Continuing my exploration of Victoria’s country towns, I headed up to the twin towns of Echuca and Moama, nestled on either side of the Murray River, the river creating the border between Victoria and New South Wales.
Old Gold-mining Town of Castlemaine
With Christmas over, not to mention 2020, it was time to start exploring again. I headed north of Melbourne to the old gold-mining town of Castlemaine.
Continue reading “Old Gold-mining Town of Castlemaine”Is This the Road to Stratford?
With Melbourne’s lockdown droning on and Melburnians still too dangerous to be let out, I decided some form of creativity was needed before my brain gave up the ghost completely.
Continue reading “Is This the Road to Stratford?”Some Very Nice Memories.
Seeing I’m a Melburnian and too dangerous to be let out, I thought I’d go through my old photos to see what was there, and came up with some very nice memories.
Benalla, North-East Victoria
After the long drive from Melbourne and the checking out of the wheat silos, I decided to leave the exploration of Benalla to the morning. I came out of my motel on the edge of town early to discover an almost solid wall of fog. Still, intrepid traveller that I am, I headed in and I’m glad I did. I don’t know why I’ve never been here before but I have to say, it’s a lovely town, built around Lake Benalla.
North East Victoria Silo Art Trail
I’ve been seeing photos of artwork on wheat silos for ages and decided it was time I saw the real thing, and so I headed for Benalla in Victoria’s north-east, and to the three little towns of Goorambat, Devenish and St. James.
Hangi, Haka and Hobbits: Notes from New Zealand
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.
Continue reading “Hangi, Haka and Hobbits: Notes from New Zealand”
Point Lonsdale to Queenscliff and Home
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.
Geelong to Point Lonsdale
I left Geelong early, keen to allow as much time as possible for my first look at the east coast of the Bellarine Peninsula.
Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula
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.
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.
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.
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.
Planning to the Nth 