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Other entries in Geelong

Geelong, the heat is off and the flies are back

Christmas is now two days past and we are back on the (cycle) road. We're in Geelong which is on the same bay on which Melbourne sits but miles from Melbourne. Melbourne sits at the top (north) of the Port Phillip Bay with Frankston on the east side and Geelong on the SW corner. There is an annual "around the bay in a day" cycle ride (October) and the entire bay is circumnavigated, total distance 210 kms and involves a 35 minute ferry ride at the south end (where we crossed yesterday).

But to digress.......

Had a rather hectic but at the same time relaxing three nights in Frankston with our friend John and his sister. South of Frankston is the Morningside Peninsula which is home to over 200 vineyards and some 65 wineries. Not too hard to imagine what we did on one day! Managed to get an absolutely priceless cork. Three of the vineyards which are, by the owners' estimation, 10 minutes apart by tractor, banded together and created a winery named (wait for it!) "Ten Minutes By Tractor Winery". Tried some of the wine which was actually quite good and managed to get a cork from the winery. This one is an absolute classic. I took a picture of the logo which appears on the cork and I'll add the picutre later, this is being done from a "dial up" connection and too slow to add photos.

The day before we had gone to pick up a bottle of wine for dinner and went in to the "Alias Wine Store". Every single label on all the wines in the place were basic white labels with "Alias" on the top and a description of the wine. I asked the owner what "Alias" was all about and his reply was (with a big smile) "No worries, mate, I LOVE talking about Alias". Turns out that two large liquor chains have about 90% of the market and it is tough for the small wineries to get shelf space and thus have to market their product on their own. Alias visits the small wineries and samples different types of wines. If they like the product, they will buy some or all of the production unlabelled. They get the info and put on their own label (in fact we watched a fellow labelling bottles as we were getting the low down on Alias) and then market the resulting product. All the wines are available for tasting so we tried a bunch and ended up buying a number of bottles for that evening and the following Xmas dinner to which we had been invited.

Even better, the fellow had a huge bin of corks at the back of the shop which he was more than happy to let me go through (while Wendy stood behind rolling her eyes yet again!). Managed to get a good dozen or so absolute classics that will end up in the table for sure. Add in a "ten minutes by tractor" and Keith is a happy man (small things amuse etc. etc. etc.)

The day we cycled down to Frankston (23rd) was in the mid 30's and sticky hot. That evening a storm blew in, lots of lightning and wind and the temps dropped a good 10 to 15 degrees and pretty much stayed there for the three days. The wind howled day and night and as the wind came across the bay (from the west) it had a bit of a cold bite to it. We attempted a walk along the beach on Xmas day and got driven off by the wind and the rain. But, as the flies were a much more noticable presence on the cycle down, it did keep the little buggers at bay for a few days.

Xmas day we headed over to friends of John's, Jane and Rob, who very kindly invited us to join them for Xmas dinner. Like so many similar dinners at home, there was way too much to eat and drink and we left well fed indeed. Apparently more and more Australians are getting away from the "standard" hot meal (turkey and or ham) and having a cold meal. Which, if you think about it, makes a lot more sense in potentially 35 degree heat. Wouldn't want a turkey merrily cooking away and turning the house in to an oven itself.

Rob and Jane just purchased the ultimate recreational trailer for life in the outback, a T-Van and we got a tour of the trailer from Rob. This space age looking trailer is designed for very rough terrain and was originally used (or a version of it) by the Australian army so it has lots of little places for water, fuel, wood and tools. It is designed to fold way out for when you are parked for a few days and also designed so that if you are only staying for a very short period of time you can flip up one side, crawl in and have a snooze. It can travel up and across steep embankments and water. It is the ultimate in luxury roughin' outback travelling. Rob and Jane head off in a day or so to break the thing it and see some of the more remote areas of the country.

On Boxing Day John was heading east to a favourite camping spot of his so we headed off south. Wendy worked with an "exchange" physio in Edmonton about 10 years ago and they kept in touch. The woman, Donna, now lives in Geelong and had invited us there for a spell so we headed off to Geelong. The day was still quite windy, still from the west and still cool to cold. Our route was south to the bottom of the bay then across by ferry to the western side and then west to Geelong.

Because of the wind and temperature (cool for sure) it was pretty much a "put your head down and cycle" sort of day. There were a lot of cyclists on the road and the odd one would slow down for a spell and chat (we, being the draught horses, would never stay up with the race horses). Chatted with a few of them for a spell and off they would go. The ferry across the bay runs about once an hour so we didn't bother trying to time our arrival. If we missed one, we'd head over to a pie shop and catch the next one. Cycle touring teaches you a whole lot of patience.

As we approached the ferry we could see the cars being loaded and a group of walk on people getting ready to load. So we pushed a bit harder, got to the wicket just as they were closing this trip off, got our tickets and away we went across the bay. There were a few other cyclists (of the race horse variety) on the ferry and I understand that it is a popular route for bikes.

On the other side we had a bite to eat then headed in to the wind for the last 35 kms into Geelong. If the first part was "put your head down and cycle" this ride was "REALLY put your head down and cycle" as it was straight in to the wind. Interestingly, once we were on the western side of the bay the temperature kicked it up a notch. On the eastern side the wind comes across the cold bay and cools off. On the western side it is warmed by the peninsula and is a lot hotter wind.

Got to Geelong, again after chatting with a few cyclists along the road. Found Donna's place no problem, actually it was quite easy as she is living along the bay and just off the central business district. She, and her partner Phil, must feel a bit like they are running a hotel these days. Literally as we rolled up, Phil's father and his partner were getting in to their car and on their way home after several days of visiting. Donna's father was (and still is) staying with them for a few days as well. But, it is a big house and there is lots of room for all.

The rest of the day was spent kicking around the house. Being Boxing Day, the annual Boxing Day (Cricket) Test Match was on from Melbourne. This year it is Australia and South Africa and like all test matches, lasts five days. For a bit of the evening we watched the game and I was able to add to my knowledge of the sport. I almost think that I am getting to understand it all and some of the strategy. Learned about "ducks" and "golden ducks" (bad and much worse if you are the batter, wonderful if you are the bowler) and some of the strategy used. I was even able to ask the odd question that suggested I might actually have an idea of what is going on. The more and more you watch the sport, the more and more you realize that it is quite similar to baseball in so many respects.

Dinner that night. What can I say that doesn't overdo the superlatives? The main course was prawns and calamari (squid) and while we have eaten a lot of calamari over the years, nothing prepared us for this feed. They were lightly floured with pepper and a few other spices then deep fried in a wok for about a minute. As tender as I have ever had them and I told Phil that the unfortunate part of the meal is that I know what calamari should taste like. It is going to be very, very hard to duplicate the level to which the bar has now been set. Maybe I was better off in my ignorance. Oh well. And there was lots of good wine to go with it all (including one with a good cork, does it get any better?).

Speaking of corks, the following day we did a tour of the peninsula and stopped in at the Scotchman's Hill winery. I was asking the fellow behind the counter if they use corks at all and he was saying that some of the higher end restaurants now will not accept bottles of wine that have corks in them. So, if you want to sell the wine, screw caps it is.

We started the day out with a walk along the bay that Geelong sits on. First thing we saw were a number of decorated bollards. Bollards apparently are the huge posts mounted on the side of a dock to which the boats tie themselves to while in port (think telephone pole size in thickness, at least). An artist has taken a number of bollard sized logs and dressed and painted them up to depict the history of the city and the people who made the city. There are quite a few along the river front, some of which are quite interesting. Unfortunately they attract the usual vandalism so one was covered up as part of the reparation process. Wendy and I had our picture taken beside "Nancy Natty Knickers", which symbolized  women cyclists of an earlier era.

Phil is an avid sailor so we took a tour throw the Royal Geelong Yacht Club looking at the boats and seeing the ones that Phil crews on (as well as his own boat including the one for sale that has his eye). Interesting about the boats, not surprisingly, they are not cheap. But it becomes a bit of a symbiotic relationship. You need about eight people to crew the boat, no crew, no sail. The crew needs a boat so often they go with a boat and throw in a small sum of money to cover the beer and off they go. The annual Sydney-Hobart sailing race just finished this morning and an article I read mentioned that the "maxis" in this race (the really big and serious boats) have a main sail alone that costs $160,000, figure out what the rest of the boat must cost and you understand why the big boats are the toys of the very rich.

Toured the area of the dock (in the Sailing Club) where they do the repairs on boats. One was just being returned to the water so we watched as it slid down the ramp on its rail trolley and gracefully slide in to the water for another go at the ocean.

After a look-see at the beach area, Phil and Donna took us for a spin around the peninsula in a beautifully air conditioned vehicle. It was hot, hot, hot today. Got out to Ocean Grove to see the last of the boats heading out from near Geelong heading for Hobart as an adjunct race to the Sydney-Hobart race. We've been told many a time about how the Australians head for the beach whenever there is an opportunity and we saw it first hand today.

Near Ocean Grove there are a number of beaches and caravan parks and to say that they are crowded would be analogous to saying that there are flies in Australia. One caravan park that we went by (and quite near the beach) looked like a parking lot with wall to wall vehicles and tents and trailers stuck in the small spaces between the vehicles. I doubt very much that that area would be a quiet sleep in the evening.

Also learned a bit more about Australia. A number of years ago there was a very popular television serial called "Sea Change" and involved the story of a harried female lawyer working herself to death in a big city. She decided to "down size" herself and move to a small fictious coastal town and live a slower life. The area that we toured was used as the backdrop for the television show and a number of places along the way had signs noting that they were this site or that site "for the show Sea Change". Of interest is that the word has now been accepted as a part of the vocabulary in that if a person decides to slow down their live and move to the coast, they have "done a Sea Change". As well, if you do the same but head inland, you have "done a Tree Change". Live and learn.

In speaking with Phil the night before, I found out that he had, until quite recently, had a 200 acre farm just west of Geelong on which he raised sheep. As I said, he was the perfect candidate for my questions. We have been eating a fair bit of lamb since getting here and can't seem to figure out which are the best cuts for the barbie. So, in answer to my question he decided to do a "flight" of different cuts. In wine tasting, a flight involves a series of testing of wines all from the same winery but of different years. It allows you to see the variations in each year's production. This meal was like that, except it was a lot of variations of lamb. Phil noted that we would be growing wool once the meal was over. I noted that a friend of mine at home (Pete) does a periodic meatfest that he calls "Lions on the Serengeti". We decided to call this meal "Dingos on the Nullabar". Looking at the grill while the meal was cooking, I couldn't help but think that it looked like a hard core vegetarian's worst night mare. There were lamb chops, chump chops, loin chops, mini steaks and several other cuts the names of which I have forgotten. And we certainly found it rather tasty to say the least.........

I would be remiss if I didn't thank all for their hospitality over the Xmas season. John and his sister Cheryl put us up for three mights, Rob and Jane fed us a great Christmas dinner, Donna and Phil squeezed us in alongside all their other family guests and fed us a couple of great meals. The last two expect to be in Canada in 2007 for work related conferences so we spent part of the evening planning the Canadian version of "eating way too much of the local fare". We have been treated right royally over the last week and we certainly appreciate the hospitality offered by all.

Cheers!

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