A part of me was somewhat surprised that I couldn't find a second hand bookshop in Bendigo, but…read morethat was before I found this place. It's located in a old building, and it certainly does have a pretty decent range. In fact the interior of the place is absolutely gorgeous, especially if you happen to be one of those people, like me, who likes to wander around such places, and explore what books that lie here, forgotten. Yeah, this place certainly did have quite a lot of charm, and is one that I'd have no problems returning to in a hurry.

We've visited this wonderful bookshop twice while travelling in Victoria and bought a good number…read moreof excellent books. Downstairs there are cabinets with special interest books at the front (first editions, unusual, signed) and a decent selection of art books. Further in is a large amount of literature and fiction and nice hardback editions. Upstairs is a large range of different categories of books including poetry and non-fiction. Prices are reasonable. (Sadly, we learnt this time that the owner is in ill health and the building has been sold. There are discounts now being applied to encourage you to buy up big as they are selling their entire stock.)

$4.50 for a small take away cup and a cheap Nerada tea bag. Tourist places seem to not care about…read morewhat they do because they figure the customers will keep coming. Bendigo Pottery is worth a visit but could be a lot cooler. The café needs a little love.

There is a huge selection of Chinese artifacts here. In fact many of the artifacts were donated by…read morea collector in his will, so there is quite a lot to look at. They also keep the dragon here, which is pretty big. In fact it curls around the entire room. Along with that are other, smaller dragons, and of course details discourses on the Chinese population in Bendigo, at least going back to the gold rush era, when many were sent down here by the Emperor to bring back gold to the empire. It certainly is quite interesting, and definitely worth checking out as well.

Once upon a time, in the days of rust and dust and gold, Bendigo was known as "gold mountain"…read more Thousands and thousands came from around the world to try their luck at finding fortune. A large portion of these treasure hunters came from China, leaving behind their families in hopes of bringing them a better life. Golden Dragon Museum pays tribute to these Chinese migrants and the huge cultural impact they brought to the region. Bendigo's Easter celebration hosts some of the biggest Chinese Dragon parades in Australia, and in this special museum, you can see many of the dragons used in the last 150 years. The longest and oldest Chinese dragons of Australia are all here, and wow! are they impressive. Flash-free photography is welcome, although a bit challenging as lights are kept dim to preserve the aging silks. Outside the museum are two beautiful Chinese gardens, including a koi pond and a Buddhist temple honoring the Goddess of Compassion and Mercy. At $11 for adult entry, this is a beautiful way to spend an afternoon in Bendigo.

My past experiences at Australia's oldest theatre have been positive but this morning very nearly…read moreearned it a 2 star rating. The Theatre Royal resonates old world charm from every corner. The theatre still plays host to film screening and will pack out when the right bands are playing (sorry that you had to cancel your show, Kasey Chambers). They serve local wines and brews from Harcourt. Actually, that's something I enjoy about most establishments in Castlemaine. But the food is what nearly earned them a 2 star rating. Castlemaine has been affectionately nicknamed "North Northcote". The hipsters are flocking out this way and the cafés are in abundance so if you're going to serve cafe food you really need to be on your game. I traded in my go to meal at Saff's to try somewhere else and I was let down. Ricotta pancakes with bacon, banana and maple syrup. The pancakes were sloppy and way too sweet. Much sweeter than the maple syrup itself. And the bacon just wasn't salty enough to cut through that sweetness. I could hardly stomach it but I finished half purely because I was hungry. This was all washed down with a pretty mediocre coffee. Sigh! You've got to get out there and try the world but sometimes you should stick to what you know!

You know, I love gardens that happen to have sculptures in them, and this place is no exception…read more Sure, it isn't anywhere near as impressive as some of the gardens in Paris, but it is certainly a delightful place with some magnificent sculptures there in. There is also a green house here as well, and they tend to be rather delightful too, though when I was here the greenhouse happened to be closed. However, it was a lovely place to spend some time, and it certainly had an awful lot of charm about it as well.

This is actually a part of the Golden Dragon museum, though it also happens to be free to enter…read more(unlike the museum). The gardens are actually quite nice, and they are certainly a lovely place to wander around. Mind you, it also happens to be a shrine of sorts, though I don't believe that it is an active one. Rather, it is a garden that has been set up to mimic the gardens one would find back in China. It certainly does have a lot to do with there having once been a huge Chinese population here. Yeah, this garden is rather rather nice and peaceful, and it is certainly a place to check out.

Note: I'm writing this review as a long-term mail order customer - I have never visited the…read morephysical shop (but I intend to in the future!). I have been buying yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills for years - it is fantastic quality, and excellent value. And I'm not exaggerating - check their website - you get a 200g cone (or ball) of high quality wool for only $12-$13! Postage is ridiculously cheap, and products are shipped promptly. With a huge colour selection, I don't know why more people don't shop here - it's perfect for anyone who works with wool. I've been buying it for my handweaving and woven tapestry, and it works out a lot cheaper than the local craft shop (plus the quality is ten times better!). It's lovely to knit with, and wears well without bobbling like the more commercial yarns do. I highly recommend anyone interested in crafting to support an Australian wool mill (one of the only mills left in Australia!) - knitting and crocheting are becoming trendier these days, so why not save yourself some money and buy wool in bulk?

A bit tricky to get to if you've never been there before, if you're a knitter, weaver or crocheter,…read moreyou'll want to check this place out. This is the kind of place that you should go to source wool and know what project you're buying for. You can check their prices and purchase online, but seeing it in person at least once is recommended. Even though they're a bit analog still, they DO do online shopping, phone and mail orders and send out current colour cards to their regular customers. You can also request them to send you their colour cards online or by phone so you can look at their swatches in person. They also sell patterns and fully knitted garments. If you run out of wool or underestimated how many skeins you needed for a particular project, you can call or email them about a colourway and dyelot and they will do their best to help you out. But they do sell out of popular colours quickly and you might need to purchase the latest dyelot, so plan ahead! Tip: Check out the back room for sales, goodies and treasures. Pro tip: The back room will be picked over and gutted by knitting harpies if you go during the Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show weekend! Overall: Good quality and economical choice for large projects that would otherwise be pricier with more boutique wools.

Let's take a quick trip back in time to 15 years ago... We were at the tail end of an 8 week…read morecamping holiday (our last big pre child excursion) around central Australia. The heatwave conditions in the red centre had convinced me that the wearing of a hat was a very sensible thing to do in order to avoid third degree sunburn. Over the course of the trip I had managed to demolish 2 or 3 cheap hats. On our homeward stretch we passed through Bendigo and happened to find a hat shop that sold genuine Akubra hats so as a spur of the moment thing I chucked the shattered remains of yet another cheap hat in the bin and wandered in. I wandered out shortly afterwards with a brand new Akubra perched proudly on my brow wondering whether it was a good investment. Fast forward 15 years to today. I am still wearing the same Akubra I bought at the Bendigo hat shop 15 years ago. What's more, I am back in Bendigo and standing in front of the very same Bendigo hat shop which is not only still in business but run by the same lady who served me 15 years ago. My old hat has been worn pretty much every day for 15 years and spent at least 12 of them looking pretty good but over the last few it has started to look a bit shabby (in answer to the "was that a good investment question" , the answer is a big yes) so it's time for a new one. The Bendigo hat Shop has a huge range. Not just the Akubra but straw hats, fedoras, trendy flat caps, fascinators and pretty much anything else you can perch on your head. The service is fantastic - the lady who has run the shop for the last few decades knows pretty much everything there is to know about hats and can pretty much pick your head size, and the styles that will suit you best, the moment you walk in the door. Even better she is a trained milliner (hat maker) and can adjust, pad or otherwise tweak your new hat to fit perfectly. I walked out with a nice new Akubra. My old one is now retired to gardening duty and will server me well for another 10 years at least. My wife walked out with two hats - a wide brimmed straw number (that she looks fantastic in) and a marvellous red cloche hat (that looks amazing on her) for winter. Even my son got in on the hat action with a new Fedora (he looks like a spotty youth in his but that's not the fault of the hat).