Twenty Something & Traveling: Sovereign Hill, Ballarat

Sometime last year I did a story for Going Places, the in-flight magazine for Malaysian Airlines about Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, Victoria. It was a really fun piece to do and even though it was my second visit to Sovereign Hills, I still enjoyed the atmosphere.

To those who has been there, you will remember it as the oldies town. Mainly because the whole place is set back in the gold mining days. The whole place is built to reenact the town as it was 150 years ago. Which means, townspeople in period costumes and horse-drawn carriages (and the trace of horse poo in the air).

I found the place fascinating and one of my regrets were not requesting for an over night's stay at the Sovereign Hill Lodge. If you're staying after hours for the sound and light show - Blood on the Southern Cross (which comes highly recommended!) you should also consider staying a night in either Ballarat town or really, if you can afford it, why not pamper yourself with convenience at the Lodge. (Look, after the show, it's going to be dark, probably really cold and the last thing you want to think about is where you're going to end up for an average night of sleep. Bugger it all and think about rolling up in soft, fresh sheets and tomorrow's breakfast.)

The Blood on the Sovereign Cross is a remarkable show shown only after dark (because it's a lights show) and it's exceptionally good. And no, I'm not paid to say this - though I wish I was (I was paid to write but I wasn't paid to lie about it).