scrumptious.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    The Viaduct in Malmsbury

    23 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ 🌧 8 °C

    Not a very pleasant morning cold and wet so we stayed in until 12ish when it started to clear and thought a little fresh air might be good.

     Whilst having breakfast we did have another visit from a local who also left us little presents right in the middle of the steps and chairs outside.

    John had researched a small village near us that sounded like it might be nice for a visit.

    It was so small you could blink and you would have passed through. It had a couple of shops but they were mostly closed.

     We drove to The Viaduct which is only 2 min from the town. The Viaduct is the largest stone bridge span in the southern hemisphere. The National Trust claim it is one of Victoria's most substantial engineering structures built in the 1800's. Construction started 1859 with the railway line opening in 1862.

    We then come back to our house were we stayed for the remainder of the day catching up on computer work and cooking corned beef purchased from the markets in Daylsford.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    The Mill

    24 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    The weather is so much better today so off to Castlemaine was the adventure today.

    First stop was the Castlemaine Wool Mill which was built in 1875 . The Mill now is transformed into a place for food, antiques and artisan manufacturing. We had coffee first and then walked around the antique markets, they were pretty cool. We could have purchased heaps of items but we refrained as we thought we really do not need anything else in our house at this stage.Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante
    Relaxing on our return train ride.

    Castlemaine

    24 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    We are now finding that steam trains are of interest. In John's research he came across Victoria Goldfields Railway which has a steam train ride twice a week going from Castlemaine to Maldon return. The ride takes 45 mins each way with an 90 mins stopover in Maldon. It was fun being in the train with the engine huffing and puffing and every so often the whistle blowing.

    Maldon was a cute historic village. We found a cafe with an interesting history and then walked around town before jumping back on the train for a return ride.    Leia mais

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  • We are Living the DreamVictorian Road Trip 2019Viajante

    Picnic at Hanging Rock

    25 de julho de 2019, Austrália ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    After a lazy morning of catching up on Trip Advisor reviews it was time for a picnic.

    Yes, a picnic at Hanging Rock and yes, The Hanging Rock.

    Hanging Rock is only a 20min drive from Kyneton and is worth the drive. We walked up the very steep pathway and then climbed stairs before more steep paths to some very hard steps to reach the summit of Hanging Rock. It was worth the walk. It has an eerie feeling about it especially being so overcast and cold.

    Hanging rock is a long extinct valcano, formed when lava blew through a vent in the earth 6 million years ago, and now rises 105 metres on the surrounding plain.

    We did not go missing like the schoolgirls in 1901 but I did re-enact a few scenes by walking into narrow ravines. To John's dissappointment I come out.

    After our walk to the summit we had lunch and we were joined by a number of friends, one was very hungry and even took a bite of John's finger.    Leia mais

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