Around Australia

Geelong, Victoria's second-largest city, is 65km from Melbourne across Port Phillip Bay and 75km via freeway.

The city's cultural precinct includes one of Australia's best regional art galleries and modern live performance theatres.

Only 45 minutes drive by freeway, south of Melbourne.

The foreshore, known as Eastern Beach includes Cunningham's Pier and a walkway that takes visitors around to a protected ocean swimming area and up to the Botanical gardens at eastern end. Entry to Geelong, coming from Melbourne, is best via the scenic route turnoff at Rippleside Park where you are presented with a panoramic vista of the entire city and foreshore as you drift along the Esplanade through Drumcondra to Cunningham's Pier, at the end of Gheringhap St. The main north-south street of the city is Moorabool St which can lead visitors south to the Kardinia Park football ground and beyong to the suburbs around Belmont, or the many escapes to the Bellarine Peninsula.

Geelong's main east-west streets are Malop St and Ryrie St, and there are numerous department stores, malls and sepcialty shops as well as the great traditional street frontage shops that cover the grid. But the tourist attraction is the foreshore, which has a long standing yaght club

Geelong is often associated with its origins as a protected shipping port, and many early settlers stopped here as one of the first ports inside of the bay. The town is dotted with historic reminders of the wealthy days of wool and grain handling/storage and the Visitor's Centre in the Geelong Woolen Mills Museum is a great visit at 26 Moorabool St. There is a major visitor's information centre on the northern entrance to the town too, at Cnr Princes Highway and St Georges Road at Corio.

The town is heavily industrialised on the north side, with landmarks like the Shell petrol refinery, the Ford Motor company engine plant to name but a couple. But closer to town around the esplanade, and south towards the Barwon River and across the Wandana Heights area (South East), you will see a totally different, picturesque and softer side of the town - and a great suburban way of life to enjoy.