Ballarat

When Wolf first came to Melbourne to interview with Bosch in 2000, he met a wonderful couple named Veronica and Rod. They live in a town about 150 km (2 hour's drive) northwest of Melbourne (and our home in Mentone). They own and run a small winery with fantastic wines. We know from first-hand experience.

Here's a pic of their winery:

Anyway, here are some other pictures of our time in Ballarat.

Veronica took us to a jazz concert on Sunday. We sat in the sun (it was chilly in the shade!), had a little bit of wine and listened to some jazz. The perfect way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Of course, I had to ask if she ever saw any wild kangaroos in the neighborhood, so on the way back from the jazz concert, we went a' hunting.. And look what we found! In the above picture, there are 3 (2 on the right and one on the left). Can you see them? There were actually 4, and when they heard our car, they hopped away...towards another road that Veronica took us on to get a closer peek.
And there they are again! A bit closer, but also a bit blurry. They just didn't want to stand still and pose for a picture. I wonder why? :) But it wsa really cool seeing them wild. While it's nice to see and feed them in a preserve, like Wolf and I did back in 2005, it's great to see them roaming around, minding their own business.

Some of you might know that Australia is sometimes called "A Sunburnt Country". This statement has become more and more true over the past few years. Many parts of Australia are experiencing the affects of 7-11 years of drought. It's having a devastating effect on everyone.

We have severe water restrictions in place in Melbourne, with water reserves at only about 33%. This time last year it was about 58% so you can see how terrible this is.

The above pictures is one of Rod and Veronica's waterhole: it's nearly dried up. This year's grape harvest is miniscule at best because there just isn't water. We saw a picture of this waterhole from 2004 and, while is wasn't completely full, still had quite a bit left. Not today.

This picture shows "Lake Wendouree". Yep, it was a lake. Now, this lake has dried up, but not only due to the drought--thankfully. Some of the water supply was redirected a few years ago, but will be redirected back into the lake.

When the Summer Olympics took place in Melbourne in the 50's, the rowing/regatta competitions were held here. It's a part of Australian history, so they are doing their best to return this lake to part of it's former glory.

So, that's a short bit about our time in Ballarat. We hope to enjoy a few more weekends with the Stotts now that we're here.

Thanks Rod and Veronica!