Saturday
Find it rather hard to have positive thoughts at night after the ghost tour .....
in fact could not sleep well!!!hahaha
We started our trip early morning... yes, temperature going up and we are glad to escape to the cool mountain.
Coffee stop midday
love this- drink your coffee with chocolate... yummylicious and yes it was dark chocolate..
entering Ghost Town now......
the surroundings were quiet and seemed like we were the only one going along the road.....
Walhalla is about 133 km from east of Melbourne city and take about 2 hours drive. Gold was discovered in this deep valley on 26/12/1862 by Ned Stringer. During the boom period from 1863 until 1914, the settlement was one of the richest gold areas in Australia and there were over 3,500 residents but now there are only about 20 permanent residents, but the figures could be more on weekends with families visiting back here, for example our guide for the ghost tour was a 4th generation and he came back on weekends to conduct the tour.
There is even a barrister office and dental clinic in the town.
Our accommodation -the elegant boutique Star Hotel which was refurnished and re-opened in 1999.
The original Star hotel built in 1873 was destroyed by fire caused by a faulty hot water service (not sure whether there were any deaths). However we can only check in after 2 pm as the door was locked. The facade is a replica of the original intricate ironworks..
So we went to next door... the GreyHorse cafe which premises was formerly a barn.
their popular pies and sausage rolls...and coffee of course.
Opposite the GreyHorse Cafe is the Band Rotunda.
The bank is an important form of entertainment for the miners on weekends.
The guide told us that people staying at the Star Hotel have reported hearing sounds of band playing in the night!! (so tell me, how can I have a peaceful sleep after hearing that?)
People Choice Award winning Hotel..
Do you know that there are other "Walhalla" around the world?
Walhalla meaning "the Valley of Gods"
As we were checking in, we were told by the guy that there have been an accident at the train station. Apparently one of the service men's leg was caught by the engines and had to be taken by helicopter to the hospital!! What a nasty accident and we were told most probably there will be no train service tomorrow. This is the steam train goes around the mountains of Walhalla.
Our room could open to this small garden.
big high ceiling rooms with air-con...a blessing as it cut off the noise and the creepies crawlies
Ferrero Rocher -sweet welcome
bright spacious toilets..
After refreshing ourselves, we decided to take a walk around ..
part of the fireplace of the Junction Hotel ...
socalled because it was located at the junction of the road
remaining wall of the Junction Hotel.
Most of the houses were either pulled down and shipped to other towns while some were abandoned as the mine closed down and people started to move away.
The guide told us that some purposely burnt down their houses to claim insurance from the government before they left. Later they were not allow to claim anything unless they re-built the house on the same spot... what a smart move by the government.
This is one of most successful gold mine -over 13 tonnes were produced in this mine until it closed in 1914!
The building on the right is the school and this is area where most people were able to capture aparitions on photographs during the Ghost tour!! We did not take any photographs at all during the tour ... guess it is not our Chinese habit to do so. The children have a hard life and infant mortality rate was high too... imagine walking in cold winter to the school and there are as many children's graves as there are adults in the cemetery.
inside the ticketing office .... beautiful tea-towels.
the crusher.... how the rocks are crush before they can find the specks of gold within.
Now its helmets we have to take when ready to go down the tunnel. I can imagine the miners getting their cap and a candle for their shift!
We were given these gauze caps to wear beneath the helmets ... for cleanliness sake!
ready to go inside the bowels of the earth
dank wet underground tunnel which extended to a depth of 923 metres below to the machinery chamber which is some 150 metres below the natural surface. The machinery chamber where the gold is separated and the melted down. There is an inclined air shaft which was driven out to the side of the mountain which we saw later at night during the Ghost tour as we had climbed up the path on the side of the mountain where the horses carried the heavy load. The horses were lowered down the shaft with all legs tied together and there, they will stay to work until they died. Really such pitiful lives for the animals as well.
Mr. Richard demonstrating how the miners drilled the holes in the rock wall.....lots of accidents could happened when the hammer hit the hands instead of the iron rod which the other person is holding. Don't forget that the miners did not have electricity at that time and only one candle is all they have for a shift!
The tour took about 45 minutes and we were glad to be back in the open air.
One last look ....
Walhalla Fire Station...
the Lolly Shop...
old David Bowie poster
this is the bank vault where gold were stored
the General store
the Walhalla pub.
The Star Hotel also offers breakfast and dinner as well. Best to make reservations before dinner otherwise could be fully booked for the weekend.
the postmaster living quarters
We went back to hotel shortly
wood heater
you can borrow the cds and books from the hotel.
having a cuppa of tea in the classic living room
free coffee and tea and chocolates......
Thomson River Bridge - part of the railway trail.
When the river floods, the water would reach the bottom of the lattice girder.
There were some camping grounds nearby as well.
The nearest towns are Rawson and Erica. These are small townships and we could not find any nice restaurants in Rawson and finally managed to find this general store in Erica that was still opened.
the dining area and the other side is the general store and post-office.
knick-knacks for sale..
pre-loved books for sale...
Ice-cold original Australian made Ginger Beer...
Full tummies and happy faces.
After dinner, its time to drive back to Walhalla. My sister had bought tickets for the Ghost Tour, a night tour around Walhalla. We gather at the General Store by 8pm. There is small museum attached to the store and you can find a lot of the article from the "golden" age. The guide was a 4th (or was it the 6th generation and I cannot recall his name!) of the printing store. There were 12 of us that night and we were each given a LED light lantern and soon on the way out. Now this is the only place in Walhalla where you walk in the middle of the road without any fear of traffic on a Saturday night. As the guide led us through the township, he related to us stories of the lives and hardship of the early settlers and also the testimonies of witnesses to the ghostly aparitions as well.
This place is so famous and interesting. I would get goosebumps all the way there. I might have to think twice before going to Ghost Town. Wooooooooooo!
ReplyDeleteHi Elaine, the Ghost town and the tour do sound very interesting. My imaginative mind will surely play tricks on me in the middle of the night! Ha ha...so did you get to sleep soundly after the night tour?
ReplyDeleteHi, I felt nervous after the tour because strange place as well so can't sleep properly.
ReplyDelete