DAY 172 – OVERNIGHT IN GEELONG…
It was a pretty long drive again today,
over 300kms so we got away pretty early. We crossed over into Victoria today,
our fifth state this trip…
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Hay Bale Art in Tarrington Vic |
This was a total surprise, but I did
make Steve stop at each one so that I could photograph them….
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Our lunch stop in Mortlake Vic |
We headed through to Mortlake where we
stopped for lunch and checked out the local bakery. It didn’t rate in the top three of bakeries
that we have visited.
From here it was straight through to
Geelong. We arrived there around 3.30pm
and set up at the local show grounds there also. They were more expensive than the showgrounds
in Mount Gambier, $25 a night and no where near as nice. Still it wasn’t bad and we would have thought
it was pretty good if we had not stayed at such a good one the previous
evening.
By the time we were all set up it was
close to 4pm and Steve was keen to go and visit Prestige Jayco in Geelong. He had visited there several times the previous
time we were here. We only had an hour
as they close at 5pm. Still he was in
his element there and found a caravan that he really liked that could replace
our van when and if ever we upgrade. He
really loves the new Jayco Adventurer 16’ and 19’ vans, and I must admit, I
don’t mind them either. Plenty of
storage, large bed, big fridge, and oven and the best part is that they have an
ensuite which would be great for more off road camping….
Once Jayco closed we headed down to the
Geelong foreshore. I love this place, it
has such a good vibe about it. When we
were last here they were still in the process of developing it, so it was nice
to go back and see it completely finished and still as popular as ever.
I love all the bollards. No visitors to
this magnificent waterfront precinct can miss
the whimsical bollards that stretch from Rippleside to Limeburners Point.
There are over 100 bollards stretching along our waterfront that are made out of huge wooden pylons, many recovered from the Yarra Street Pier which was destroyed by fire in the 1980’s and later removed. The wood was first sculptured and then painstakingly hand painted. The bollards depict many of the events and history of the Geelong region, from the times when the local Wautharong People were the only inhabitants right up to modern times.
Many of the bollards are painted as historic people, including many of our founders and even former Premier Jeff Kennett and former Prime Minister of Australia John Howard, who were both in office when the bollards were being designed and installed. Favourites include explorer Mathew Flinders overlooking the bay he discovered in 1802, the historic Geelong Footballer near the old Hi-Lite Park site and the sailor and floozy near Cunningham Pier. Other tributes to historic moments in Geelong’s history include the Speed Trials bollards in Ritchie Boulevard, 1920’s lady swimmers on the sandy foreshore nearby and various sea captains and the rustic fisherman at Fisherman’s Pier.
The bollards have become an
important and very well recognised icon of Geelong and they were one of the
reasons I wanted to return. We saw more
this visit than we did last time and I was happy to photograph them all.
One of the other interesting icons
on the foreshore is The Buoys. A group
of former channel buoys on Steampacket Gardens have been turned into a very
striking piece of artwork. There are
6 buoys in various states of repair from
the freshly painted to the salt and windblown.
These huge metal objects have become one of the best loved icons on the
foreshore and Steve had to stop and have his photo taken with them. We weren’t the only ones, there quite a few
Asians waiting to have their photos taken with them as well.
Geelong’s Waterfront Carousel is
also worth seeing and is considered on the the jewel of Geelong. It proudly overlooks the harbour with
spectacular views out to Corio Bay and is housed in a modern sail like steel and
glass pavilion which is a striking focal point at the foreshore precinct.
The carousel is an extremely rare
and beautiful Armitage Hershell Carousel which dates back to 1892. It has been magnificently restored toits
original glory and is complete with 36 horses and two beautiful chariots. This historic carousal is one of the few left
in the world.
Twenty-four of the horses are
actually original and took over 300 man hours each to restore. The remaining
twelve horses were built using many of the same processes used in making the
original with every effort used to make them as authentic as possible. Even
real coach wood was imported from the United States in an effort to match the
original as close as possible. The whole project took a team of talented
craftsman over two years to complete after recovering the carousel from storage
in the Victorian gold district town of Castlemaine.
The carousel tells the story of
King Arthur and Camelot. The beautiful paintings form branches which hold the
canopy like a giant tree, with panels showing the tales of the story. The
horses and chariots circle the story and along with the whimsical carnival
music give the pavilion a fairy-tale like atmosphere. Originally the carousel
was powered by steam, but in its restored form it now runs on electric power.
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Geelong Ferris Wheel |
Geelong also boasts of having the
largest travelling Ferris Wheel in the Southern Hemisphere down on the
foreshore as well. You get a great view
of the Floating Christmas Tree from up at the top of this wheel, and at night
it comes alive with over 24 amazing light patterns illuminating the nightsky.
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Love seeing so many folk using the park for fun and exercise |
Moving further around the bay you
come to Eastern Beach which was fully restored back in 1990. It houses
one of Geelong’s best known icons, the Swimming Enclosure.
This large double platform wooden
structure complete with shark gate sweeps in a half circle around 8 1/2 acres
of sea water. The enclosure has a diving board, floating islands and slides and
can hold thousands of swimmers, with a delightful sandy beach backing onto the
children’s pool.
The children’s pool is a shallow
cement pool, which includes a magnificent fountain in the centre. It is part of what makes this whole area on
Geelong’s foreshore so inviting and draws so many people, tourists and locals
alike to spend time down here. I love
this place and would gladly come here and visit it all again…
By now the sun had set, and we still needed to pick up a few groceries on our way home. I really would love to come back to Geelong for a week or more, there is so much to do and see in this area and having been here twice now, we still have not seem nearly enough of the place.
We are on the move again
tomorrow. This time to Melboure, our
final destination this trip before we head home to Qld. We are arriving a day earlier to surprise Dan
and Chloe.
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