Red Queen of the Woodland Realm

My favourite park or public space in Ballarat is easily Victoria Park. It features massive trees, sweeping roads, fields of native grass with non native hares hopping about, and it’s usually so quiet. Unlike the Lake and Botanic Gardens, which are a hum of human and animal activity, Victoria Park has still, quiet, wilderness feel to it. It’s like you’re somewhere between Hobbiton and Bree.

The light in the park is always captivating. Some days when it’s late in the afternoon the light falls so heavily and thickly between the trees that it’s nearly opaque and it resembles rows of gold bars. There’s usually a radiance coming up from the grass, creating a milky glow on everything. Plenty of the paths and roads are covered in dappled light that makes me think of the how intoxicating it was for the company of dwarves and hobbit as they made their way through Mirkwood. Maybe the locals should consider a myth about elves living in the park, not an abandoned jaguar/panther.