Friends, Australians, Countryfolk lend me your ears
Well your eyes would probably be better....
Today we explored a little further afield, but not in great detail. We had a bit of a look around
Castlemaine and decided we should probably camp somewhere close by and have a more detailed look, as there appear to be many fine old buildings worth seeing. We were interested to see that the facade of an old building (1918) was maintained in Moystn Street, although I can think of a more noble occupant than the IGA supermarket!
We were keen to take a trip on the steam train that runs between Castelmaine and Maldon unfortunately it has been replaced by a diesel loco during the fire season. We were considering a return trip $35 each in economy. Simon also liked the sound of the "
Driver Experience" Billed as
Regualtor King Package
For 1 Person
The day is all yours!!
You'll meet your friendly crew who will take you
through the process of preparing the locomotive and putting together a
typical freight train. Once all safety checks are complete, you’ll
depart for Castlemaine and get to experience controlling the train both
descending and climbing the steep hills of the Victorian Goldfields
Railway.
After turning the locomotive on Castlemaine turntable, you’ll enjoy a
relaxing lunch with the crew before driving the train back to Maldon.
This Experience is for Everyone!
The Steam Driver Experience is for those who enjoy the sights and
sounds of a steam locomotive. You need no previous railway knowledge or
experience - we will teach you the basics of driving a steam locomotive.
If you are over 21 and of reasonable health and fitness - this experience is for you.
for the princely sum of $1750 incl GST, you do get lunch (I would want lobster) and a years membership of the Preservation Society - needless to say we passed on the train driving experience!
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| Detail on the "mothers seat" |
We lunched and coffeed, checked out the visitor information centre, camping shop, Victory Park and drove around. There was a good view of town from the Bourke and Wills memorial, but the light wasn't right for a photo (next time). The festival starts this weekend and there was evidence of preparations with displays going up around town and programs available by their hundreds, looks good.
I haven't mentioned that Simon purchased a new phone, he has had it almost a week and is starting to master it, although there is lots of grumbling as he hits the wrong on-screen keys with his fat fingers. Hey is now on the prowl for a stylus. I have been driving since he bought the gizmo, so that he can play with it in the car, considerate girl that I am! He was delighted to get an email via The Giz advising him that his camera was "being dispatched" he took this to mean sent home to SA. So he promptly sent a text message to my daughter Madeline to advise her to be on the look out and received a response "who is this", you had to be there, so fumble fingered he typed out the response. She now has his number or her new phone also!
We have been deciding the best route to travel home, having decided we will arrive there next Wednesday. I had emailed Peter a HelpX host back in February but had not heard anything in return, so sent an email today suggesting we might now not be able to do a mini Helpx but would call in for a cuppa. To our surprise we received a call, he has had email problems and has asked us to come which we will for a few days. Due to the change of plans with the farmstay helpx at Easter (see Day243) if we didn't catch up with Peter this trip it would be sometime in the future. I should explain that Peter asked us to be helpers before we set out in June and has been corresponding with us regularly. We are interested to see his permaculture property, sounds inspiring, so we arrive Friday yay!
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| Bourke and Wills Memorial |
Night Folks
Susan
