Vaughan Springs
Tucked in the hills a mere 14kms south of Castlemaine, Vic is the tiny, wee hamlet of Vaughan Springs. This was once a gold mining area and a young lad by the name of Jim Paull was working in the … Continue reading Vaughan Springs
Category: Vic
Pennyweight Flat Children’s Cemetery
Not far from Castlemaine’s Forest Creek Diggings is the Pennyweight Flat Children’s Cemetery. There can be no more stark a reminder of how difficult life would have been for a gold mining family in the nineteenth century than this stark … Continue reading Pennyweight Flat Children’s Cemetery
Forest Creek Gold Diggings
The Forest Creek Gold Diggings between Castlemaine and Chewton, Vic has an informative walk to help visitors understand how gold was extracted in days gone by. Alluvial gold was first panned in the 1850’s in the creek here before the … Continue reading Forest Creek Gold Diggings
Love Handles
At Happy Hour I complain that I’ve put on weight and now have love handles. “Oh” says my friend ‘S’ “I thought they were for the carers to pick us up by!” Continue reading Love Handles
The Australian Magpie not just a pretty face
Nov 2017 Police Paddocks, Rutherglen They say that magpies have incredible memories and can remember a person who treated them badly twenty years ago. They are territorial creatures and they certainly do know and respond to the humans who live … Continue reading The Australian Magpie not just a pretty face
Upon Reflection
Upon reflection, I doubt that many would want a repeat of 2017. Dec 2017 While we sat in tranquility at Vaughan Springs breathing in the warm country air a storm crossed high above us, in the very tops of the trees and continued on to Melbourne to drop heavy rain and cause havoc. In the morning we woke to perfect reflections on the still waters of the small weir, passed pleasantries with our neighbours, played on the kids slide and watched insects water ski on the weir. May your 2018 be tranquil. Continue reading Upon Reflection
Anticlinal Fold
Now there’s a word that doesn’t come into daily use. Woody is used to hitting the brakes when I shout “What the hell is that?” But this bit of rock took us by surprise. We weren’t quite sure what it was but gee we’re glad we saw it. The plaque reads: Anticlinal Fold This fine exhibit was discovered when Lyttleton Street East was constructed in 1874. Saddle reefs occur in similar folds of the sandstones and slates on lower geological horizons. Continue reading Anticlinal Fold
Castlemaine Botanic Gardens
Dating back to the 1860’s and designed by Baron Von Mueller (the designer of Melbourne’s Botanic Gardens) the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens give shady respite from the summer sun. Lake Joanna, excavated by inmates from the local gaol, is a centre … Continue reading Castlemaine Botanic Gardens
A Caravan Christmas
This morning I finished cleaning the van and hopefully found the last of the tiny pink prawn feelers that hide in grooves and corners just waiting to stink to high heaven. Yep we’re home and ready to go again, when the time and weather is right. With Christmas festivities fulfilled early this year we decided to embark on a Caravan Christmas. Having pleasant but hazy memories of what was to be forever deemed ‘Christmas at Sea’ back in ‘1980 something’ when we tied our trailable yacht to the Paynesville boat ramp jetty and set about cooking and feasting (in a … Continue reading A Caravan Christmas
Fill ‘er Up
The historic town of Maldon in Central Victoria with its flagstone footpaths and deep granite gutters was a forgotten town for many years. Thankfully being bypassed for a while preserved Maldon’s village feel for the enjoyment of future generations. Pretty little shops, miner’s cottages with rambling old world gardens and this old garage with kerbside (and for safety’s sake, modern) pumps. Continue reading Fill ‘er Up
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