The following day we packed everything up and checked out of the Sovereign Park Motor Inn. Having really enjoyed her stay, my mother vowed to write a positive review about the Inn on TripAdvisor. It was time to return to Melbourne but we decided to take a detour, one that would last the entire day. Driving south along the A300 highway, my brother drove my parents and myself to the port city of Geelong.
Geelong is located on Corio Bay, 75 kilometres southwest of Melbourne. Before the arrival of the Europeans in 1802, the area was occupied by the Wathaurong Tribe. A European settlement was later established in 1836. Geelong’s population jumped to 23,000 during the 1805s Gold Rush, but since it wasn’t growing as fast as Ballarat & Bendigo, the town was dubbed ‘Sleepy Hollow’. Geelong officially became a city on December 8th, 1910, gaining several essential services such as electricity from a newly built power station and sewage system. In 1936, the city’s population finally surpassed that of Ballarat. After the Second World War, the city continued to grow thanks to the manufacturing industry and the population reached 100,000 by the 1960s. Today, the city’s population is about 161,000 and the economy relies heavily on industrial manufacturing & processing as well as tourism.
On Google Earth you can see that Geelong & Melbourne are only about 25 kilometres apart. Maybe in about a century, that separation will be no more and Geelong will be a part of the Melbourne metropolis.
Even though it was a Thursday, downtown Geelong was filled with people, wanting to get out into the bright hot sun. After parking the car near the Westfield Shopping Centre, my brother led my parents & I to an ice cream parlour called Lic, short for Lollies, Ice Cream & Coffee. He wanted us to try the ice cream because he argued that it was the best in Australia. If you have a sweet tooth, then this is the place to get your sugar & caffeine fix. There are 24 flavours of ice cream to choose from, and you can order a single, double, and even a triple scoop! Lic’s also makes single & multi flavoured ice cream cakes for many occasions. And to top it all off, there are bins of various candies (lollies) for you to fill a plastic bag. Just be ready to pay. My parents and I ordered a single scoop of ice cream on a cone whereas my brother ordered a triple. Surprisingly, he didn’t get a brain freeze.
After finishing our ice cream cones, we walked down to the waterfront to explore the area. The waterfront is lined with cafes, two marinas, and the Cunningham Pier. There are also several green spaces for people to play sports and/or to barbecue themselves (tanning). Geelong Helicopters operates from the waterfront, offering scenic flights of the waterfront and other landmarks. As a compromise, we convinced the pilot on duty to take a family picture.
We continued walking along the waterfront, passing a tall group of wooden Redcoat soldiers getting ready to play a march, and a building housing a vintage merry-go-round. Our main destination was the Cunnigham Pier, also known as the Pier Geelong. At the time of our visit, the building at the end of the pier was undergoing renovation. The Dock Café was still open but their lunch prices were too high for us. The Pier Geelong is a function venue designed to host up to 1000 guests for big parties, celebrations, and business meetings. Now that the renovation is complete, there’s also the fine dining restaurant Baveras and the City Quarter Boutique Bar to enjoy.
We headed back the way we came and stopped into a bar/café for some beer and chips. The drinks were great but our chips were delayed because of the large number of customers. To keep us from leaving annoyed, we were given each a free glass of beer. Can’t argue with service like that! The fries did arrive in the end and they tasted quite good. If I return to Geelong someday, I’ll give this café another try. But what was it called?
From Geelong, we continued our detour by heading out to the town of Queenscliff, just 30 kilometres to the southeast. The town is located on the Bellarine Peninsula and sits next to the entrance to Port Philip. All sea vessels must sail through this entrance to get to Melbourne because it’s the only one. The drive took about an hour and we stopped at a lighthouse lookout point to see the port entrance. There were tourists walking along the beach and some were swimming among the shallow rocks. To me, Queenscliff is a getaway town, designed for people wanting to take a break from the real world. There’s not much to do except sit back, relax, and watch the world go by. Just wear plenty of sunscreen.
From here we had to drive back to Melbourne to check into our hotel or else we would lose the reservation. The journey took about 90 minutes and it rained a little but we made it to the Quality Hotel on time. Since we would be leaving Melbourne in two days, we chose to stay at a hotel that was close to the airport. Our room was surprisingly big with three beds (you could fit three more), and a washroom with 2 sinks (the key to a successful marriage).
Leaving our luggage and rental car behind, we searched for a nearby restaurant to have dinner. After checking out several questionable establishments we ended up in the DiCaprio Family Restaurant, specializing in Italian, French, Asian and Middle Eastern food. Keeping it simple, we ordered salad and two Italian styled pizzas. The food was good but the speed of service was average. I think it was because they were understaffed that day. Anyway, I would eat at the DiCaprio’s in the Tullamarine neighbourhood again. There are two other DiCaprio’s restaurants located at Taylors Lakes and Hoppers Crossing.
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