Ballarat, Victoria March 13 - 15, 2009

This past weekend was our second International Teaching Fellow (ITF) weekend away.  Although there are several of us in the state of  Victoria, we all live quite far from one another so it's nice when we get together for these organized weekends.  This weekend we met up in Ballarat.

Although I still don't have a car it was easy for me to get to get to Ballarat via the VLine train. I actually walked to the train station from work on Friday.  Because I had a bit of time to kill between when I left work and when the train left Footscray Station I walked around Footscray and the Footscray market.  I wish I had taken some photos because it's quite different then any where else I've been in Melbourne.  It has a very large asian influence and there were some great food deals at the market.  I'll have to try to get back there for some grocery shopping in the near future and maybe take some pictures too.

Anyhow, the train arrived on time and while I had a ticket it is more of a commuter train for the first little while so I stood until we arrived at our first stop.  Thankfully enough people got off so I quickly got a seat.  The rest of the ride was uneventful.  I arrived at the Ballarat Train station about 1 hr and 7 min after I left Footscray.  I was greeted by Yvonne H from my host family.  The one thing that's so great about these ITF exchange weekends is that we are hosted by families that have been on exchange themselves.  Yvonne took me back to her home where I met her husband Barry.  Yvonne and Barry were great hosts and I was very comfortable in their home.  We chatted for a few hours over wine as we watched some Australian Rules Football.  I still don't have the game figured out but it was nice to learn a bit more about it from them.  I also think I vented a bit about what I've been going through at work.  It was a really nice evening for me because as a single person here in Australia I don't have much of an opportunity for real conversations with people.

On Saturday morning after a great breakfast Yvonne drove me down to Sovereign Hill to meet the group.  Ballarat is a gold mining town and Sovereign Hill represents conditions on Ballarat's early goldfields.  We were given an informative talk about what happened when gold was first discovered in the 1850s.  I learned that the gold is still being mined and there is actually more gold still under Ballarat today than what has been removed in the past fifty years.  After the information session we were free to roam the grounds.

Sovereign Hill

My first stop was at a gold pour demonstration.  The gold was heated (melted) to an extremely hot temperature and then poured into a block.  At today's prices there was close to $150,000 Australian  worth of gold being poured right in front of my eyes.

The pouring of the gold.

A few of the kids were allowed to hold the gold but none of the adults could touch it.  From the demonstration we went into a little store that had gold items for sale.  Jenn (from Ontario) bought a gold chain and told the man it was her birthday.  He then brought her back into the room and let her hold the gold.  I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time and I also went with her and her husband Chris.  Below is a picture of me holding over 3 kg  of gold with value of over $140,000 AUD.  (What I could have done with that if I could have snuck it out!)

Me holding a 3+kg gold brick with the demonstration guy from Sovereign Hill

(Like the plastic rain coat - it poured while we were there and I didn't have a coat with me)

From the gold pouring I headed to another presentation.  I then had a "Diggings" tour and learned a lot more about the times of the past.  The weather wasn't great but my tour guide was full of information so I'm glad I stayed out in the rain to listen to him.  I then wandered around the town for a bit.

I ran into some of the other ITFs and decided to get a ticket for the 12:40 Gold Mine Tour. While waiting for the tour I did a quick school lesson in the school and practiced writing with ink.  I wasn't that good at it but the teacher still gave me an A+!  I then headed to the mine tour.

Being claustrophobic I was a bit worried about what may happen when I travelled deep under group.  My heart started to race but in the end it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I learned more about gold digging, what life was like for the diggers and the children, and how their fortunes were made.  We were underground for close to 45 minutes but it was money well spent.

When I finally got back up from the mine I watched the tail end of the Red Coat Soliders presentation.  I then wandered around some more.  I checked out the bowling saloon, candle dipping, and sweet making.  I successfully panned for gold in the river and I went in and out of the stores on Main Street.  I enjoyed a lamb stew Aussie pie from the bakery.  I then went across the street to check out the Gold Museum.  It too was very interesting.

After I was done with the museum I headed back to Sovereign Hill.  This time I checked out the self guided mine tour.  I went down on my own and it was pretty spooky.  Again though there was more information to learn so I'm glad I went.  I saw a few more presentations on sight and then it was time to meet up with Monica (a teacher from Port Coquitlam) and Ake (her husband)  as they were taking me to the BBQ.

Inside Red Hill Mine

We left Sovereign Hill around 5 pm and made our way to our gourmet BBQ at the home of Helen and Brian.  We were given BBQ kangaroo and crocodile to try and then enjoyed a full feast of salads (over ten varieties) and bbq meats (chicken, sausages, and kangaroo steaks).  The Kangaroo tasted a lot like  lean beef and the crocodile had the texture of chicken and the taste of chicken and fish combined.  It was a great spread.

At the BBQ we met many other Ballarat teachers and families that had been on exchange.  We also had to share with the group one good thing we liked about our experiences so far.  I talked about how much I enjoy these weekends away because as a single I look forward to having the opportunity to talk and visit with people.  As independent as I am it's been really tough being on my own almost all the time.  Having the company was such a treat.

After the ITFs spoke a ton of desserts were served.  Of course to not hurt anyones feelings I tried them ALL!!  

Over all it was a very successful day.  I stuck around for a bit longer talking with present teaching fellows and former teaching fellows.  By around 10:30 Yvonne drove me back to her home where I had a great sleep.

This morning Barry and Yvonne took me on a driving tour of Ballarat as we headed to meet up with the group at the Wild Life park.  I took a couple of pictures at the lake in Ballarat (Lake Wendouree) and as you can see in the photo below there is no water in the lake -yet another sign of how dry it is here in Victoria, Australia.  They also took me to a look out point.

Ballarat Lake (with out any water in it)

A shot of Ballarat from the look out on the hill.

We then continued our journey to the Wildlife Park.  Because this weekend was arranged by the Ballarat Exchange teachers we did not have to pay an entrance fee for Sovereign Hill or the Wild Life Park.

The Wild Life Park was a great way to spend the morning.  I saw kangaroos, wombats, emus, koalas, and many other animals up close and personal.  I was able to pet and feed kangaroos.  In addition has was able to touch wombats, emus, and koalas.  Below are a few of the pictures I took today.

Some of many of the kangaroos walking freely in the park.

Me feeding a kangaroo.

The Koalas up in a tree but not too far away.  I had a Koala up close to me too and I was able to pet it.  Apparently it's against the law to hold one here in Victoria.

A happily sleeping wombat.

The most poisonus land snake in the world. Thank goodness it was behind glass.

After I was done exploring the Wild Life Park Jenn and Chris were kind enough to drive me right back to my place in Melbourne.  It was another great weekend and once again I'm so glad that I was able to take part in the fun.  As I type this blog I plan to be in town next weekend and I hope to catch some more of the sight around Melbourne.  The following weekend I'm off to Canberra, Australian Territority and then it's FINALLY school holidays and I'll off to New Zealand for almost two weeks.  When I land back in Melbourne after being in New Zealand my DAD will be waiting for me at the airport.  I can't wait to see him!

In the mean time have a great week everyone.  This week we have our school picnic.  The weather isn't as nice as it once was (we are finally seeing some much needed rain) but then again it may end up being warm enough for shorts.  The weather here really is nuts and you just don't know what you're going to get.

Keep in touch.  It's tough being here on my own when school isn't as much fun as I'd like it to be.  I'm surviving of course but it isn't all that it's cracked up to be.