Solo Australia Part 10: Melbourne Panning for Gold (Recommended)
June 29. 113 kilometers northwest of Melbourne lies a gold mountain called SOVEREIGN HILL. In 1851, a gold mine was discovered in the town of BALLARAT, Melbourne. Gold diggers from all over the world flocked here with dreams of fortune. Since then, it has been called New Gold Mountain, while the one in America became Old Gold Mountain. Today, I'm going to pan for gold! The weather was great, and after a shower, there was even a double rainbow! Can you see the faint second rainbow? Arriving at the destination, there was a promotional film at the entrance, telling you what to eat and what to do, and leaving a story cliffhanger. Stepping into the town, it felt like a huge cosplay stage. Both sides of the street were lined with preserved buildings, now tourist attractions. But the bank, pharmacy, bakery, restaurant, tavern, barbershop, store, post office, photo studio, candle shop, bowling alley, candy store, spice shop, women's boutique, and even an inn were all open for business! You could even enter someone's home and meet people from the past. Walking down the street, you'd see gentlemen, police, guards, ladies, even babies, and schoolchildren in ancient costumes! They were all staff living here. Living or working? I couldn't tell; I guess they blended too. At HOPE Bakery, you could buy delicious meat pies – extremely tasty! There was also a NEW YORK Bakery, a century-old shop that opened in Melbourne in 1853, and there was one in the gold town too. By afternoon, its bread would be sold out. You could take a horse-drawn carriage for a round trip, play old-fashioned bowling at the bowling alley, make a colorful candle, dress up in ancient costumes for a photo, watch how gold was refined, see the gun salute ceremony, or go down into the dim and quiet mine tunnel to experience fear and loneliness. Below, there was a gold nugget display point where a carbon line intersected a ore line. It was said that carbon elements in the carbon line, over long-term absorption, would attract gold elements from the nearby ore line, forming gold nuggets. You couldn't get too close to this gold mine – infrared alarm, real gold! There was also a movie about two brothers from Guangdong, China, who came with a jade pendant they had prayed for, leaving their hometown and family to dig for gold here. After enduring discrimination and countless hardships, they finally discovered a cave full of gold nuggets after blasting a mountain. But the shattered jade pendant also signaled a bad omen. When they entered the gold mine, the cave collapsed, burying them with the gold. The younger brother said if he could live out, he would never dig gold again and would live diligently. In the end, the elder brother died in the mine; the younger brother survived, never dug gold again, became a merchant, had a happy family and many children. The movie was narrated by the deceased elder brother, whose last words were: 'This gold awaits the destined one. When that time comes, I will surely bless him!' After watching, I couldn't help but sigh over the fate of the Chinese miners and other gold diggers back then. Perhaps in others' eyes, they were fanatics craving overnight riches, toiling hard and lonely here, but they also held dreams for their families. And why did I come? Of course, to pan for gold! Haha, after a hearty meal at the town's restaurant, I strolled around and then went to the gold panning area, planning to spend most of my time there. I bought a glass bottle for 1 dollar at a nearby shop to hold my gold, rolled up my sleeves, and got to work. Hehe, the river really had gold sand! There was real gold to pan, and you could take it home. I worked meticulously, hoping to earn back my travel expenses for the day. First, I used a shovel to scoop sand from deeper parts of the river, because gold is heavier and sinks to the bottom – deeper sand is better. Then I gently shook and sifted, picking out larger stones as they floated up, repeating until only fine sand remained. Then I continued shaking, swirling in the water, eyes wide open – what was that tiny yellow speck? Gold! 24K pure gold! Really! Wow, such good luck! But it was really small, just flakes, only visible with a magnifying glass! Hehe. When it was time to leave, I really didn't want to go. Now I regret not taking some fine sand from the riverbed to pick through later. Opposite the gold town was the Gold Museum, the museum with the most gold. The gold below was found by a farmer with a metal detector on his own farm and donated to the country. Truly a land of gold everywhere. The lovely locals here were so selfless. Australia is truly a wealthy country. On the way back, I passed a winery and tasted some wine. To me, the different wines tasted pretty much the same – sorry to the winery owner. But they were all good, tasty. Since it was a glass bottle, I was worried about carrying it, so I didn't buy any. Actually, buying wine at the winery is much cheaper than at supermarkets or specialty stores, and the quality is really good. Look, they were all aged in century-old oak barrels. After a bit of wine, with my panned gold in my pocket, I headed back, feeling warm and happy in my heart. As soon as I got back, I took a hot shower and went to sleep hugging my gold!
Complete Solo Australia series:
Solo Australia Part 27: Shopping
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1885842.html
Solo Australia Part 26: Strolling Around
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1885841.html
Solo Australia Part 25: Sydney TARONGA ZOO
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1885160.html
Solo Australia Part 24: Paddington Market
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1885838.html
Solo Australia Part 23: Sydney Bondi Beach
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884686.html
Solo Australia Part 22: Sydney The Rocks Market
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884684.html
Solo Australia Part 21: Wollongong
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884683.html
Solo Australia Part 20: Sydney Blue Mountains
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884682.html
Solo Australia Part 19: Gold Coast Sunrise, Koalas, Q1 Building
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884681.html
Solo Australia Part 18: Gold Coast Movie World
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1885391.html
Solo Australia Part 17: Gold Coast Sea World
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884680.html
Solo Australia Part 16: Brisbane, Capital of Queensland
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/brisbane323/1884679.html
Solo Australia Part 15: Gold Coast Whale Watching
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884678.html
Solo Australia Part 14: Gold Coast Rainforest 4WD
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884677.html
Solo Australia Part 13: Gold Coast Glowworm Caves
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/goldcoast456/1884676.html
Solo Australia Part 12: Port Stephens Dolphin Watching
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884675.html
Solo Australia Part 11: Melbourne City
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/melbourne312/1884672.html
Solo Australia Part 10: Melbourne Gold Panning
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/melbourne312/1885390.html
Solo Australia Part 9: Melbourne Great Ocean Road
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/melbourne312/1884671.html
Solo Australia Part 8: Melbourne Phillip Island
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/melbourne312/1884670.html
Solo Australia Part 7: Canberra
http://you.ctrip.com/place/canberra321.html
Solo Australia Part 6: Parks, Markets, Zoo
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1885275.html
Solo Australia Part 5: Sydney City
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/sydney236/1884668.html
Solo Australia Part 4: Integration
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884667.html
Solo Australia Part 3: Transportation & Communication
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884875.html
Solo Australia Part 2: Arrival
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884873.html
Solo Australia Part 1: Preparation
http://you.ctrip.com/travels/australia100048/1884664.html
