The Purple Penguin

Lazy start to the day, up late sorted and out. Drove up to where we’d had dinner and found a 2 hour parking lot and went to have breakfast. Wandered back by the library which had some nice sculptures, though Joe wouldn’t let me go in. Decided to head into Geelong to see what the waterfront looked like, with the understanding that if we couldn’t find parking we’d head somewhere else.

Found parking easily (seems people would rather park down by the beach than up on the hill). Finally saw a cockatoo (but still only in the air, still haven’t seen one landed on something! Seen plenty flying though.) We walked along the waterfront, which has a nice swimming area. Had a lido for children which was shallow, then an enclosed area in the sea surrounded by decking with floats and diving platforms.

We then walked up to the pier, passing some nice old houses and looking at the bollards (Geelong is known for the bollard walk). We went in to see the 126 year old carousel, which is now enclosed to protect it (Joe thought the protection wasn’t done very sympathetically, but probably due to cost). We didn’t ride but had a look and at the older pieces. Then we walked down the pier. It’s mainly parking with a bar/restaurant at the end which was closed. There is some nice sculpture around the waterfront and children play areas.

From the pier we headed to the Wool Museum and the Tourist Information centre. We didn’t go into the Wool Museum (Joe was probably worried about allergic reactions!) but we had a look around. They also had the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition showing there. But we wanted to get on to Melbourne, so we headed back to the car, along part of the town then the waterfront.

The drive to Melbourne wasn’t too bad, a bit of traffic on the West Gate Bridge, but otherwise rather easy to get to the hotel. The car is now parked until 2 January! Hooray! We rested in the room – it was nice to just stop for a bit – and learned that Australian game shows are very snarky! Then out for dinner. We found a place that had Jambalaya for 2 on the menu so we went in and had that. It was really good.

Tomorrow we have a look around Melbourne!