YOU YANGS at LARA and GEELONG

Over the past month or so I've been watching a television program on SBS called Great British Railway Journeys and this is what primarily inspired me to take day trips on our Victorian Railway system. Although Michael Portillo has his Bradshaw's to guide him to the most interesting historic buildings & he sleeps overnight in grand hotels, I've been somewhat limited in what I can see and do as a pedestrian. Nevertheless, on Wednesday I took a longer ride to Geelong on a comfortable VLine train. Choosing to board the 'quiet' carriage I rather enjoyed the hour or so journey through the vast expanse of flat terrain dotted with trees and sheep. As we neared Geelong I saw some amazing structures, some constructed through human hands, other formed in nature. I'm fairly sure that one of the structures was the Shell Oil Refinery and the other, the old whiskey distilling plant.

However, the structure that was most compelling was a stretch of granite rocks that spread across the horizon like a naked giant asleep in a depth of dreams. I took as many photographs of it through the window as the train throttled along and the trees along the route insisted on inhibiting my view. It was absolutely magical seeing this large undulating form and I immediately thought of Devil's Tower, that wonderful rising rock in the science fiction film 'Close Encounters of the Third Kind'. It was as if that rock was calling to me and I vowed to make some drawings of it on my return home (I've already began one using prismacolor pencils).

It was only when I visited the Geelong Gallery and saw the major exhibition of Fred Williams entitled 'The You Yangs' that I realised what I'd seen. You Yang comes from the aboriginal words Wurdi Youang, meaning big mountain in a plain and it is certainly that. I wanted to return to Lara and take the half hour walk to the foot of the granite rock, but time and the inclement weather stopped me. After all, I'd come to see the bay and it was magnificient.

I walked to the end of Cunningham Pier, holding onto the rails because the wind was fierce towards the far end. I walked back along the developed forshore over to the cluster of fishing boats and I sat amazed at the color of the water that appeared so deep even at the water's edge.

Geelong is lovely, probably the most enjoyable coastal place I've been over the past few weeks and I already feel it calling me to return.