I'm in The Grampians, the weather's cold and wet, the sky is grey, there are mountains and valleys...but where's the haggis? And there's a kangaroo! Ah yes, I am still in Australia, although it is easy to see why the bloke who named this place got his inspiration from Scotland.

Some pleasant views are to be had at the lookout points at the end of the trails. We coast back down the mountain since the car had pretty much run out of fuel, but find a petrol station in the nick of time at the bottom.

What is Australia's leading tourist attraction? Sydney Opera House? Uluru? Great Barrier Reef? All wrong. At least if you'll believe the Ballarat Tourist Board leaflet that is. It proclaims Australia's leading tourist attraction as...Sovereign Hill, Ballarat!

The town of Ballarat shot to life in the mid 19th century when miners literally struck gold. Thousands of prospectors shot to the region particularly from Britain, Ireland and China. The Chinese, somewhat predictably, failed to benefit much as the others as they were taxed to the hilt by the British for "stealing the Queen's gold." Sovereign Hill is the spot where a 69kg nugget of solid gold was discovered in the 1870s. The Cornish prospector who discovered it named it "Welcome Nugget", clearly the man was a master of the understatement.

Now the site is a museum recreating the old town complete with period costume, ye olde candlesticke shoppes and tours of a 'gold mine' by an electronic guide with an unconvincing Westcountry accent. I try my hand at panning for gold in the stream, but get the feeling that it's been pretty well panned out over the years...all I find is a paper cup.