We don’t venture to the ‘dark side’ very often, especially in summer, but given we have a number of friends over there on the Bellarine Peninsula it does happen, usually for day visits. However we decided to catch up with a few different friends and visit some of the less crowded places over a few days.

So we booked a powered caravan site for three nights at pet friendly Tasman Holiday Parks right in Geelong, rather than at one of the coastal caravan parks which are extremely busy at this time of the year, just like here on the Mornington Peninsula. The caravan park is well located opposite a large green belt, Barwon Valley Park, with paths through the reserve and along the Barwon River.

You can see the light towers from GMHBA Stadium across the river.

The first morning we took a walk with our dog, Mel, in the park, along with lots of other dog walkers. Some of the trees were quite impressive.

It was nice to see some of the Eucalypts in flower.

Then we headed off to see my step sister, who lives in suburban Geelong itself. We had lunch and a chat before she took us over to the Uniting Church Op Shop where she volunteers. Karen was quite interested to see it as she too volunteers in Dromana at our Uniting Church Op Shop. It was a small, neat shop with lots of good quality second hand goods.

We were back at the caravan for dinner and the evening.

After breakfast the next morning we headed over to the Barwon Valley Park for another walk. This time it seemed busier but not with walkers. We noticed quite a few people with frisbees.

On closer inspection we saw that they were moving in the same direction, not throwing the frisbees to each other but after a few throws they were aiming to get them into large baskets. We went closer and saw this sign. They were actually playing disk golf. Now I love playing golf but personally couldn’t see myself doing this version.

Late morning we drove down to Ocean Grove and had lunch with some friends at their house. They were happy to have our little dog, Mel, at their place as their dog had not long before passed away. After an enjoyable time chatting, eating and drinking we drove back to the caravan for a very light dinner.

Day three arrived and we took another morning walk over at the Barwon Valley Park. This time we had to be a little wary as it was a shared path for walkers and cyclists. Little Mel has a tendency to pull and bark at the wheels on bikes. Fortunately we weren’t caught out many times.

Again we had a lunch date, this time in Barwon Heads with another couple of friends. They have a larger dog so it was interesting to see how Mel reacted but after an initial bark they got on well as we had lunch and a good chat. As the husband had a medical appointment we headed off just after 3:30. Given it was again a lovely day we drove down to the carpark opposite the hotel. From there we took Mel for a walk along the riverside.

A thin strip of beach separated the path from the river.

We didn’t go all the way to the end.

Here’s a selfie we took as we began our return walk.

Dinner that night was take away fish and chips followed by another short walk. It was a colourful sunset.

Next day we packed up and returned home in the middle of the day, avoiding what can be a tiresome trip, over the Westgate Bridge and through the edge of the city. It had been a nice mini break. Here’s a map of our return journey. Observant readers will note that we took the longer route time wise through the city. However the shorter route involves taking a ferry across the entry to Port Phillip Bay which is quite expensive when you have a caravan as well as a vehicle.

Other places of interest if you stay in Geelong include – Geelong Botanic Gardens, Geelong Baywall Bollards ( a unique art installation), Eastern Beach Reserve and other seaside towns such as Queenscliff, Portarlington, Torquay, Anglesea and Lorne if you want to go further along the Great Ocean Road.

If you aren’t as keen on being outdoors as much as we are then we can suggest a few other places to go to – National Wool Museum (we’ve been there on a wet day previously), Geelong Gallery and the Geelong Gaol Museum.

Who knows where else we will go next in 2026. First up I have an important appointment with my cardiologist in early February as I will need a new battery in my pacemaker. In the meantime I look forward to reading of your travel adventures. Thanks for reading.