I must be back on the mainland… it’s furkin pouring with rain again. Unbelievable!
We disembarked at around 6:45. A quick check of the map and I was off. We arrived in Melbourne peak-hour which concerned me a little, but it didn’t take long to get to the motorway and the run against the traffic was a doddle.
Mount Macedon, roughly 100km north of Melbourne, was the first stop. First impression – you’ve got to be very well-off to live up there. The place home to many mansion, mostly heritage, massive gardens (no doubt kept by private staff). I believe this used to be the destination of Victorian pollies when they were out of session – not sure about now though.
I was getting hungry as I only had a banana on the ferry for breaky, so I was hunting for a café. My problem was that it was still very early in the morning. A quick Google sent me to “Top of the Range Tea Rooms” – no luck there, but I didn’t really expect they’d be open. It gave me an excuse to ride the mountain anyway.
So, on to Hanging Rock – of the picnic fame. Ellie is a real fan (I liked it, but not as much) so I felt compelled to pay a visit.
Not surprisingly, it’s in a pay-for-entry park managed by the local parks service. Again, since it was so early (and with rain) the place was deserted. The gates were open though so in I went. The café was closed (bugger), so I drove around a little which drew the attention of the local Ranger. We parked up alongside each other and just nattered about the park, my trip, his visit to WA, etc. – a nice bloke. He gave me suggestions about my onward journey to Ballarat. A quick photo and I left.
The rocks themselves are impressive, but not from the carpark. They’ll need a good walking over when Ellie & I return.
I stopped at Woodend for breaky (at last), then moved on. It was still raining, and the radar wasn’t looking good. I was told by the Ranger (and later Diesel) to stop at Daylesford and walk around, but the thought of a good soaking didn’t appeal. As I pulled into Ballarat the rain eased a little to just a drizzle.
While I had originally planned to stay a night, my new thinking was to have a quick look around (since the rain eased) then press on to the south coast. I paid a visit to the Museum of Australian Democracy. It mainly covers the Eureka Stockade in 1854 (on that site, where the gold miners rebelled against the government), but also touched on other stories of human rights, discrimination, etc. Lots of interactive digital displays.
All good. And of course, the original flag.
Ok – time to escape the rain. I headed south. After about 30mins I realised I was actually riding towards the rain. I stopped and checked the weather radar. Sure enough, Ballarat was mostly clear for the remainder of the day and the south coast was headed for the dumping. Not a place to try to set up a tent. So, I did a u-turn and pitched at Ballarat.
So, I’ll have a good look around the town tomorrow before heading for the must-do Great Ocean Road tomorrow.