Now I have a legitimate excuse for my lifelong “Any excuse to book a holiday” mantra. Australian Bushfire season. More specifically Total Fire Ban days in my leafy Melbourne suburb, and any time the ‘wheel of death’ (Fire Danger Rating) reaches so much as amber.
Once they’d got over their bafflement that this ‘holiday’ involved a roadtrip and not an airplane (so basically a whole weekend of endless questions) the toddlers packed their own backpacks in excitement, including swimwear only. Chips off the old block.
First stop. The Carousel in Geelong, just over an hour from Melbourne. It’s a 120 year old classic child crowd-pleaser, especially as we had it to ourselves (it was a 43 degree day afterall.)
Second stop. 5 minutes along the coast was Geelong Eastern Beach Swimming Enclosure. Major South of France vibes. The pool was the perfect depth for 2/3 year olds, it had a van selling hot chips on site, and unbelievably was totally free.
Torquay. My last time here was 4 years ago, pre-kids. Very different story. This time we filled two days at the very child-friendly Cafe Moby, the brilliant playground directly opposite, and nicely beach-bumming around collecting shells and yelping at the waves. The Salty Dog Cafe had the perfect early evening acoustic setlist that made me genuinely appreciate that the best nights out now are all pre-8pm.
Werribee Open range Zoo was our final stop off, exactly half way back to Melbourne on the way home.
Where we stayed: The Gallery B & B, Fischer Street, Torquay (A good destination but a spider hater’s nightmare. Heavy on the cobwebs.)
Little Anantasin 
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