We woke this morning with the realization that this would be our last full day Down Under. Sniff, sniff.
But the fun isn’t over yet, no sirree! We set off early this morning with Mum and Dad to head to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat. Dad handed me a walkie-talkie so we could keep in touch between cars, which worked out well for getting the all-clear to overtake etc. Dad also used it to announce our arrival in “Fluff Off” (a.k.a Linton, a childhood joke that has endured.) We stopped briefly in Hamilton en route to look for another suitcase to balance out our heavy bags (no luck) and to grab a coffee for the road. (It was my first time in a McCafe, and apart from the appalling slow service, I have to say it was much better than I expected it to be.) We arrived in Ballarat around lunchtime and headed straight to Myers to find a supplemental bag, which we found this time. And then we drove to Sovereign Hill. The parking lot at Sovereign Hill was chock-a-block full when we arrived. I tried to get into one spot, but it was way too tight, so Dad and I both just parked to the side while we went and checked in. When we returned to the cars, a couple of parking spots had opened up so we grabbed them Mine was a bit of a tight squeeze and it took a bit of maneuvering, but I got in no problems. We dropped our bags into our rooms and hit the historic town proper. First stop — the bakery for lunch. We then spent the time wandering around the village, taking in the sights and sounds. It’s been years and years since my last visit here, but it still looks good. At mid afternoon we paused at the New York Hotel for afternoon tea. And this being our last afternoon tea on Australia soil, we had to get he classic Devonshire tea, which I duly recorded for today’s photo. Part of the Sovereign Hill package we bought included an evening meal at the Charlie Napier Hotel before the Light and Sound show. I won’t spoil it for others who have not seen this show, but if you haven’t, I highly recommend it. After the show, we all returned to our room for a cuppa and then June and I settled down to wrestle with the problem of our overweight suitcases and how to redistribute the weight with the bag that we bought today. At around midnight we thought we had it all sorted out. Between the 3 bags that will go as checked luggage and June’s carry-on, the weights seem about right. Would we get through check-in with having to pay excess baggage fees? Fingers crossed!