Geelong, Victoria

 Our time in Geelong is drawing to an end.  We have had six nights here and have enjoyed catching up with our friends on numerous occasions.  The trip to Geelong on the Spirit of Tasmania was a night sailing this time.  The loading at Devonport is not as slick as Geelong but nonetheless it went all very smoothly.  Once on board the Spirit and after we had settled into our stateroom we went upstairs to brave the wind in the outside area to say goodbye to Devonport and Tasmania. It was an incredible six weeks in Tasmania and we saw and did things that we never thought we would do.  We are pretty tired, most particularly Philip who does all the driving, so the remainder of our journey home will be quite low key. Because of this, I haven't really had too much to write about on the blog.

First of all, Happy New Year to each and every one of you.  May 2024 be a good year for you both health and wealth wise.  We spent New Year's eve with our friends who took us to Austin Winery for a wine tasting followed by lunch.  The wines here are pretty darn good so we did come away with a few bottles and have joined their wine club to purchase more when we get home to Palm Cove. We sampled around a dozen wines and were given a sheet of paper to score each and every wine.  I particularly enjoyed the Prosecco and Pinot Gris.

The wine tasting took around an hour and it wasn't until around 1.30 pm that we sat down for lunch.  We decided on the set course menu that had a little bit of everything, but only small portions that suit us very well.  The chef's specialty is the Lobster Rolls that I have to say were the best I have ever eaten.  I could gladly have eaten another one of them! Pinchys Restaurant is inside a renovated shearing shed.  If we had any complaints at all it would have been that it was quite noisy with its high ceilings and bare floorboards.  It might have been a wiser choice for us to sit outside where many people were enjoying the sunshine.

It was well after 4 when Dave and Lyn dropped us home.  Consequently we never saw in the New Year but we did hear the fireworks at 9.30pm and again at midnight.

The remainder of our time here in Geelong has been spent taking long walks along the Barwon River and also the Geelong waterfront.  The waterfront is a very attractive area and so many people enjoy it. Our friends told us to avoid the waterfront over the New Year holiday, as it is jam packed with people, so we left it until yesterday to walk along the waters edge.

After our walk we went and had coffee with our friends at their apartment on the waterfront.  It is a beautiful apartment with sweeping views from three sides of their unit and just a stone's throw from the main shopping centre in Geelong.  Lyn and Dave are getting ready to sail away on another cruise in just a few days time so we said our final goodbyes to them yesterday, promising to keep in touch.

So, tomorrow we once again pack up the van and this time we are heading to Phillip Island where we are hoping to see the fairy penguins.  It is never guaranteed but you have a better chance here than anywhere to spot the little critters.  Hopefully I will have enough photos to write another blog while we are there.

Judi x