Geelong. Victoria's second largest city (pop.220,000), is the entry point to the South West Coast and the Bellarine Peninsular. Its economy used to be based on the wool trade from the farms in western Victoria, now it is more industrial, being the home of Ford Australia and other manufacturing and refining industries. the city sits on Corio Bay, the foreshore has been improved in recent years and offers attractive restaurants, parks with the city's Art Gallery, Wool Exhibition, Ford Motor Co. Exhibition being close by. The Barwon River has good picnic spots and the National Trust preserves some fine old houses for public viewing ("The Heights", "Barwon Grange").

Bellarine Peninsular:
Heading left (south-east) out of Geelong the Peninsular has many interesting towns. Barwon Heads, featured in a TV series called "Seachange", has the popular 13th beach for surfing and swimming, the sandy banks of the river are good for family fun, The Barwon Heads Golf Course is highly ranked in Australia and has a true links golf feel, a new course "13th Beach Golf Links" will be ready in December 2001. There is a very popular Caravan and camping park on the river opposite the hotel.

Queenscliff:
Charming old seaside town, many fine restaurants and hotel rooms, B&B's. Interesting Golf Course on Swan Island. A car/people ferry operates about 6-8 times a day across Port Philip Bay to Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsular. Its still a fishing port and amateur fisherman also use the pier or launch their boat. Fishing and Scuba Diving trips are available.

Other towns are Portarlington, Point Lonsdale (at the head of Port Philip Bay), Ocean Grove (Surf Beach), Wallington (strawberries in Nov-Dec). In the area there are many Wineries and local producers of fruits and vegetables.

Geelong to Torquay, the famous surfing town, home of Rip Curl, Billabong and other surfing manufacturers, is a 20 minute drive. Good safe surfing beach in the town and Bell's Beach is 10 minutes away for the professionals.

THE GREAT OCEAN ROAD:
From Torquay you start the fascinating everchanging road to Warrnambool. High hills spill down to the beautiful beaches, every curve presents a new cove with surf crashing on rocks or a quiet sea brushes a sandy beach.

Anglesea:
Perhaps best known for its golf course which abounds with Kangaroos. Popular in summer for familiy holidays, a good long safe beach, caravan & camping parks, B&B's, Motels etc.

A wonderful drive along the curving hills above the sea takes you to Lorne, an upper level resort town, the most expensive area on the coast. Lovely setting on a small bay. Very good restaurants, two popular hotels. An extraordinarily hilly golf course, a long pier juts into the sea from the headland.

You pass through the small towns of Kennet River and Wye River on the way to Apollo Bay, a fairly large fishing town pretty much at the bottom end of mainland Australia. A very long wide and safe beach fronts the town. From Apollo bay the road goes inland a bit through pristine rainforests, up down and around the rolling hills. take a side trip to Cape Otway with its lighthouse, the beautiful Parker River entering the ocean. Small warning - some roads are only dirt and can be impassable if there has been rain.

Up the hills to Lavers Hill, the high point of the road from where you descend back to the coast. There's not much here, a shop, school, church and.....well nearby is Johanna Beach, a long beautiful and sometimes wild and dangerous place. Beloved by surfers who have no fear. this is now the real south coast, having turned the corner at Cape Otway, the swells get bigger and wilder and the weather gets more variable being exposed to what comes up from the Antarctic.

You hit the coast again at Princetown which is a shop and a Caravan park only, you are getting pretty remote now, except in summer there will be plenty of traffic going to the Twelve Apostles, the famous rugged and beautiful stretch of coast, steep cliffs, crashing surf and probably a gale blowing.

Port Campbell is the next town, set in a pretty little bay away from the rough ocean, there's a hotel. motels, Caravan Park and shops. Many people stop about here and return to Melbourne. But there is still many interesting towns and places further on to the South Australian border.

Warrnambool is the next main town, set on a bay and a river, well known now for the Southern Right Whales who arrive for calving off Logan's Beach. Tower Hill is an old volcano next to Koroit town, a lot of Irish influence in this area, including potato growing!!!

Port Fairy is one of the earliest whaling ports in Australia. Set on a pretty river and wide long bay. many old houses and hotels lend a lot of character. Annual Folk Festival (March) and Classical Music Festival bring many visitors. Fishing boats bring in crayfish (lobster), shark, barracuda etc. Caravan parks, hotels, motels, B&B's etc for accomodation.

Portland and beyond. Portland is a fishing and shipping town. Not very exciting, a regular australian town. From here to South Australia is quite remote, but lots of interesting coastline.

Trip suggestion: Got a week or two? Start at Melbourne, go along the Ocean Road to Port Fairy, turn inland to Dunkeld at the bottom of the Grampians Mountains, go up through the mountains to Halls Gap and back to Melbourne via Ararat and Ballarat.