Road Trip (Ballan to Geelong)

Earlier this week we did one of our "road trips". This time it was on the C141 from Ballan to Geelong. The journey from Ballan to Geelong is 72.5 klms and takes just one hour and sixteen minutes. The C141 is mostly a rural road linking the coastal city of Geelong to the heritage tourist town of Daylesford.

It was a pleasant drive and is a good road for cycling too. Though there are many sections that are narrow with a gravel shoulder.

and there are always interesting things to see along the way:

33 klms south of Ballan you come to The Brisbane Ranges National Park. Popular areas of the park are accessible from the Geelong-Ballan Road and the Staughton Vale Road out of Anakie

Set in a low range of mountains dissected by rocky gullies, the unusual geology of Brisbane Ranges National Park has preserved plants that have long since vanished from the region, together with a correspondingly diverse bird population as well as Koalas, Wallabies and Kangaroos.

as we get closer to Geelong, so the land becomes more open and we start to see a bit of early morning fog.....

From the C141 we turn east towards Geelong on the A300 and head straight into more fog ....

It was soon clear and we drove through Geelong City Centre and onto the A10 which took us to Queenscliffe.

But more about Queenscliff in the next blog post.


Other road trips:

Ballan to Gordon

Ballan to Daylesford

Ballan to Mt Egerton

Ballan to Bacchus Marsh (via Glenmore Road)

Gordon to Wallace

Mt Egerton to Yendon


Bike Ride:

along Glenmore Road



Train Journey:

Ballan to Melbourne

Melbourne to Ballarat on two wheels!

If you read the previous blog post on The Ballarat Sebastopol Cycling Club Melbourne to Ballarat Classic you would have known why there were 250 cyclists on the M8 (Western Freeway) today!

....... and what a ride it was!

All of the following images were taken at the top of the climb after Pykes Reservoir, a beautiful part of Regional Victoria.

it was quite a climb for the riders here, though there was to be another further along as they approached the Gordon area!

Pykes Creek Reservoir is located on a tributary of the Werribee River and is 72 km west of Melbourne on the Western Highway.

I hope you enjoy the following images. Think of these riders - and their sore muscles tonight - as they rode the 98 klms along the Western Freeway to Ballarat today ....

a few URL's that maybe of interest:

Cycling Australia

Cycling Victoria ..... Cycling in Victoria has a rich and exciting past and Cycling Victoria (CV) is committed to the preservation and honouring of this rich history.

Ballarat-Sebastopol Cycling Club ....... came into being as Ballarat Sebastopol Amateur Cycling Club in 1974, following the disbanding of two independent cycling clubs, Ballarat Amateur Cycling Club and Sebastopol Amateur Cycling club.

Victorian Veterans Cycling ...... The VVCC is the governing body for veterans cycling in Victoria and is constituted from delegates of its member clubs. The VVCC runs under the auspices of the Australian Veterans Cycling Council (AVCC) for the promotion of veterans cycling in the state.

Bicycle Network Victoria ....... is a charity that promotes the health of the community. We work with our supporters to get “More People Cycling More Often” and measurably grow the bike riding world.

all of the above images were taken by John Fabre.

a train journey

Today, May 25 2012 ..... the coldest day in four years and the wettest day in seventeen years and what did we decide to do?

Yes ... take a train trip from Ballan into Melbourne City!

This was my first time on the train, though John has been in by train many times over the past two months of us living here.

He always said it was a comfortable journey and it was ..... would be even better if they offered free WiFi on the train, but I think our dreams of that happening are next to nil.

above: The Ballan Rail Station ...... the ticket area and the waiting room and yes, there is a delightful waiting room complete with heater and toilet facilities!

The conductor was friendly, the train was warm and the seating was comfortable, it took 57 minutes to reach the Southern Cross Station (the Old Spencer Street) and the cost was 'reasonable' I guess. Though I cannot understand why they don't offer concession rates over the weekend. They have a very odd way of working out the price structure.  At the weekends there is a "Family Ticket" for one adult and two children that costs $5.10. The same price as one adult with a concession card!

Why not have the same fares all the time?

Why distinguish between off peak, peak and weekends ... surely the idea would be to encourage everyone to use public transport as opposed to vehicles?

But ... all that aside ... the train journey today was a nice experience and we would recommend it to everyone.

above:  inside the carriage

below:  the scenery along the way .......
keep in mind the train was moving and it was a very wet day, so the photos really don't do the scenery justice. It would be quite beautiful on a clear sunny day.

below: arriving at Southern Cross Rail Station.

.... and before heading over to Collins Street to catch the tram, we stopped at PIE FACE for a cup of hot chocolate!

Even though the day was wet and cold, we did enjoy our trip in by train ....

We will blog about the next train trip too and hopefully will have a few better photos.

overnight trip to Bendigo

Last weekend we spent a night in Bendigo, the main reason to go was that one of our very dear friends was turning 50.  There was a big party being planned at her home, everyone was invited except us.


But we were sneaky and had told her we would not be back in Australia until the "end of March", so no invite was in the mail. Little did she know that we had made arrangements with her family and friends that we would be there......  what a surprise for her and what a great night it was for us!


Bendigo is not even one and a half hours from Ballan, so a nice overnight trip.

above image is the front entrance to the Golden Reef Motor Inn - a member of the Sundowner chain.


We stayed at the Golden Reef Motor Inn - a member of the Sundowner chain.


Our visit to the Motor Inn was not an 'invited' social media event, but rather our own personal choice. We were impressed with the cleanliness of our room - which was just a basic double - and all the extra little things that made this Motor Inn a good choice.

There was the Queens sized bed, tea and coffee making facilities, a small refrigerator, small table with two chairs, a small 1.5 seat sofa, TV, plenty of hanging space, an iron and ironing board, a well appointed bathroom. Extras that we were not expecting were the hairdryer, the can of fly spray, the over head bedside lighting and the mugs for coffee as well as the cups and saucers.

above images: inside our room


The internal lighting - as usual with motels - was very poor, with one main light over the bed and one light where the tea making facilities are.


This is an ideal Motel / Motor Inn for business men and families with plenty of car parking available. 

The bathroom was small but adequate. We are used to the larger sized showers and bathrooms in hotels. Main thing was that it was clean!

The swimming pool was extra small, in fact barely large enough to be called a "swimming pool", but then we are used to the wonderful resorts of Asia with multiple pools attached to the hotels, so we shouldn't 'judge' the size of them here. Though it still was extra small by any standard!

Like I mentioned above, it is a well appointed Motor Inn with good staff and would be an excellent place for families and business people to stay.


We hope to return in the next couple of months as we are intending to see the Grace Kelly exhibition that is being held in Bendigo.


please note we are available for any Social Media work. Be it bakeries, restaurants, wineries, cafes, coffee shops, or anything that needs to have some focus and would be of interest to others!!

email:

Leone and John Fabre