Although not a very long drive from Geelong, factoring in a few wrong turns, we eventually did make it safely to Daylesford in time for lunch.

I had read a bit about this cute little town that is very popular with Melburnians as a weekend destination. The small drive is one factor, but the town itself sits in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range of Victoria and its main street is filled with cute and quaint shops, art galleries, restaurants, bars and cafes. I was expecting it to be something like Katoomba in the Blue Mountains, and it was.

After finding the Tourist Office, we discovered that the weekly Sunday markets were on, possibly for another 2 hours. So armed with a ‘rough’ map, we headed off. We walked and walked in a northerly direction from the main street, passing lots of people walking back towards town. We were worried we might have missed it, but there were at least two stall holders that made Mick forget the 2km walk he had just completed.

Here we met a very clever young wine maker – Jean Paul Trijburg. A Science teacher most days, but on his non-school days he makes some great wines.

We bought a bottle of his Carménère and his Malbec for less than $30 each, and both were excellent. I think we will need to follow him via his website. He works out of Ballarat using mostly leased land. He makes his wines from the grapes he grows as well as grapes he purchases from around southern Victoria.

Mick bought this bottle for $15 and said it was worth every cent. But, he actually enjoyed it very much. Mick also worked out exactly what type of wine Pero likes – massively tasting with an obvious edge to them.

I had booked us a very cosy room in a converted hotel. Even thought it still bears the name of a hotel, it is operated more like an AirBNB.

By the time we had finished at the weekly markets, done a quick explore of the main street, found some lunch in the neighbouring village of Hepburn Springs (as there was no spare seat in any cafe in Daylesford) it was time to check in.

The accommodation only sent the access code to get into our room on the dot of 3pm!!

I had trouble booking a place for dinner in Daylesford, even before we left Queensland. The long weekend was one factor, but I discovered that many of the restaurants did not open on Sundays or Mondays.

I did find one that was within walking distance, but could only get an early sitting at 5.30pm. We had passed the Italian restaurant (Beppe) on our trek to the markets, so we knew how to get there. When we arrived at 5.25pm, we joined many others waiting for the doors to open. By the time we were seated, the restaurant was full.

The next day we planned on exploring in more detail the shops and galleries along the main street, as well as a large undercover market that operates 7 days a week.