Day 5: From Knights in the Castle to Diggers in the Dirt...

After an absolutely dreamy sleep in the most comfortable bed ever (and for those who know how much I’ve travelled, you will be aware just how many beds I’ve rested in by way of comparison!), we headed outside to check out the grounds of the castle… and within a few steps we ran into some torture equipment (could they per chance be for management of my children’s behaviour??!) then up a few stairs and we were entering the maze. Then came a roam through the Dragon’s Labyrinth and a climb up to the graveyard to have a few chuckles at the ‘headstone’ inscriptions. Next stop was more torture equipment where the boys literally took turns in stretching each other out on the rack… yes, LITERALLY! With wrists secured in ropes each brother took turns in ‘winching’ the other up until their feet bore no weight… I am not sure how I feel about seeing those delightful grins and glints in the eyes as they inflicted great discomfort on one another… hmmmm.

The torture museum and dungeon proved insightful with even Mark and I learning about some gruesome forms of pain infliction that we had never heard of. Interestingly however, Bryn wasn’t scared by any of the exhibit included ‘frights’ but I did elicit a leap of about 1m when I discretely rapped one of the door knockers right behind him! I know, I know, what a mean mum!

After an impromptu bit of parkour (not sure that was what the purpose of the boulders were, but heh! – does it matter???) we visited the animals including goats, sheep, chickens and some hairy highland cows.

It was then time to take our place in the amphitheatre to watch the arena show – a series of medieval conquests with knights, royalty and jesters engaged in jousting (and a whole heap of other contests which I don’t know the name of) and hand to hand combat. The banter from the actors in the crowd made it all the more entertaining.

Having seen most of what was on offer at the castle, we then drove into town to Sovereign Hill to begin our goldfield adventure. We started by looking in one of the miners tents where we were lucky enough to find a lady preparing damper that had just come off the fire burning in the tent…. with a dob of butter and a drop of golden syrup it was moist and beautiful (and ever so much more appetising in appearance than the broiled pork and veges that had also just come off the fire!). The boys were amazed to discover that babies slept in the bottom drawer and kids slept on straw on the floor…

It was then time for the ‘diggings tour’ which was led by a very charismatic man who was very energised and animated as he told us many a tale - about life as a digger right through to how and why mining companies were formed and which streets in Ballarat had sink holes in progress. His story was not only educational but also entertaining. We then had a quick pan for gold and found one small speck before heading off to watch the sweet making demonstration. The smell was amazing (lime, sugar and citric acid) and it was quite incredible to see how quickly the toffee set and then, within minutes to have the fresh, still warm, boiled lollies sitting atop my tastebuds.

Across the road we watched the ‘battery’ (a series of ramming hammers) as they ground quartz down to enable the gold to be separated from it. This part of Sovereign Hill is still in operation.

A quick walk up the hill and we just made the wheelwrighting demonstration of the various stages of making a wagon wheel. It was a sensory delight to smell the freshly turned woodshavings and I was amazed to find out that once formed the hub must dry slowly over a 2-3 year period (or longer for larger wheels) so that it doesn’t split. The other thing I learned about was why the top of the spoke (and the throat of a hammer) is narrowed… it creates a ‘shock absorber’ of sorts as the narrower wood can vibrate/move more and the air can ‘absorb’ some of the shock created by impact (something like that anyway!).

A quick stop in at the school house was next where the teacher watched as we dipped our quills in the inkpots and tried to form script letters. We did all manage to get something legible down but thank goodness for blotting paper! I did also have a moment of ‘thankfulness’ to my one year of primary education in Howard, QLD where I learned the old fashioned form of ‘running writing’ – never did I think that skill would ever be used again!

Up to the candleworks where the boys dipped their own rainbow candles and then it was time to head off.

Our last experience of the day was one we accidently stumbled upon. Mark and Khi had actually walked through the exit gates and Bryn and I were just about to do the same when we heard a bell ringing and a loud voice proclaiming that they were about to blow something up and asking everyone in the Main Street if they wanted to see that happen…. Well, of course it didn’t take Bryn nor I long at all to decide that we most certainly did want to see such a thing, so we waved to Mark and Bryn and headed back up into town to see what the commotion was about. A short while later Mark and Khi joined us (having found a way to get back in…) and we all enjoyed a very funny presentation that culminated in an explosion (which actually turned out to be a bit of a soft whoosh) generated by a voltaic battery. The actor played his part exceptionally well including making very sexist remarks that depicted the mindset of the day with regards to women and science and intelligence. Of course all of the menfolk there were chuckling quietly (but none so loud that they might cop the wrath of the ‘weaker’ sex present!!! It was very well done, very funny and a great finale for the day.

We did a fly-through tour of the gold museum which is over the road from the Sovereign Hill site. There was much to see and read however we were all pretty much exhausted. It was fun to play with the metal detector and to hear the difference in pitch between gold and silver and it was also interesting to feel the weight of gold (much much heavier than expected). It would have been interesting to read all the letters and newspaper articles of the day, but that will have to wait until my next visit to this town!

Dinner was fast and fatty….KFC for the lads and another vege burger from the burger van in the grocery carpark for me – seriously folks, if you are in the area, I cannot recommend this experience highly enough and it is open 7 days a week 6pm till early hours. Next time I am going to try the donuts as just about every customer I saw coming and going were getting some – either with their hotdogs or burgers or just by themselves…. Many choices including lemon and jam… mmmmmnnnn.

To be honest though, food was a secondary consideration for me as I couldn’t wait to get back to the king sized bed of heaven in our room in the castle atop the hill. No sooner was I in the door, than I was in the shower and snuggled up cozy cozy COZY. Aaaahhhh, total and absolute BLISS! The boys both snuggled in with us and we watched a bit of TV before we evicted them from the nest into their own beds and we all fell asleep.

Kryal Castle