We are now staying at Ballarat and the weather hasn't really improved much so rather than walking around Sovereign Hill to experience the 1850's gold rush fever and duck in and out of the rain we decided to go for a drive in the surrounding areas. What better place than a Trout Farm at Smeaton called Tuki.

From the pond to the pan you can have some fun fishing and then dine upon your catch. And the best part is they clean and prepare it and serve it to you with all the trimmings. It's the perfect scene: your cast, their crew, the best lines and a happy ending.

So on a cold winter's day at the trout farm (8*) we decided to have some plunger coffee and a trout pate plate for lunch around the roaring fire. We also requested 2 freshly caught trout to take home. The farmer's wife passed on the message to her husband who thought we wanted it for lunch so he put one on the barbie so to speak. When she told him we wanted to take them with us he said "you look like good people and I hate waste" so he served it up to us free of charge! Alistair will cook  up our Trout tomorrow as we would be 2 little piggies having it for lunch and dinner.
Smeaton was a boomtown in the 1850's and was home to eight hotels, a five-storey bluestone flourmill, a butter factory and several banks. Today it offers tantalising hints of its thriving past. But some things never change and the town's social nucleus is still the Cumberland Hotel, established in 1860.