Education tourism is all very well but it never occurred to me that it would mean I'd have to spend more than two hours 85 metres underground. We're at Central Deborah Gold Mine in the heart of Bendigo and my inner claustrophobe is rearing its anxious head.
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We're on a winter road trip to the Victorian Goldfields, exploring the gold rush history of Bendigo, Castlemaine and Ballarat, our itinerary inspired by my son's school curriculum, in particular the gold rush history of the mid to late 19th century.
We start our journey on the Goldfields Express steam train that runs between the historic township of Maldon and its larger neighbour, Castlemaine. Entering the carriages is like stepping back in time, with spacious compartments, polished wood, leather studded seats, an open observation deck at the front (where we're splattered with condensing steam) and an on-board cafe, staffed by volunteers, serving killer hot chocolates and a decent pot of tea. There are even old-fashioned cardboard tickets through which the conductor punches a hole.
The remains of the diggings in and around Castlemaine require a bit of imagination, even with the help of a local volunteer guide. While there's no gold, there are still plenty of gems including, at the Eureka diggings, a water-collecting rock created by the traditional owners of this land centuries earlier, and the poignant reminder of the harshness of life and omnipresence of death, with tiny children's graves marked by stones at Pennyweight Flat Cemetery in Chewton.
The tour at Central Deborah is a highlight. Kitted up in overalls, gumboots, helmets, earmuffs and headlamps we descend in an industrial lift 65 metres underground, and follow our guide, Georg, through a warren of humid underground tunnels and stope workings that were mined for 103 years and still contain gold veins. We scramble down to the next level of the mine, to a depth of 85 metres, via a series of ladders.
Georg keeps up an engaging and informative banter as he points out the various drills and explosives that were used at different times in the mine's history to blast the quartz reefs and extract the gold.
We stop in a hollowed out area furnished with refectory tables and benches. Lunch is a double-header pastie with meat and veg at one end, and sweet apple at the other, baked specially for the mine by Bendigo's famous Gillies Pies. Apparently it was the wives of Cornish miners who invented the pastie so that the miners could hold the twisted crust with their filthy hands, eat the pastry casing and its contents and then throw the crust away.
You can go even deeper if you're game, with a longer tour taking you 228 metres underground in a miners' cage to the lowest level of the mine. Next time, maybe.
Returning to the surface two and a half hours later, we watch gold being poured in a recreated blacksmith's workshop and view exhibits of mine equipment and other historical paraphernalia.
Central Deborah also serves as the terminus for the city's hop-on-hop-off Vintage Talking Tram, which trundles its way through the city centre with commentary on every destination of interest including the highly acclaimed Art Gallery, the Joss House Temple and the fascinating Golden Dragon Museum, which displays historical and cultural ephemera from the original Chinese immigrants who came to try their luck on the diggings, and their descendants.
Winter is generally not the most popular time to visit the Goldfields, but the regional tourism authorities are tackling that challenge head-on and embracing the chill. As long as you've got beanies, gloves and accommodation with heating you'll be fine.
From Bendigo we drive to Ballarat to take part in some of the activities for the inaugural Winterlude festival including ice skating and tobogganing in a temporary ice rink in the main street. This year's festival (June to July) is expected to be bigger and better.
We take a short break from history at Ballarat Wildlife Park where we hand feed kangaroos, watch birds of prey take flight, meet Crunch the five-metre salty and a very friendly wombat called Patrick who has his own Facebook page with 46,000 followers.
Sovereign Hill is Ballarat's jewel in the crown, where we explore mines, try our hand at gold panning and give the cradle a rock. With staff in period costume, it is a little like Disneyland without the rides but as an opportunity to tap into the gold rush past it's second to none. We learn how to fire a musket, go bowling with 19th-century balls and skittles and eat our body weight in boiled sweets. Some attractions including the mine tours need to be booked early in the day to guarantee a place and cost extra on top of pricey tickets so it's not a cheap day out. In the winter school holidays its night-time Winter Wonderlights adds a fairytale element with Christmas lights, fake snow and carollers dressed in Victorian garb.
The true highlight of Sovereign Hill, though, is the Blood on the Southern Cross sound and light show, which starts in a theatre, takes you on foot through the diggings and ultimately to an outdoor auditorium and massive, purpose-built set where the story of the Eureka Rebellion is dramatically retold. It's spectacular theatre with a clever script, lighting and special effects but not an actor in sight. The kids are forced to listen and think and, importantly, tap into their imaginations. This is educational tourism at its finest, and is absolutely mesmerising.
TRIP NOTES
MORE INFORMATION
GETTING THERE
Bendigo and Ballarat are in central Victoria, 150km and 105km north-west of Melbourne respectively.
STAYING THERE
Printz Town Apartments in Castlemaine are spacious terraces within walking distance of the town centre, from $230 a night; see castlemaineboutiqueaccommodation.com.au.
Quest Bendigo has well-appointed family units, from $155; see questapartments.com.au.
Ballarat's Sovereign Park Motor Inn is the closest accommodation to Sovereign Hill itself, doubles from $170; see sovpark.com.
