☆Beechworth Excursion☆

Beechworth is located in the north-east part of Victoria. At first, it was named Mayday Hills. After Gold was found in 1852, Beechworth became wealthy and developed at a fast pace. In 1853, Mayday Hills renamed Beechworth. However, it's gold production was waning in 1876, the role of Beechworth had been changed. Hospitals, Gaol, and mental asylum were constructed and they maintained its economy after the Gold Lush.

Now, all the buildings are preserved as 19th Century Style and it is one of the popular destinations in Victoria with local products; fruit, vegetables, honey, excellent restaurants, cafes, breweries, bakeries and wineries.

This town reminds me of the main street in Disneyland or Amish country.

Anyway, it was the first and precious experience that I went 1-night travel with my classmates who are at my daughter's age.

1st day: Lunch at Ox and Hound Bistro: It was so delicious and their customer service was great! I ate the Handmade parsley linguini and the Chocolate Bavarian. Both of them was so delicious.

Then, we went to Kelly vault & Burke Museum: You can see the precious history about not only the city but also the Gold Rush Era.

After that, we learned about sustainability at Pennyweight Winery: One of the famous wineries which produce wine using Bio-Dynamic method. It was really interesting that they produce wine without any chemical and use special strategies such as the layout of grape trees. It was an amazing fact for me that Bio-Dynamic producing is more productive rather than ones using chemicals.

In the end, we went to Woolshed Falls & Dinner at Nicholas Hotel

Woolshed Falls were so stunning and it has so unique geological views. It is the gorge falls with granite and you can see the beautiful layers of sedimentary rock or soil. I felt the power of nature.

We had dinner at Nicholas Hotel which is one of the famous restaurants in Beechworth. The Hotel Nicholas was originally built in 1857. So the building had a quaint atmosphere and reminded us of the scenery of the 1850s.

Of course, the food and service were excellent and the beer, too!

One more thing that I have to mention. Amazing sky view at Chinese Cemetery: On the way to go back to the hotel, we accidentally visited the Chinese Cemetery. Going inside of the Cemetery at night was so scarily but two bravery boys guarded me both side. The stars were breathtakingly beautiful!

Photo by my classmate, Tomo. Thanks, Tomo!

We could see the Milkyway and I could see 4 shooting stars!!!

It was incredibly lucky!

2nd Day: Good morning breakfast at Beechworth Bakery

We had various kinds of pies and bread with bread baking aroma for breakfast.

The Ned Kelly Pie is one of the iconic products there. I ate Ham & Cheese Croissant instead and it was really crispy and delicious.

After breakfast, we went to the Beechworth Gaol Tour

The Old Beechworth Gaol was built in 1857. Ned Kelly, who is the best iconic bushranger in Australia, was imprisoned twice here. The guide was so fantastic because of her way of talking, attracting people, and explaining with a gesture. As a guiding student, there were many things to learn from her.

After learning about criminal history, we stopped at Beechworth Honey

They've been doing business since the 1880s. They provide not only various kinds of honey-related products but also education and support Australian honey. Unfortunately, the number of beekeepers has been declining so it is a very important role that they educate and raise young beekeepers in Australia.

And then, we learned a bit about Bridge Road Brewers, tasted some beer, and had appetizing pieces of pizza for lunch. For me as one of the beer lovers, it was an excellent experience to learn how to produce flavorful tasty bottles of beer.

The beer was good and the pizza was delicious. Let's go back to Melbourne!

On the way back, we did some quizzes and had chats so I didn't sleep at all because of fun and excitement.

Finally, we came back to Melbourne without any trouble.

This may be the first and the last experience to go 2-day-excursion with classmates. I had marvellous time with you guys!

Thank you!