Castlemaine 1

Unrequested by me, Phyllis had prepared the car for my journey, wiped down the exterior, vacuumed, P plates removed and filled with petrol. 

There was no point setting off early when I couldn't check into my motel room until 2pm. I left home at some time after 11 and with a break for sustenance at a truck stop, (services in England. I don't know what they are called in America) I still reached Castlemaine early. I visited the nearby supermarket for supplies, and then it was near enough to check in time.

The room was nice enough, and the aside from the tiny brown floor tiles in the bathroom, it had been updated to modern and fresh.

 

Not that I saw anyone use it, and not knowing if it was heated, the pool and spa did look rather good and well maintained. 

Celebrating the gold miners of Castlemaine, in the middle of a roundabout is this statue and the water wheel works, filling and pouring out water.

I can't remember what this was. 

Like many country towns, there are huge open storm water drains at the sides of streets.

I drove around a bit, becoming familiar with the town's layout. Up a steep hill was the Burke and Wills monument, they being two explorers who set off inland in the mid 1800s and perished during their attempt to travel Australia south to north. 

Erected by public subscription AD 1862.

The views of the town below were rather good.

I wanted to see one more thing before my late afternoon rest, and that was the Alfred Passalaqua Memorial Lookout. It was a twelve minute drive from where I was. The photo of the escarpment does not do it justice. It was quite something. I should research how it was formed, but I won't. 

With some zoom, this could be Mount Alexander in the distance. 

As you can see the gravel road is very steep. I selected manual gear option and the car held first gear down the hill. It still reached an unbraked 25km/h.

I returned to the motel for my late afternoon rest, and then had my usual pre dinner drink, and realised I couldn't legally drive to get dinner, so I walked to the supermarket and bought a bachelor's handbag. Very naughty but very nice.