From Elmore to Ballarat, the gold mining settlements 3.11.

The night was our coldest so far. At 7:00 in the morning, it was only 11°C. The temperature difference was insane. The strong wind had subsided by morning. First, we drove through Bendigo (76,000 inhabitants, gold was first found there in 1851). Bendigo outlasted most other gold towns, whose deposits were exhausted much earlier. Bendigo is one of the most beautiful and magnificent cities in Victoria. In hardly any other city have we seen so many historic buildings (from the founding period) in such a well-preserved condition. Then we stopped in Malton, a smaller but very well preserved gold mining town. Beautiful buildings, shops, and houses. There was a great music festival there on the extended weekend. The most diverse instruments were played, danced or sung everywhere. There we also saw another water tanker truck being filled and supplying drier areas. The entire area of the gold mining settlements is worth seeing. We then continued to Daylesford, where there are supposed to be many mineral springs, but we didn't find any, only a lot of beautiful different churches, unfortunately all closed. On to Ballarat, our destination today with 85,000 inhabitants. It was difficult to find a campsite to stay, everything was fully booked. Luckily, it hasn't been a problem since then and we're not traveling in the summer, when it would have been crowded every day. In the Goldfields Holiday Park, we actually managed to get the last spot (out of 112). Unfortunately, without electricity and water. We are the only non-Australians here, all families are on a short vacation with all their belongings. The temperatures haven't risen any higher than 18°C today and it's supposed to stay that way. Now, at 22:00 in the evening, it's 9°C. Tomorrow, we will reach the famous "Great Ocean Road" on the south coast and from there we want to continue the route to Melbourne. Let's see if our plan works out.