September 14-15, 2014
One of our party had been told of a ‘not to be missed’ attraction with the legendary appellation “Woop Woop”; and as appointments are necessary, arrangements were made to visit that place on Sunday morning. Sunday started as yet another glorious day, weatherwise, and we had a very pleasant drive of some five or six kilometres toward Harcourt, where we found Woop Woop on Blackjack Road. This turned out to be a small ‘theme park’; the theme being Australian slang and sayings. We were met at the entrance by Melva, the lady of the park, and her husband Andy, who ushered us into the park ‘café’ and souvenir shop. Melva then gave a non-stop recitation, lasting about an hour, of all the Australian slang and sayings that had been depicted in, for want of a better description, garden ornaments made mostly of bits cut out of corrugated iron sheets, and any other materials that Andy could get his hands on. Bed pans, dunnies, urinals, baths, old bicycle wheels and a hundred other pieces of bric-a-brac had been called into service and strategically placed to illustrate an endless barrage of Australianisms. As we were herded around, we were required to sit in, sit on, stand next to, stand in, a whole variety of these depictions, and I have inserted below a couple of typical examples. You can probably see the enthusiasm on my face, as I stand next to a ‘bullshit artist’.
At the end of the recital, we were ushered once more into the café, and served with tea, scones, jam and cream, and another non-stop recitation of more slang and sayings. Two of the highlights were, in fact, not Adam’s creations, but a live bronzewing sitting on natural eggs in a very natural nest, perched very precariously on one of the artificial trees; and a nesting family of New Holland honeyeaters, clearly seen through the café window. I cannot help thinking that I might have enjoyed it all more had I been allowed to roam through the park at my own pace, looking at the things I was most interested in! But that is just me, I guess.
We then went from the ridiculous to the sublime, as we entered Buda, a splendid example of a wealthy gentlemen’s residence, set in beautiful gardens in the heart of Castlemaine.
Built in about 1856, it was the home for over 100 years of a Mr Leviny and his descendants, before being bequeathed to the Castlemaine Gallery Trust by the last unmarried member of the family. It is now open to the public most, if not every day, and is staffed by volunteers who provide an interesting history of the place before you enter. Interestingly, one is required to wear paper over-shoes when one enters the house, to protect the carpet, which is pretty ancient, and worth protecting. Several of the Leviny daughters were very prominent in the arts world, and there are several lead-light lampshades, made by one of the daughters, still installed in a couple of the rooms. It is largely furnished much as it was in the days when the Levinys were in residence. The garden includes extensive propagating beds specialising in the older varieties of plants, and one can purchase potted plants. It is worth a visit if you find yourself in Castlemaine with an hour or two to while away.
In planning this short visit to Castlemaine, we had decided not to take golf clubs, even though a few of the party are keen golfers. Whilst we had plenty to do without playing golf, it was a pity we made that decision, as the golf course, not far from Buda, looked very picturesque and inviting when we stopped by to have a look. Despite the glorious weather, and the wonderful condition of the course, there was not a soul on it, and we could have simply put our green fees into the ‘honesty box’ and had a very pleasant round. Mind you, it is very hilly, and might have been a bit of a struggle without a cart! But instead, we turned our wheels back toward the centre of town and bent our steps toward Run Rabbit Run once more for a cup of good coffee before returning to Maggies Place for a siesta and dinner.
Monday morning dawned a little less sunny that the previous three days, so we did not feel so bad at the thought of having to pack up and return to Melbourne. So we said farewell to Maggies Place and set off home, with the intention of stopping off ‘somewhere’ for coffee. That ‘somewhere’ turned out to be Gisborne, and our choice of coffee shop was one of the worst we had encountered for a long time. The serving girl clearly wished she was somewhere else; the vanilla slice brought to the table was so old it had the texture of hardened rubber, and had mould growing on it; and the cleanliness of the cups and spoons left much to be desired. Such a marked contrast to the service and quality we had experienced in Maldon and Castlemaine!
So we left Gisborne to the fungi, and drove the rest of the way home, finally missing the exit from the Monash Freeway onto Springvale Road due to a very large truck obscuring the view of the signpost as we approached. But it would not have been a trip out for us, if we did not miss at least one essential turn-off! (See some of my earlier French travel blogs for more examples of our getting lost!).
Quite when, and to where, our next trip will be is yet to be decided, but when it happens, you will be able to read about it in a future blog.
Slingsby's Miscellany 