The staff inside are all dressed in 19th century clothing, making visitors feel as if they have returned to the gold rush era. Sovereign Hill has a glorious ten-year history of gold rush. In the 1750s, due to the first discovery of gold mines in Sovereign Hill, it suddenly became lively, and a large number of gold diggers from Europe, America and Asia flocked here.
Among them were more than 40,000 Chinese workers who came from coastal areas such as Yunnan and Fujian. They called Sovereign Hill "New Gold Mountain".
Sovereign Hill represents the early state of the Ballarat gold mine, and condenses the first take-off of the Australian economy due to the great development of animal husbandry 150 years ago. 20 years later, the "gold rush" of the Sovereign Hill mine accelerated the second economic take-off of Australia's all-round development. It can be said that the Sovereign Hill gold mine is the most powerful witness to the economic rise of Australia.
We arrived at Sovereign Hill quite early and it wasn't open yet, so we went to the Gold Museum across the street to kill some time. The museum displayed pictures and texts about the gold rush at that time.
There are also some samples of gold sand, gold coins and gold mines on display, which can give you a more intuitive understanding of the enthusiasm for gold mining 150 years ago. The treasure of the museum is the lucky gold stone (), which is said to be worth 250,000 Australian dollars. It is still worth seeing.
There are souvenirs for sale outside, and most of the salesmen are Chinese. Foreigners can also speak fluent Chinese. Later I learned that the owner of this museum is Chinese, so this is not surprising. The souvenirs are not cheap, and I am not familiar with the market, so I just took a general look and did not buy. Friends who want to buy, please bring enough money.
After watching the film, we officially entered the town. The first thing that caught our eyes was a picture of the 18th century, the appearance of the gold mine, old-fashioned machinery and facilities, the old streets, the old clothes of the employees and the live performances. It made An Qingju and Yun Luo feel as if they had returned to the era of gold everywhere in Australia 150 years ago.
If the facilities above the town allow visitors to experience the lifestyle of the people at that time, then the following "Gold Mine Tour" allows you to thoroughly understand the working environment of the miners at that time. It should be noted that due to the need to control the number of people underground and the complex roads below, like a maze, individuals are not allowed to go down to visit.
Friends who want to go down still need to find a good guide. Only under his or her guidance can you go down to the mine, and there is a time limit, about one hour per shift, so this should be considered when buying tickets to enter the town, so as not to miss this great experience.
It was a great feeling to go down the mine car, especially when you were in the dark, with only the mechanical sound of the mine car and the cold wind blowing through, and screams coming one after another. Haha. After about 10 seconds, the car stopped and we saw the light again, but the light in the mine was very weak, so the timid should be careful.
It's not dark in the mine, and there are many forks in the road. So you must follow the guide, otherwise you will get lost. I guess you can scare yourself to death according to the situation at that time (there is an echo when walking). If the light is broken again...it will be scary in less than 5 minutes. So if you go, you should line up hand in hand, haha.
If you think that this is the mine cart and mine tunnel at that time, you are totally wrong. These things are built now to facilitate tourists to visit.
In the past, the mine cart was actually a duck cage. If an adult man wanted to enter, he had to squat down and curl up inside. It was common for him to go up and down about a dozen times a day. The mine tunnel was not as wide as it is now, and he had to squat down and stagger forward. So he really risked his life to pan for gold.
Worth recommending is a short film projected in a mine, which tells the story of two Chen brothers who left their hometown to come to Sovereign Hill, Australia to pan for gold. From the soundtrack to the editing and the sublimation of the story content, it is a good short film. After watching the movie, I couldn't help but feel chilled by the tragic fate of the miners at that time.
I still remember the last line of the narration, "Cherish what you have now." Yunluo thought that An Qingju and Yunluo were happy because they benefited from the wealth that their ancestors exchanged for their lives.
The reason for coming to the gold mine is of course to "pan for gold". Although everyone knows that it is very difficult, it is still quite good to experience the feeling of the gold rush 150 years ago. An Qingju was naturally very interested and joined the gold panning army without hesitation.
With a strong RP, I ended up finding a tiny gold sand:) If you want to keep a souvenir, you can go to the gold museum at the beginning and buy a bottle of gold sand. Although the item is small, the participation is important.
After leaving the gold mine, An Qingju and Yun Luo immediately headed towards their next destination. It was a long journey.
Melbourne's weather is like a child's face, sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny, and sometimes hail. It's really a naughty and disobedient child! I don't know how many times I fainted, and finally arrived at the legendary Great Ocean Road. The road is very narrow and not very flat, which is really a test of driving skills.
Fortunately, An Qingju and Yunluo were good drivers. It is said that this road has been repaired now. It was even more terrible before. It is normal to have accidents. As a well-known tourist attraction, the only way to pass through it can be so rotten. It seems that socialism is still good~
It is said that the cows here will spontaneously return home at a certain time every day. Due to the large number of cows, there will be a spectacular scene stretching for hundreds of meters. Unfortunately, when they returned, they flashed by and I didn’t have time to take a picture of the spectacular scene.
After n hours of trekking, An Qingjue and Yunluo finally arrived at the Twelve Disciples.
Maybe it's because it's near the sea, the sea breeze is strong, and although there is plenty of sunshine, it's still a little chilly when you get to the beach. Friends who are planning to go are advised to wrap up tightly, otherwise it will be more trouble than good if you catch a cold.
As we all know, the so-called Twelve Apostles are actually twelve large stones, and with the invasion of sea water, there are only 9 of them left, so if you want to see them, please hurry up. I personally think the stones are not worth seeing, but the sea is quite beautiful, different from the sea I saw in Sydney.
The sea here is very impressive. According to experienced people, it is actually very ordinary when viewed from below, but the effect will be very different if you take a helicopter to view it from above. An Qingju and Yunluo came to the helicopter landing port with great interest, and suddenly found that people gathered there, according to their current operation mode.
I had to wait at least 2 hours, so I had to give up. It is recommended that those who want to try it should book a time in advance, which may save a little time.
Since the flight from Melbourne to Gold Coast was at 7am, and I had to get up at 4am to leave the hotel, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find a taxi, so I booked a travel agency's airport drop-off service. Yunluo was charged about 120 Australian dollars, and Yunluo said that travel agencies in Australia are rip-offs.
At 4 o'clock in the morning, when it was still light, An Qingjue and Yunluo were waiting at the hotel entrance. As breakfast was not yet served, the hotel gave An Qingjue and Yunluo a Subway-like sandwich and a piece of fruit. They wanted to eat something to fill their stomachs, but they had to throw it away after taking a bite: it was cold! Alas, they had a good stomach and were not used to eating hot food. They had to admit that they were unlucky.
After a while, the car to pick up An Qingjue and Yunluo arrived. The driver happened to be a young man from Sihai City. He has been in Melbourne for more than 4 years. Due to his license, he is currently unable to lead a tour and can only do some odd jobs such as airport pick-up and drop-off.
Maybe because they were from the same hometown, the young man started chatting with Yunluo. After studying in Sydney, he wanted to find a job and settle down in Sydney. Unfortunately, things did not go as he wished and he could not find an ideal job. The cost of living in Sydney was too high (even if renting a room with a friend there costs nearly 80 to 100 yuan a week), and he could not find a job in a city that was too small.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
So I can only settle down in Melbourne for the time being. As a native of Sihai City, like Yunluo, I am obviously not used to the climate of Melbourne. However, considering survival as the premise, I can only try my best to adapt. According to him, although some people have led tours, they are all overnight bus tours.
(For example, An Qingju and Yunluo flew from Sydney to Melbourne in about 2 hours, and those drivers needed about 12 hours to drive from Sydney to Melbourne, and then drive back to Sydney after the tour.) Compared with those people, his hard work was nothing. The temperature in Melbourne was very low in the early morning, looking at the young man's young and tired face (5 years younger than Yunluo).
A sigh arises spontaneously: it is really not easy for a person to work hard abroad!
As they were talking, the car was driving at a speed of about 80 mph, and nearly half an hour had passed. Yun Luo asked him suspiciously why Melbourne's domestic airport was so far away? Sydney's was very close. His answer shocked Yun Luo: Sydney's airport was built in the city, while Melbourne's airport was located in the suburbs.
This time Yunluo really saved a lot by giving up a small amount of money. If Yunluo still took a taxi to the airport, it would probably cost at least 300 RMB (2000 RMB is all it took? It's terrible. If anyone tells Yunluo that taxis in Sihai City are expensive in the future, Yunluo will get angry with them!)
When I got off the car, I gave the guy a 20 yuan tip, hoping that he could find a stable and suitable job as soon as possible.
More than 3 hours later, An Qingju and Yunluo landed at the Gold Coast Airport. As soon as they got off the plane, they wanted to strip themselves naked (the temperature was too high, probably over 30 degrees). Australia is such a magical country. Sydney is like spring, Melbourne is like winter, and the Gold Coast is like summer (of course, we later found out that Cairns is the real summer).
I believe that Australia is the only country that has different seasons at the same time. As usual, I took the free map and scenic spot introduction at the airport and got on the bus to the hotel.