Geelong to Melbourne & Home

Sun 4 Dec – 30km drive from Geelong to the ferry terminal at Queenscliff. We were early for our 11:00am sailing to Sorrento so were first in line. We are sailing across the entrance to Port Phillip Bay to the south tip of the Mornington Peninsula where we will spend 4 days. This is saving us driving up one side of the bay, thru Melbourne, and down the other side. It was a 45 minute trip in a small version of our Interislander. As it was a beautiful hot day, we sat out on the deck enjoying the ride.

 Our camp at Sorrento is at a camping area on the beach. It was quite unusual with camp sites on hilly ground tucked under trees. By fluke our side was flat and easy to get into. Our neighbours all around are setting up for the summer, older caravans with huge awnings and shade coverings, everything including the kitchen sink! There is a sailing/boating club here and we walked down to a great beach.

 After lunch, as it was now well over 30C we headed back down to the beach, with our sun umbrella and books, for a couple of swims - slightly chilly but very refreshing. Back at “Andy” we sat in the shade and watched the holiday constructions take shape. Most of the campers in our area are related and have been setting up here for years. They will spend 3 weeks at Christmas and the weekends until April. We are paying $42/night and assumed the long stayers must have a discount but were shocked when our neighbour said he was paying the same. ($5,200 for the summer!!) We sat outside late and walked the thru the camp, back along the beach, and out onto the jetty to watch the many people fishing but catching nothing.

Mon 5 Dec – Sometime in the night the temperature dropped and it started to rain. We woke to a chilly morning nearly 20C cooler than yesterday! Because no one seems to care, I climbed onto “Andy’s” roof and gave it a much needed clean, throwing buckets of water everywhere. We also cleaned the vent in the bathroom. The guy on one side is still in construction mode and on the other side has arrived back with 3 big fridges on a trailer! In the afternoon we walked in a cool wind along the beach to the town of Sorrento. This is a very rich holiday area with many million dollar homes and the many clothing, art, and interior design shops in the town reflected this. No swimming today!!

Tues 6 Dec – We left Sorrento and drove along the coast with many more camping areas before turning inland and crossing the Mornington Peninsula to the east side and another camping reserve at Balnarring Beach. In the afternoon we took a long walk along the beach, which is on Western Port Bay, with many secluded holiday homes. It was a nice sunny day but with a cool wind. Straight out from the beach, in the distance, is Phillip Island famous for its motor racing circuit. Drinks outside.

Wed 7 Dec – Sunny again but with cold wind blowing from the south. Nice and sheltered in our bush site. In the afternoon we ventured back out onto the beach walking in the other direction. The cold wind sent us scurrying back to “Andy” for a sit in the sun, a read, and drinks. It rained in the evening.

Thurs 8 Dec – We left Balnarring Beach crossing the Mornington Peninsula to the west coast again and to the town of Frankston, where we shopped at a Bunnings and BCF for new levelling ramps. (the old ones are buggered!) We chose to avoid the free-way to Melbourne and followed the coast road. Slower but less stressful! We skirted the south side of the CBD, thru St Kilda, over the Western Gateway Bridge and on to our camp about 15kms out of the CBD. All achieved with a minimum of heart ache. We will be here for 4 nights exploring Melbourne and readying “Andy” for storage. I managed to install new washers in our sink taps, stopping the pump from coming on every few minutes. Very satisfying!

Fri 9 Dec – Sunny but with a cold southerly. We caught the bus from outside our camp using our Myki cards (pre loaded tap on/off about $9 each for all day transport) into the centre of Melbourne. It was a trip of about 45 minutes thru the old suburb of Footscray and past Docklands. The skyscrapers are spectacular as we walked down to iconic Flinders St Station.

 There is a free tram that goes around the perimeter of the CBD which we caught thinking it would be a good way to orientate ourselves. After a bout 4 stops the driver kicked us all off. No explanation!!

We were near Docklands so walked a bit of the area before catching another tram back to Elizabeth St, bought Subway and sat outside Myers and David Jones watching people lining up to view the Christmas windows. Found an information kiosk and got maps and advice. We took a tram trip to the MCG and the Tennis Centre. The MCG was setting up for Billy Joel tomorrow night. At the Tennis Centre players were practising on the outer courts, for the Open next year. A tram back to Flinders St and the bus back to our camp. The traffic was horrendous in the centre of town, not helped by many road works and building construction. Our trip home took 1/2 hour longer. A good first day exploring Melbourne.

Sat 10 Dec – We relaxed in the morning, a very hot day forecast, and then caught the bus back into town. A short tram trip and then walked down passed the Parliament buildings and on to the banks of the Yarra River.

There are people everywhere and lots of groups celebrating Christmas. We strolled the river and crossed to the Southbank Precinct with its many bars and restaurants facing the river. As it was so busy we booked a restaurant for a 7:00pm dinner. Near the Casino we caught a very full tram for a hot ride out to St Kilda beach.

 We walked along the beach with many people swimming in the muddy looking surf. An ice-cream and a walk passed Luna Park back to the tram for the ride back to the Southbank and our dinner booking. As we were early we filled in the time people watching. Our dinner and the wine were great sitting at a table semi outside. A stroll back to the bus enjoying the warm evening and the Christmas lights.

Sun 11 Dec – Clean up day! A sunny day with a very strong NW wind. Great for the washing! It is nice to arrive back to Aussie with everything clean so that’s what we did. It is forecast to cool down so before this we went to the camp pool for a swim. Later on the rain arrived and it cool down.

Mon 12 Dec – Rainy with a cool wind for our last day. Cooked breakfast using the last of our perishables. We left the camp at 11:00am and drove 30kms towards our storage place. Our route, surprisingly, took us via the airport. We stopped for lunch before meeting Schalk, our contact for storage. With the paper work sorted, and the bikes inside, Schalk took us back to the airport. The storage looks fine in a very isolated field with many other caravans etc. We have had a great trip despite some bad weather. Only the bit between Melbourne to Sydney left to go before we can claim to have “been around the block.”