Exploring Bendigo

After dropping Galina at Melbourne airport on Sunday, I drove myself and the trailer to Bendigo. It was a pretty easy drive and I enjoyed the views along the way. I cannot put into words just how much I've loved getting back behind the wheel, even if I do have to drive an automatic. Several downpours of rain tried to ruin the fun, but I made it into the town centre in good spirits. I found a free carpark and attempted to collect keys for our apartment. They wouldn't be ready until 2pm so I had a few hours to explore.

First, I wandered through Rosalind Park. Even though it was pretty chilly, it was a lovely walk. I climbed up to the top of a Poppet Head and enjoyed the view across my new home for the next fortnight. Heading next to the visitor centre, a lovely lady let me use the toilet and I read about the Talking Trams operated here.

The walk to the Central Deborah Mine/Tram Stop wasn't too long. I arrived in time to catch the 12.30 tram. It was a beautifully renovated carriage and I enjoyed the tour through the CBD and back. Along the way, we passed Charing Cross and Alexandra Fountain, Lake Weeroona, Tysons Reef and Joss House. We also hopped off at the Tram Depot for a quick tour of the workshop, a look underneath a tram and a stroke of Birney, their feline mascot.

I had planned to walk back to collect keys but then it started to rain. I stayed at Central Deborah until the next tram and read all about gold mining in the area. Then it was time to board and go pick up keys. This carriage was so cool, it was decorated in a modern way. All yellows, greys and greens with armchairs, sofas and barstools, as well as coat-hangers in replacement of hand straps. I was supposed to get off at Charing Cross, but it was really raining now and I couldn't be bothered to get wet. Besides, the armchair was super comfy.

I finally got off the tram and fetched the keys to our accommodation. I had purchased a two day travel pass so was looking forward to using it again on my day off. For now, it was back to the car. I found Cathedral Heights easily enough, but parking the trailer was fun. I gave up after 20mins and just left it.

The place is pretty nice and has two sizeable bedrooms, a fireplace, WiFi and a spa bath. What more could I ask for? It's going to be so odd when I go back to staying in hostels. I unpacked, choosing one of the single beds, and decided to use the bath. Bliss. I spent the rest of the evening cooking dinner, watching E.T and waiting for my new team to arrive.

Erika and Jasmine seem lovely, and I was looking forward to working with them. Unlike the last group of three, we would only all be working together once. But first, another day off and more time to explore!

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I awoke pretty early this morning so I could Skype Dad on his birthday. As always, it was lovely to see him, Mum and Ben. We had a good chat and a catch up. I can't believe it's basically summer now for them. I really need to move back to some sun soon, it's just doesn't seem right that English weather is better than mine right now!

My plan for the day was to use my tram pass and visit the attractions along route properly. It was quite bright this morning, but very cold. The others had gone to work and I assumed had taken the door key. Luckily, I realised I could sneak out the back door. I made the most of the clear skies and walked into town.

Back past the Visitor Centre and to the park. Here, I found some very odd looking trees making a massive racket. Looking up into the branches I could see what I assumed were hundreds of fruit bats. Turns out they were flying foxes! All just chilling upside down in the trees. Awesome. I was so busy staring up at them, and not watching where I was going, that I ended up in the Chinese Garden. This was lovely, with bright colours, stone dragons and fancy sculptures.

In order to reach the Deborah Mine on time, I headed back up along the main street. The sun was pretty high now, but there was still a chill to the air. I arrived just before 10.45, the Underground Adventure Tour I had hoped to join started at 11am. At that time there was only me with my name down. The lovely ladies asked me to hang around to see if there were any others. The tour had to have a minimum of 2.

11 o'clock came and went, and no-one else appeared. Luckily, a group then called and asked to go down at 2pm. This worked out perfectly for me. I filled in my paperwork, chose my drink and ordered my Cornish pasty. I now had a few hours to do the Surface Tour and visit Joss House while the weather was still okay.

Bendigo discovered the largest amount of gold in the whole of the state of Victoria, a whopping 700,000kg of the stuff. The Central Deborah alone mined 929kg. That's worth $53million at today's prices. Amazing. The self-guided tour allowed me to visit the original changing rooms, engine rooms and first aid room from when the mine was in use. The mine itself was one of the last commercial mines to close in Bendigo, in 1954. It has been opened for tourism since the seventies.

I tried panning for gold, but was unsuccessful. Shame, would have been nice to find myself a little nugget or two. The tram conductor announced the 12 noon tram across the tannoy and so I raced back through to get on it.

It was back to the Tram Depot again, I stayed inside this time to treat myself to a hot chocolate. Birney was nowhere to be seen so I chatted to the conductor. He wanted to know about any tram systems in the UK, I don't think I was very helpful. Back on board and over to Joss House. Here, myself and a couple from Lancashire hopped off.

We were greeted by a very jolly, chatty man who was delighted to meet a few "poms". We paid our entry and a lovely lady called Kay gave us a tour. The Joss House was a Chinese temple, constructed in the 1870s. It is the oldest Chinese place of worship outside of China. They were currently in the process of stripping the red paint that had been used to "brighten it up" in 1970. A plastic based paint and it was starting to rot the brick.

We were told several stories of successful visits to the temple by locals. One couple had been trying for a child for years, and decided to visit Guan Yin (the Chinese goddess of compassion and protector of children). Ten months later they returned with their baby daughter. Now, I'm pretty cynical but that's one hell of a coincidence.

Unfortunately, the tour guide was so thorough and the temple so fascinating, that we missed the next tram. I couldn't be bothered to wait around, so I patted the entrance lions for luck and started my walk back. It was a nice easy route, I just had to follow the tram lines. Once I made it to the main road, I heard a familiar noise. I turned to see the tram trundle past and saw the conductor give me a little wave.

I didn't have long now until my mining adventure. I decided to stop off at the apartment and grab a long-sleeved top just in case. Even though I was told earlier I didn't have to arrive until 2 o'clock, I didn't want to be late. I hot footed it back out to the mine and got there with enough time for a quick wee and to slip my top on. There were eight of us on the tour, a family of five, their grandparents, and me. We met our guide, Jezz, at reception and headed out to get dressed and ready.

First, we had to change into some overalls, I got a very fetching navy pair that fitted alright. Next came boots, apparently I'm a size 8 here? Finally, we were all given a hard hat. I flung my camera around my neck and tucked my phone into my pocket. Time to go underground. Jezz took us to grab a head torch, attached to our hats with battery packs around our waist. It was dangerous down there, and from here on it was compulsory to have a light source.

We wouldn't be using the mine shafts to descend down to Level 2, but a new lift introduced to allow large tourist groups. It took us 90seconds to get down to 61m below ground. In the original miners' cage, it would have taken less time to plummet down to Level 15, 363m below ground. Still, I know which I'd prefer. Level 2 had been adapted a lot since the Bendigo Council had purchased it. The drives and crosscuts had been widened to allow better airflow.

Jezz asked if any of us had been underground before. The family, being from another mining area, had and so I too said yes. I mean, I've been to the Black Country Museum loads of times and I'm pretty sure that has a mine. This was definitely the deepest I had been though, and it was a lot warmer than I thought it would be. It was also eerily quiet. Being a hard quartz mine, it was pretty sturdy and a lot safer than a coal mine for example. They didn't have to worry about toxic gases and could use candles and carbine lamps.

We followed a quartz reef down and saw where a cross cut had been made at the centre ground. Story goes, they had began to set charges and hollow out the area on Level 2, when gold was discovered on Levels 8 and 9 and all men were sent down to help. They never worked on Level 2 again. It has since been found that they'd stopped 10m short of a windfall.

We learned about the laminated reefs and spurs and good indicators for gold. Jezz showed us lots of fool's gold, three different types in fact. We also had a quick nosey around the function room, where we would be returning for dinner. It was the only hirable underground one in Australia and had been used for operas, amongst many other things, because of the fantastic acoustics.

Now was time to climb down the ladders to Level 3, at 85m underground. There were two sets, and a gradual decline between them. Miners were clever and worked downhill to allow an easier flow of rubble to below. This did mean there were large holes cut into the rock, with no warning. You wouldn't have wanted to fall down there! Surprisingly, there had only been one death at Central Deborah. A man called Possum, who had been testing the rock when, out of nowhere, a large lump of quartz broke free and crushed him.

Level 3 had not been touched by the council, we were experiencing it exactly as the miners had. It was actually a lot more spacious than I had imagined. Jezz showed us some real gold, you could see it glimmering in the quartz. This was behind glass, but later we would have the opportunity to have a fossick amongst the rubble. A few of the original miners were still alive and in Bendigo and shared how they would steal gold, and get away with it. Although an official would check all clothing and hats for any stolen bits, they never checked lamps. And so, men would sometimes smuggle gold out through their carbine lamps. Good on 'em.

Our last treat Level 3 was to operate a rock drill, we needed ear muffs for this as it was loud! I was the last to have a go, you had to hold on the handle with both hands, flick the switch on and then off again. The vibrations alone were insane. Jezz said I was a natural. Apparently it would take a full 30-40mins to drill deep enough for setting charges. I had only handled it for 10secs and could feel a mini headache coming on.

Back up to Level 2, suprisngly I was fine climbing back up the ladders. It was time for our traditional miner's lunch. This was a "Cornish Pasty", with meat and veg at one end and stewed apple at the other. It was delicious! It seemed so weird to be eating in a perfectly good sized room, on a chair, at a table, underground. Finally, with the pasties finished, it was time to get back to the lift. Going up, I noticed teddies on the walls of the shaft. This was apparently to help visiting children calm down and keep them distracted. The lift was quite loud, with a jump at both ends, what a lovely idea to help the kids.

We emerged to see the sun beginning to set and the mine closing up for the night. We had been underground for nearly 3hrs. It had been advertised at 2.5, so I think I got my money's worth. We changed back into our clothes and thanked Jezz. It had been a fascinating day and I feel like I learned a lot. Not just about the mine, but also about the community, the culture, and the prosperity that followed with the first discovery of the Bendigo Goldfield back in 1851.