It has been just over month since my last post, but what a busy and incredible time it has been!
I was delighted to hold a dinner for about thirty guests - family members and friends - to celebrate both my birthday and the incredible honour of being presented with the Medal of the Order of Australia at Government House. (I actually was notified of this award whilst I was away.) I used this occasion to talk about the amazing work being done by my very brave Afghan friend who has set up so many great initiatives in Afghanistan that have transformed the lives of so many. I am most grateful that many of my guests made donations to her work.
I also helped run a chemistry teacher professional development day at one of our major universities, which included a lot of time-consuming writing of resources for teachers.
On top of all that, I spent a wonderful three days away in the most picturesque country township called Castlemaine, a former gold mining town that was established in the 1800s.
I stayed with a friend in the gorgeous historic cottage that she renovated. We had a ball exploring Castlemaine and nearby townships that also once were gold mining towns. We had delicious meals in friendly local pubs and eateries, saw a lot of stately historic buildings, browsed in many antique, bric-a-brac and craft shops, went to a wonderful open-air market that featured delicious local produce, including superb honey, visited the art gallery and a really good museum that shows the story of gold mining in the region, and most memorable of all, walked through spectacular historic botanical gardens resplendent in rich autumn colours. After our walk, we had lunch at a very popular Austrian restaurant, which of course featured schnitzels and strudels, served by waitresses wearing traditional Austrian clothes. Who would have expected that in one of our country towns? But then, we are a very multicultural society and we have an incredible number of restaurants that have been established by people who have migrated here and chosen to make Australia home - both in our cities and in our rural regions. It is a gourmet’s delight!
In my next post, I will return to my journey around the magnificent Kimberley. Meanwhile I hope you enjoy my photos of the historic Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, with their stately elms and oaks and a few very tall eucalyptus trees (which we call gum trees). Gum trees are evergreen, so do not show autumn colours.
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