week 11...
gold quest!

Broadford & Ballarat

Here comes Dusty the Stagecoach Driver with today's shipment of grog for the diggers. Where's he headed? We're on Sovereign Hill, circa 1850, with a busload of Year 9's from Broadford Secondary College. We went on a field trip! Principal Patterson signed our permission slips, and off we went to the heart of the Australian Gold Rush! Yay!
scary potters...
Back in Mexico, we taught you how to make a fancy copper pot in four easy steps. Of course, unless you're still living during the Rennaissance, you'll need more than just a pot if you plan to host a dinner party. How about a gravy boat? Elegant!


Step 1: Find a lump of mud. Then find a potter's wheel. Place mud on wheel.

Step 2: Wet your hands. Grab mud firmly. Spin the wheel, or buy a vowel.

Step 3: Poke your hand into the centre of the lump. This is where the gravy will go.

Step 4: You've done it! It's beautiful! You'll be a socialite in no time!
What, When, Why, Wombat:
Name: Allan Gray
Wife: Sherry
Dog: Sierra
Birthplace: South Gippsland
Home: Eden Park

Little known fact:
Aside from all things wombat, Alan also collects and studies animal bones... especially skulls! Check out the best of his collection below...

meet a wombat enthusiast
This is Allan Gray, science teacher at Broadford Secondary College. He's also a nature lover, star gazer, and a wombat wizard. We went on a wombat walk up near Wandong, and what a walk it was...

When did you first get interested in wombats? I grew up in South Gippsland, sort of on the way from Melbourne to Phillip Island, where Wombat World is now. There were a lot of wombats in the area... they're fascinating creatures.

How do you find a wombat? The best time to go out and look is right at sunset, in a bushy area. If you find a nice big hole when you're walking around during the day, it might be a wombat tunnel. They're nocturnal, and they can walk up to 4 km out and back in one night.

Where do I find out more about wombats? "The Secret Life of Wombats" by James Woodford is an excellent read. So is anything by Peter Nichelson, who actually studied wombats by crawling into their tunnels and taking notes.

How do I track a wombat? Ahh, tracking... best tip: keep your torch low. If you're shining the light from above, you won't see anything, but if you shine it sideways, a few centimetres from the ground, you'll see the shadows of where they've tread.

Any last tips? If you think there might be a wombat around, stop and listen. Make a raspy sound in the back of your throat, like this: "CCCCCH". All marsupials love that sound.

a heady contest...
These contests can go to your head after a while. Can you keep your wits about you while you identify these skulls?

is a Ferret,
is a Kangaroo,
is a Koala,
is a Magpie,
is a Possum,
is a Rabbit, and
is a Wombat.
Each picture is the skull of a different animal. Type the skull's letter next to the corresponding animal on the left.

By the way, Bill Mead from Kelowna BC already won this contest, but you can check on Week 16 to see if you got them all right!

why are we being sponsored?
Bikeabout!
click here to see what we're up to!

boys day out Kangaroos:10 Bottles of Champagne:Today's Weather:
Ahh, back in good old Broadford. While Ros and Aimee stay at the house to get work done, John and I hit the road in his Holden Commodore to explore the Broadford countryside. Zoom! One lane roads, here we come!
  First stop: Murchison's Gap, for the Valley of 1000 Hills. I didn't get a chance to count them all, but they must have guessed pretty close. I caught sight of a small mob of kangas at the bottom of Hill #117, and thought I'd head down for a few photos, but they saw me first and hopped away.
  Second stop: cricket's answer to Field of Dreams. The Hume and Hovell Cricket Ground is a beautifully manicured patch of grass in the middle of bloody nowhere. A gent out here cleared some farmland and made himself a replica of Lourdes Cricket Ground in London. Maybe late at night, he sees ghostly figures of old cricket stars like, um, er...
  The rest of the trip took us through the hamlet of Ruffy, past a Hume and Hovell Memorial (explorers who first mapped the overland route from Sydney to Melbourne), and to Robin's place, a gorgeous rural home built of old bridge beams and bricks with character. After a couple of champagnes at Kathy Skidmore's, we were back home to Broadford. Looks like the ladies missed out!

"It was touched. I saw it from here."
- Richard Patterson's SMS message from England.
branded Bananas:Syrup:3tsp. Brandy:Plenty Today's Weather:
Making bananas flambe is easy as pie. You'll need four bananas, some syrup, and a bottle of brandy. Try the brandy to make sure it's good. Then try some more. Heat up a big pan, and pour some brandy into it. Dump in shome bananas, and shome shyrup. Take another ship of bradny. Shtir up the babanas, and keef adding shyrpup. Ben the wababas get browny gold, put inna brandy anna boxa matshesh anna branny match WOOF! Ha ha weeeee...

"Crack a big woody."
- Woodbuck Bourbon and Cola slogan.
mr. p BB Poll: Marty will win:Jess will win:Doesn't care:Today's Weather:
As principal of Broadford Secondary College, John's time is divided between molding impressionable school children into the leaders of tomorrow... and picking up rubbish. Actually, it's more of a 9 to 1 split in favour of the rubbish. If it wasn't for John's diligence, the College would be buried under a pile of Cherry Ripe wrappers and Big M Cartons. It's a good thing they're so well-behaved, if messy.

"Everyone's a winner at The Reject Shop!"
- Discount store slogan.
i carumba! Pizzas:BYO Wines:Today's Weather:
Since you've already heard about the gold mine, and the wombat man, and the skulls (yes, all that was Thursday), let's talk pizza.
  If you want the cheesiest mozzarella pizza that just melts in your mouth, go to the Romano Pizzeria in Queens, New York.
  If you want a thick crust pizza that's got the most wonderful sauce on top with heaps of pepperoni, go to Giordano's Pizza in Chicago, Illinois.
  If you want pizza with just about any combination of toppings you can imagine on the tastiest, thinest crust, go to i Carusi in Carleton, Victoria. It's all part of our global quest to find the tastiest pizza in the world!

"It smells like my Nana's garage."
- sami_super_star with the fluoro-yellow backpack.
busy day Today's Chef:Kev Today's Dinner:Chili! Today's Weather:
The Pattersons are at work, and so are we. You don't think this website is just going to write itself, do you? Think funny thoughts... think funny thoughts...

"Yeah, but those are stinky dirty. These are just visually dirty."
- Aimee.
broadford boys Broadford Roos:126 N.Bendigo Bulldogs:39 Today's Weather:
How we know we're watching the Broadford Roos, not the North Melbourne Roos:

1. We're standing in the rain at the Broadford Footy Oval, instead of sitting in the rain at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
2. The Kangaroos are kicking goals instead of kicking dirt.
3. Players are kicking to players on their own team.
4. There's no need for a pep talk to discuss third quarter comeback strategies.
5. The Kangaroos won.

"Taste the blood, Number Six, taste it! It's yours!"
- Riled Broadford Dad.
time travel Broadford to Bendigo:93km Bendigo to Horsham:207km Today's Weather:
Doodolee-doo... Doodolee-doo... join us next week as we travel back in time to Kevin's childhood home of Horsham, in Western Victoria. We'll visit Kev's old school, Kev's old teacher, Kev's old piano instructor, Kev's old street, Kev's old house, Kev's old playground, Kev's old neighbour to the left, Kev's old neighbour to the right, Kev's old neighbour across the street, Kev's old candy shop, Kev's old neighbour's children, Kev's old neighbour's children's children...

"Fancy you, driving a red car."
- Kate.
lurgie: (n.) bug. Not just the flying kind, but the contagious kind, too.
"Put your sweater on, or you'll go and catch a lurgie!"


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G'day remember me from today!! We went to sovereign Hill! Your site is pretty koowl! You gave me and Katherine a card! Well I thought i would have a look at this and see what you guys do! Wow you had trouble with your laptop I hope it's working for you better soon! Are you going to put your trip to Sovereign Hill on the Net? Hope you do! Anyways I better fly and do my homework! Cherio....Sam! (o yeh and if you don't know who i am i had the fluro yellow bag today u'll know it 4 sure!!!)
- Sami_Super_Star, Broadford VIC
You guys are amazing! Jen and Jon would like to wish you the very best on your bike-about journey! PS-Thanks for continuing to keep us posted even though we don't reply too much. (We're losers like that) However, we greatly anticipate each and every installment of Australia Beimers! Keep 'em coming!
- Jon & Jen, Hellertown PA
This is false advertising. How low will you go to get folks to read those damn e-mails that make the reader question why they are on this planet? Just for that, you will get pregnant! By Kevin's demon seed! Huh!
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