There are advantages I discovered, as a writer, to having a new virus flitting around, one being that, what with not being allowed to visit my father in his care home, no movies, no shows or Melbourne’s Comedy Festival, I had more time for projects I’ve been putting off for far too long.
One of these was a re-editing of my book, Hangi, Haka and Hobbits, relating my experiences while road-tripping around both islands of New Zealand. Now 10,000 words less (can you believe it?) it’s trim, taut and well, hopefully terrific.
On the final leg of my two-day trip around the Bellarine Peninsula, I wound around from Point Lonsdale to Queenscliff. There are plenty of touristy things to do here normally: historic museums, art galleries, eating places but the town had started closing down and was very quiet.
A short time ago, I had a couple of days free and I made use of them to get away from the city and into some fresher air and less noise. The Bellarine Peninsula was the best place to head to make full use of just two days.
I hadn’t been through Geelong for many years, always turning off beforehand towards the Great Ocean Road. I was very pleasantly surprised. The waterfront area in particular is just lovely.
Stuff for the kids.
No shortage of dining along the waterfront.
I hadn’t realised there’s a ferry service from Geelong into Melbourne. How convenient to avoid the drive along the busy Princes Highway and the parking when you get there.
Geelong is Victoria’s second largest city, with a population of over 250,000. It’s situated on Corio Bay, just 75 kilometres south-west of Melbourne. It’s had its ups and downs over the years but looks pretty comfortable at the moment.
I wandered for ages around the streets, searching out the colonial buildings from its earlier days.
Well-to-do homes overlooking the bayOriginal cottagesOld Post OfficeTown Hall Court HouseArt GalleryVery impressive library
The theatre was closed but it’s a busy place from what I’ve heard. Billy Connolly began his final Australian tour here.
I’m sure you could make a perfectly good life in Geelong. It has everything: shopping, entertainment, sport (it’s the home of one of Australia’s premier AFL football teams, the Geelong Cats, along with many other sports) and Deakin University.
Kardinia Park, home of the Geelong Cats. photo: kardiniapark.vic.gov.au
I stayed the night at Rippleside Park Motor Inn on the edge of town (a mere $88 last minute), opposite a park and a very short drive from the beach. It wasn’t new by any means but it had everything I needed. I find older motel rooms are generally bigger, even to the point of having case racks. Why don’t newer motels have case racks, even when they’ve got space?
I left first thing in the morning, heading for Portarlington on my way to Queenscliff and the car ferry across to Sorrento and home. I’ll keep that for next time.
Sliding down a muddy incline at a football ground on the worst day of winter and wrecking the ligaments in your foot, is not conducive to travel. A moon boot and crutches make exploring the world difficult, hence my lack of blogging for a while.
I enjoyed my exploration of the south of England in 2016 enormously, and I thought I’d list a few of my favourite spots, some of which I’d been wanting to check out for years.
One of the items I wanted to tick off from my bucket list while in London was the Charles Dickens Museum. I came to Dickens relatively late in life, falling in love with Oliver Twist and going from there.
When I visited London in 2011, I ran out of time for everything I wanted to see, one of them being Hampton Court, Henry Vllls main palace. I headed out on Sunday morning to catch the train from Waterloo Station.
