I will eventually get to the wineries and what we thought of them, but there were a few stops before we reached our destination and the task ahead of us in the Yarra Valley.

I mentioned in my final post from New Caledonia that we had one more trip planned before we move into our new apartment in Brisbane, and this was it. But, very different from my usual summaries of our wine tasting adventures, or house sitting assignments, where I write a post at the end of most days, these posts are being written without that pressure, at home on our son’s property in Queensland. You see, we travelled for most of the trip with my best friend from school, who also was bridesmaid at our wedding in 1977, and we had a lot of catching up to do.

Mick and I flew to Melbourne from the Gold Coast on the Friday of the June long weekend. Previously this long weekend celebrated the Queen’s Birthday, but now of course it marks the King’s Birthday. Needless to say, Mick and I did not raise a glass of wine to Charles, although there was a lot of that going on! Raising glasses of wine – by us, I mean.

Once in Melbourne, we collected a hire car from East Coast Rentals, and I mention them because they were fantastic. I had got a great deal as well because I had booked early. Then we headed to Geelong to stay with my girlfriend Maree and her husband Darryl for two nights. The drive took us just over an hour and we arrived as the sun was setting.

One of the first things Mick and I noticed was that a feast had been prepared for the four of us for dinner. There were several plates of ‘nibblies’, enough for a group of 20, as well as several plates of beautiful-looking salads in the fridge, enough I estimated to feed the same number. After an initial exchange and a toast to our arrival, the first of their children arrived with her two children, and then the next daughter arrived with her sons. It turned out that there were quite a few of us for dinner, as well as sleeping over for the night. It seemed that our arrival was to be a family celebration. It was a wonderful start to our holiday in Victoria.

The next day Mick and I were taken on a tour of some of Geelong’s famous landmarks, but we did need to brave the weather.

The first stop was the Geelong Waterfront which features a much-loved walking trail that consists of large bollards made from hardwood and painted to represent famous and important people in Geelong’s history.

There was a carnival feel to the waterfront with the help of this Ferris Wheel and an antique merry-go-round, which is kept indoors to allow year-round use.

Darryl was keen to show us an engineering feat that had been fairly recently installed on the waterfront. Well, it was opened in late 2020. But to see it, and to experience it, we did need to brace ourselves.

The floating pier was big news politically when it was finished, with the likes of Alan Tudge and others spruiking its construction as a great achievement under Scott Morrison’s leadership.

But, it does actually work and even my photo shows the choppy water on the left hand side and the relative calm water inside the attenuator. Oh we did joke as we all learnt a new word for the day!

We enjoyed lunch in a waterfront restaurant before Darryl took us on a tour to the south and east of Geelong.

Mick and I had no real prior knowledge of Geelong, other than its location, and we were very impressed by the city and glad we had visited.

For our final night in Geelong, Mick volunteered to cook us steak with his favourite jus, and again there were lots of stories as well as some gossip. Poor Darryl was very patient, as Mick, Maree and I went through senior high school together – and with this year marking 50 years since we completed our HSC, the three of us had some memories to share.

The next morning we headed for Daylesford.