Our Trip to Bendigo in Three Stories

It had been ages since we went anywhere for an overnight trip together, that is the reality for someone with a spouse who works on weekends. So my excitement was unbounded when we could make an overnight trip to Bendigo. Here are three stories from our trip.

Those are not fruits hanging from the trees, but bats. We were walking through Rosalind Park, a big park in the centre of the town when I heard some noises and wondered what sort of bird would be making such sounds. I looked up and saw so many bats on the trees! I had a Batman moment, specifically 'when he fell into a well full of bats when he was younger' Batman moment. I was terrified, and we avoided that area of the park after that.


Our visit to the Central Deborah Mine just minutes from the CBD was most educational. We paid $30 each to join a tour that took us to Level 7 (why don't they call it Level -7, that would have been more accurate!). I think the deepest is Level 22 in the mine. We learnt many things that day, among them were about the conditions the miners worked in, the dangers of working in a mine, and the astonishing fact that it only takes the discovery of a tablespoon of gold to break even for the whole mine. After the tour, we climbed up that tower in the picture where the combination of too much walking over the two days and my fear of heights made my legs cramp up. What's funny was a small child and her father was also climbing the tower, and they were looking at me with a mixture of pity and disbelief.

 This was the view of the centre of town from our table where we had lunch. We could see the Talking Tram waiting for the lights to turn, and the fountain which brought back memories of Europe for me. We were waiting quite a bit for our food, which was why I had plenty of time to snap randomly away. The waiter was probably feeling a bit resentful and frazzled at being the only staff on the floor on a public holiday. We heard cutlery banging away in the kitchen, our orders were mixed up, and when our orders were finally right, it was delivered to the wrong table before it landed on ours. We were as frustrated as the waiter, who banged on the counter without warning (probably beating himself up over his mistake) which made us both jump up in our seats. Penalty rates... aren't they great?

We met many tourists during our stay in Bendigo, who were there for the Easter parade and festivities. Bendigo has certainly transformed itself into a busy town. I hope it will continue to prosper and be even more exciting for tourists in the future.