h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

How many times have you been to Australia? Obviously enough times to be conversant with Midnight Oil and The Whitlams. What parts of Australia do you haunt when you visit?

I've been to Australia twice (so far), and am planning to be back there later this year. My brother lives in Castlemaine so I stay with him and tend to stick around the Melbourne area, and take trips from there. I'm very much into Astralian bands - not just the Oils and Whitlams, but also Powderfinger, Youami, Paul Kelly, The Waifs, Icehouse.

RF

RF

Excellent. I go through Castlemaine fairly regularly, as my sister is just completing a holiday house at Daisy Hill, just out of Maryborough, and during the vacation periods I have been helping the brother-in-law with the labouring. Not the most inspiring part of Australia, all through the Goldfields is fairly boring countryside. What made your brother choose Castlemaine? Work, or just a strange sense of humour?

My brother owns a cafe and deli in Castlemaine. His wife's family come from (and still live) there.

When he first moved to Australia, he lived in Melbourne and was looking for a business to buy there, but it was too expensive. Plus restauranting in Melbourne is a cut-throat business - the opportunities for losing large amounts of money are plentiful.

He also has a strange sense of humour.

Whereabouts are you living? (gets out big map of Victoria.)

RF

I'm about 45 km northwest of Melbourne in Diggers Rest. Yeh, Melbourne is a great place to eat, but owning any sort of eatery in Melbourne means you have to be a bit special or the competition will make a meal of you - in short order!

This is one of my faves:

http://www.punchlane.com.au/

RF

Haven't been there, but that reminded me of another reason restaurants flourish here, the wines. Diggers Rest has nothing except Horse Studs and Wineries, the turn off sign has a picture of a Horse and a glass of wine - when I first moved here I thought it meant don't ride your horse whilst smashed!

Mmm, yes, good wineries round there . We don't get much Victorian wine in the UK, and most of what we do get is Yarra Valley, so I always enjoy going round the other areas. Mornington peninsula is good too.

RF

Aren't Australian place names great? I've just looked up Maryborough, it's near Bung Bong!

RF

Did you find Diggers Rest? It's about half way between the start of the Goldfields region and Melbourne, and I believe that's how it was named - that's where the Goldminers (diggers) stopped on their journey back to the big smoke. But I can't confirm it ,'cause their aren't any of them left obviously, but it looks likely. Diggers is also the sight of the first powered flight in Aust., by none other than Harry Houdini the (American) escape artist. This is also disputed, some say another bloke beat him to it, but there is a monument at the sight (just at the back of me about 7 km) and a propellor (not genuine) mounted outside the old primary school house. And that's about all there is in bloody Diggers. Oh, and a pub.