Anyone Game? It’s my Sep 2013 Blog! I'm home; with a TR link in #1189, 10/14

[mvf-m11c]

Very nice firework pictures.

 

[Marlea98]

Melbourne is just sooooo beautiful - with or without fireworks

 

[franandaj]

Great shots even without being up close and personal. Have a happy. 2013!

 

[SadieDog]

Being hungry is not the best time to admire your food porn. Those vegetarian noodles look so good. I enjoy the pics and explanations of food which is different from what I am used to. It all looks so yummy. I want rum balls!

The town hall pics are unbelievable. Absolutely gorgeous. Excuse me now while I go find something to eat.....

 

[LadyBeBop]

Beautiful firework pictures.

 

[PrincessInOz]

Beautiful fireworks shots!

May 2013 be a magical year for you and your family! Happy New Year!

Same to you, Angela.

beautiful pictures... Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, Brandi.

I like your up close and personal fireworks shots too, but it's a nice change to get a wider perspective on things

We had a relaxing night at home playing Nintendo 64

Sounds like a great night!

My city looks so beautiful. Love St Paul's in the foreground. These shots are a great way to start 2013. Happy new year PIO to you and your family.

Happy New Year to you too.

Very nice firework pictures.

Thanks Bret.

Melbourne is just sooooo beautiful - with or without fireworks

No arguments from me!

Great shots even without being up close and personal. Have a happy. 2013!

Thanks Alison. Same to you.

Being hungry is not the best time to admire your food porn. Those vegetarian noodles look so good. I enjoy the pics and explanations of food which is different from what I am used to. It all looks so yummy. I want rum balls!

The town hall pics are unbelievable. Absolutely gorgeous. Excuse me now while I go find something to eat.....

Thanks SD. And did you have something nice to eat?

Beautiful firework pictures.

Thank you.

 

[PrincessInOz]

A Mini Staycation in Geelong – Day 1



This year, we had been blessed with two sets of visitors from Sydney – one of them friends of DH and we had dinner with them; the other set are friends that are more like second cousins to me. Our catch-ups with these friends, second cousins, are much lengthier and for the last four years, the catch-ups have involved mini staycations around Melbourne. This year, we headed towards a town called Geelong.


Geelong is located about 90 miles west of Melbourne, about an hour’s drive away and with a population of about 200,000; it really is more of a large country city than anything else. We had booked 2 nights in a motel simply because we couldn’t find anywhere else that would take us for that period at relatively short notice.


Werribee Open Range Zoo

We started out early in the morning and made our first stop at the Werribee Open Range Zoo. For those of you that remember my first set of pictures, you may recall that I visited the WORZ during a twilight/night session. We missed out on the daytime safari tour on that visit. Not so this time!

We got in one of these and stayed on it for the next 40 minutes.

Seems like we had quite a few animals out and about wanting to enjoy looking at the humans in the buses rolling by.

Bison – not that exotic for those of you that live in America; but they are not native to Australia.

One hump or three?

In the case of this baby, no hump just yet. He was only born in late August.

The Przelwalski horses stayed away from us. The WORZ participates in the global breeding program dedicated to bringing this species back from the edge of extinction. They are listed as critically endangered.

The Scimitar-horned Oryx. A species listed as extinct in the wild and only surviving in zoos around the world.

The zoo is doing right by this species….there are a couple of babies in this zoo.

And a small herd of them.

I never worked out if this croc was real or just a prop. Our driver made some comments about it and I wasn’t really sure if she was joking or not. I’m guessing it’s real.

Cape Barren Geese, natives of South Australia.

Antelope

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[PrincessInOz]

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The biggest space in the WORZ is where the grazing animals are allowed to roam.

Yes, we are heading in there.

There were antelope roaming here.

A few of the animals were going about two by two.

I would watch where you step in here carefully!

There was a clutch of eggs lying around.

The Rhinoceros were just wallowing in the dust.

Spot the zebra stripes!

The Giraffe were on the move.

Naturally, they headed to the trees on the edge of the plain.

The Addax is another one of those animals on the critically endangered list.

They seem to be making themselves at home with the zebras. That little brown striped zebra is another baby at the zoo.

As it was getting to the hottest part of the day, the hippos were doing what they do best.

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[PrincessInOz]

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Aside from the safari tour, there is a walking path around the zoo.

We saw this Little Victorian Bluebird rock hopping.

Wild Turkey anyone? No? I guess Christmas is over.

The walking path takes you round to see some of the other animals that may not be left out in the savannah plains.

Like the Gorillas. They were mostly sleeping….

…or too far away for my lens.

This meerkat was king of the manor!

The lions were out in the sun but hiding…..

.…or sleeping.

Likewise with the cheetahs.

I guess it was easy to see why the twilight openings were so popular. At least the predator cats are a bit more active then.



There is one building at the zoo where there are some amphibians. It was here that I got a couple of eye-candy shots that I was happy with.

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[PrincessInOz]

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About our Room

Our motel was located somewhere in Geelong. It wasn’t anything flash but it was surprisingly clean.

The owners were very friendly and seemed to work hard at maintaining the facilities to the best of their abilities. Best of all…..they were very family and child friendly. The kids were happy to chill in the afternoon and enjoyed the rest of the day having a swim in their pool. Us adults had a great time chatting and catching up.



Dinner at Bella’s

We asked the owners for recommendations for dinner. They suggested an Italian restaurant called Bella’s. It’s not quite Be Our Guest…..but the food here was reasonable.


Caesar Salad without bacon, for my pesky-vegetarian.

Kid’s serve Lasagna.

Pasta with olives, salami and capsicum.

Penne bolognaise.

I think this pasta was just with marinara sauce.

This steak was on the other side of the table; so I couldn’t reach it to turn it round to where we could properly lick the meat.

Salt and Pepper calamari salad.

We were all pretty tired out after dinner and DS hadn’t been well on this trip. He seems to have picked up a gastro bug; so we called it an early night. We would have to see how he was in the morning before settling on our activities for the day.

 

[ACDSNY]

You have the Animal Kingdom Safari so close to home. Beautiful pics of all the animals.

 

[dgbg100106]

oh everything looked wonderful and the animals are amazing.

I am jealous, one of these days I am coming to your country....

 

[zanzibar138]

They seem to be making themselves at home with the zebras. That little brown striped zebra is another baby at the zoo.

That has to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen

I love the meerkats at the Werribee Zoo - they're always so entertaining!

 

[ACDSNY]

DH loved the reptile pics and your wild turkey looks more like our guinea hens.

 

[franandaj]

Wow! I kept thinking about the Safari in AK and how much cooler that one was! What gorgeous animals and so nice that they are preserving the endangered ones!

The room looks pretty good, just tell me there is a door between the bathroom and the sleeping quarters! But no tub! I've stayed in places like that, and I guess if it's only a couple nights....and not technically a "vacation". Sorry I'm just silly like that! You know how I love my 1 br villas with their Jacuzzi tubs!

The dinners looked nice too. I'm guessing that DH had the Calamari Salad? All the pastas looked wonderful (except the olives), but I'm sure I would have enjoyed the place. I can't wait to plan a trip down under. You'll have to take some time off work to play tour guide...and photographer....and culinary consultant....

 

[Dean1972]

Great pics - I didn't know that a safari ( apart from Monarto outdoor zoo in Adelaide ) was so close!
Your pictures look gorgeous. I might just have to ' duck over' the border to visit this place.
We live in Mount Gambier near the Victorian border.
Was the weather a scorcher today? We have had some incredibly hot days of late!

 

[PrincessInOz]

You have the Animal Kingdom Safari so close to home. Beautiful pics of all the animals.

I'm pretty lucky to have a safari so close to home. They do an overnight staycation in a luxury tent as well....I keep meaning to go and do this one day. Not cheap....but a lot cheaper than going to Africa. And no need for all those injections!

oh everything looked wonderful and the animals are amazing.

I am jealous, one of these days I am coming to your country....

Just let me know when!

That has to be one of the cutest things I've ever seen

I love the meerkats at the Werribee Zoo - they're always so entertaining!

I like eating at the cafe and sitting by the glass windows for that exact reason. The meerkats can always be guaranteed to provide the entertainment.

DH loved the reptile pics and your wild turkey looks more like our guinea hens.

I think it is a guinea hen. Call it creative license.....as it is this close to Christmas...still.

Wow! I kept thinking about the Safari in AK and how much cooler that one was! What gorgeous animals and so nice that they are preserving the endangered ones!

The room looks pretty good, just tell me there is a door between the bathroom and the sleeping quarters! But no tub! I've stayed in places like that, and I guess if it's only a couple nights....and not technically a "vacation". Sorry I'm just silly like that! You know how I love my 1 br villas with their Jacuzzi tubs!

The dinners looked nice too. I'm guessing that DH had the Calamari Salad? All the pastas looked wonderful (except the olives), but I'm sure I would have enjoyed the place. I can't wait to plan a trip down under. You'll have to take some time off work to play tour guide...and photographer....and culinary consultant....

There is a door between the bathroom and the sleeping quarters. If you look at the first picture with my boys on the bed, the door behind DH is where the bathroom is.

And yes, no tub. I wasn't in charge of picking the accommodation this year; my friend was. And as it was only for 2 nights, it met our requirements of clean, value for money and no need for a 5 night minimum stay.


Like Brandi - just let me know when you're coming. I'll definitely take time off to spend with you and Fran. And we can eat out lots but also have cook-ins at my place. I'd love to eat some of your food!

That calamari salad was mine. DH had the bacon-less Caeser.

Great pics - I didn't know that a safari ( apart from Monarto outdoor zoo in Adelaide ) was so close!
Your pictures look gorgeous. I might just have to ' duck over' the border to visit this place.
We live in Mount Gambier near the Victorian border.
Was the weather a scorcher today? We have had some incredibly hot days of late!

Thanks for stopping in, Dean.

The weather wasn't too bad today; we only got to about 29 C (or high 70's F) and there's a nice cool change that's come through right now. It was hotter in Sydney than here.

You didn't know about the safari? Hmmm.....I seem to recall that shushh said something similar as well. It's actually a great little zoo, only 30 minutes out from Melbourne on your side of the Princess Freeway. They do an overnight stay. Not cheap but it might be worth checking out. I think you get a more intimate and up-close experience with some of the animals if you stay overnight.

If not the overnight stay, they do offer some more up-close tours as well.

 

[PrincessInOz]

A Mini Staycation in Geelong – Day 2



Day 2 of our staycation and it was a hot day. Temperatures were expected to be high 90’s/100’s and no one wanted to be out in the hottest part of the day. Over dinner last night we figured an early start to the day was better than being out in the hot sun.

It wasn’t my choice but we ended up at McDonald’s for breakfast this morning. I think you will all understand that there will be no porn pictures of breakfast!

Plus, DS was still not feeling well and that meant that plan B for our activity this morning was in play.



Eastern Beach, Corio Bay, Geelong

Our activity for this morning was to head to Eastern Beach.

Eastern Beach is Geelong was redeveloped in the 1990’s and now includes a freshwater wading pool right on the beach…..

…..plus a sea bathing area complete with diving platform.

At the time of morning we were there, it was a lovely place to chill and relax and enjoy the bathing attractions.

Contrary to the sign, the lifeguards are on duty in this part of the beach.

There is also a children’s playground in this area, a nice bit of grass.

We spent the better part of a couple of hours in this area. The kids had fun running between the freshwater pool and the sea bathing area. And as there was a café right there to keep the non-swimming adults happy with lattes and snacks for the morning. Our friends and us always have a picnic blankets in our cars; and we managed to find a relatively shady spot to stretch out.


The café is expensive so when the kids were ready, we decided to walk down to where the other attractions were in the viscinity of Cunningham Pier. We may have been looking for food; but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the views.

Aside from the ferris wheel, there was an iceskating rink that had been set up along the end of Cunningham Pier. We didn’t get to see the skating rink on this trip.

We had to deviate for a little bit so that the kids could get a ride.

Between the section of Eastern beach where the bathing pools are and the ferris wheel is a nice gentle stretch of beach. There were a few water activities in play there.

And there were other features to brighten up the walk.

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[PrincessInOz]

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Jan Mitchell’s Waterfront Bollards



I think you might know that I absolutely love looking at street art of any description anywhere in the world. I look for them all over the world and will even go out of my way to hunt them down.

You know what they say…..one never really looks in one’s own backyard.
It was an utterly pleasant surprise for me to find these painted bollards at the Geelong Waterfront. I had no idea they were there! Shame. On. Me!

Painted by a local artist, Jan Mitchell, there are over a 100 of these whimsical bollards made from wooden pylons saved from a fire on a pier. The wooden pylons have been sculptured and painstakingly hand painted to depict many of the events and history of the Geelong region from the times when the local Wautharong People were the only inhabitants right up to modern times.

I didn’t find them all on this trip; but I suspect it will be something that will be on my bucket list for me to get round to it at some stage.

Sadly, Jan Mitchell is no longer around; but the legacy of her work remains.

Here are some of the bollards that I did take.

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[PrincessInOz]

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Lunch at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club




We got as far as the Royal Geelong Yacht Club, which is roughly about halfway between Eastern Beach and Cunningham Pier.

The menu had a wide enough selection for all of us and more importantly…..the venue was deliciously air conditioned inside! So we stayed and had lunch.

Two of the adults had this chicken dish. It was fantastic!

DH decided to have the dips. He said it was great.

I settled on the Caeser salad. It did come with bacon.

The kids either had the kids serving of fish and chips….

….or shared a Chicken Schnitzel between two.

It really was a wonderful lunch; except that we were mostly too hot to eat!



By this stage, DS was not feeling up to anything more, so we headed back to the motel for a quiet afternoon. I know our friends did spend a bit more time walking down towards Cunningham Pier but really, they also high-tailed it back not too long after us because of the heat.




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