A Day Tour to Ballarat Gold Mine - Sovereign Hill

Sovereign Hill

Sovereign Hill is a spectacular outdoor Museum which takes you to the Australian Township of 1850's.It can be covered as a Day Tour from Melbourne .Its a great fun packed learning experience for Kids with a lot of engaging activities .

 

WHAT BRINGS ME HERE :-
a) A chance to visit a historic actual Gold Mine site .
b) A chance to explore and relive the Australian Township of 1850's.
c) Activities and shows worth watching
d) Gold Museum

 

HOW TO REACH HERE :-
1) Self Drive from Melbourne takes about  2 hours .There is an unlimited free parking at the Sovereign Hill Site .
2) There is a special V-Line Service , which can deliver the visitors directly to the Sovereign Hill Doors .If you wish to choose a Complimentary Bus Service directly to Sovereign Hill ,you can plan according to the following schedule for a day Tour .

Book V-Line - http://www.vline.com.au/home/
Book Taxi in Ballarat - 131 008(http://www.131008.com/ballarat)
Note - V-Line service from Ballarat to Southern Cross station is at every hour till 9:00 .

V Line Train	Southern Cross station (Melbourne)	09:07 a.m	Ballarat Station	10:38 a.m	Monday -Saturday
Bus	Ballarat Station	10:48 a.m	Sovereign Hill	11:00 a.m	Monday -Saturday
V Line Train	Southern Cross station (Melbourne)	09:28 a.m	Ballarat Station	10:50 a.m	Sunday
Bus	Ballarat Station	11:00 a.m	Sovereign Hill	11:10 a.m	Sunday
Bus	Sovereign Hill	03:15 p.m	Ballarat Station	03:30 p.m	Monday - Friday
V Line Train	Ballarat Station	03:58 p.m	Southern Cross station (Melbourne)	05:33 p.m	Monday - Friday
Bus	Sovereign Hill	03:30 p.m	Ballarat Station	03:45 p.m	Saturday,Sunday
V Line Train	Ballarat Station	04:11 p.m	Southern Cross station (Melbourne)	05:30 p.m	Saturday,Sunday

 

 HOW MUCH WOULD IT COST : It approximately costs 85 AUD / person for a Day Tour to Sovereign Hills .
1) V-Line return Fare : 25 AUD .
2) You can utilize your V-Line ticket for a 10% discount on Sovereign Hill Entry Tickets - 47 AUD(Standard Entry Fee)
3) Horse Coach Ride inside Sovereign Hill - 6 AUD(free if travelled through V-Line)
4) Mine Tour - 7.5 AUD
Note - You can save around 10.7 AUD , if you are visiting Sovereign Hills through V-Line Service .

HOW WAS THE OVERALL EXPERIENCE :

We started planning for a place where I do not have to drive and is easily accessible through public transport .V-Line Special to Ballarat made our day . We left the Ballarat station ,and found the Complimentary Bus Service waiting ,just outside the station .It dropped us at the Sovereign Hill Bus Stop .
 We started exploring the town ship which started with "Black Smith Shop" and ended with the "Bowling Alley" .To my surprise ,all shops use the same old technology for producing the beautiful products. There is a scope of lot of shopping if you like Old Styled utensils, clothes, showpieces, crockery, candies etc..

After a short talk with the policemen displaying his armory. We then tried our hands in the Bowling Alley . Then took a Gold Mine Tour , which you should not miss .Then we had our lunch and set out for a coach ride .We then saw Live display of a street show and a Candy making activity.
The fresh raspberry candy was very tasty. Then we tried our hands in finding real gold flakes coming out of the mine stream .I have heard people do get these flakes quite often .Over All a Nice way to spend a day .

Gold Mine Tour

What you should not miss :-
1) If travelling by V-Line back home to Melbourne and if you 3:30 p.m. Complimentary Bus Service to Ballarat Station. Do not panic and call a Taxi. Taxi would not cost more that 11 AUD.V-Line Service from Ballarat to Melbourne is at every hour .
2) Horse Coach Ride.
3) Gold Mine Tour.
4) Search for Real Gold in the Stream . If you are lucky -you might find some
5) Gold Museum opposite side of Sovereign Hill Site.
6) Light and Sound Show .