Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizah
I have been to Melbourne zoo and while it was really good I am not a great lover of zoos in general due to the more confined spaces the animals are kept in but I have to admit Melbourne seem to give their animals more space than any zoo in the UK do.
I plan to visit Ballarat soon for the gold mining history side of things so I will make a point of doing the wildlife park at the same time.
My partner is really looking forward to the summer so that she can fulfil one of her life dreams and that is to swim with dolphins, when we were in spain last year she swam with seals which she loved very much, but to swim with dolphins will make her smile for the rest of her life I think :)
Australia so far has been everything everyone told me it would be as far as wildlife goes.
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If you go to Ballarat make sure you visit Sovereign Hill. It is a re-creation of the goldfields of the 1850's. It is very well done and not overly commercial. I don't know if you have kids but they enjoy panning for gold in the creek (and so do adults). You might find nothing or a few specks of gold. Sometimes they put in bigger gold nuggets. There is a school where the kids can sit in on a class from the era and they get to write will real ink, complete with cane weilding teacher. The main street has is very interesting with the old stores and businesses of the time. You could easily spend half a day there or a full day even especially if you enjoy history. My kids were also amazed at the recreation of the houses of the goldfields - how they had a family living in just 2 rooms. There is accommodation at Soveriegn Hill that you can stay at also if you want do the the 'night show'. Word of warning - it gets busy during the school holidays and weekends. We went during the winter school holidays last year and it was busy but not unbearably so. You can drive easily or you can get on the train at Southern Cross Station and it takes you to Ballarat where they transfer you to Soverieign Hill on the bus. Also it gets cold in Ballarat - colder than Melbourne so rug up. The art gallery in Ballarat is excellent also and there is also a wildlife park there but I haven't been there.
Also if you know anyone who has the 'Gold Entertainment Book' that they sell at schools you can get a two for one admission ticket.