We drove to Ballarat today with the intention of visiting Sovereign Hill, a reproduction of an early township during the Australia gold rush. We quickly realised that thousands of families had the same idea as we drove into the overflow car park - and then out. We will do this attraction when the school holidays end! Ballarat is a beautiful city about 100 kilometres west of Melbourne. It has many attractions, and we visited the Botanical gardens, a huge lake (venue for canoeing and rowing in 1956 Olympics) and a memorial to all Australian former prisoners of war. Leaving Ballarat we drove through some beautiful countryside and small towns north of Ballarat.