A Christmas perennial

With the imminent arrival of Christmas and most of the shopping (if not the cooking) out of the way, I thought it would be timely to write a post with a Christmas theme. The problem was, I was a little short of ideas as to what I should write. As far as I am aware, the Barwon isn't exactly a huge focus of Christmas festivities for the various communities along its length.
A quick Google search provided me with everything I needed to know about booking Christmas accommodation in Barwon Heads, but that was not what I was looking for. I toyed with the idea of featuring some of the many Christmas barbeques and picnics which are held on the banks of the river but thought that perhaps the locals wouldn't be too keen on having their celebrations interrupted by a strange woman with a camera.
So, what was my angle? Last year I went with a mistletoe theme which has been one of my more popular posts, but this year I needed something new. The weather yesterday was - to say the least - rather warm, so after dinner with the family in tow I headed down for a sunset stroll along the river banks. We rambled along towards Breakwater, applying liberal amounts of Aeroguard in a futile attempt to keep the mozzies at bay and then stopped at the bridge while the kids poked around in the water with sticks (my apologies to the fishermen below the breakwater for the noise!).
In no particular hurry - and still with no ideas for my Christmas-themed post - we headed past the golf course and into the stand of sheoaks a few hundred metres before the boat ramp. Then, as we rounded a corner Sarah made an interesting discovery. One of the sheaoks had been decked out in baubles, tinsel and a home-drawn message:

The Jansen's Christmas tree

 The Barwon it seemed now has its very own Christmas tree and I had found my Christmas post for 2012! But who had perpetrated this wilful act of Christmas cheer and why?
Well as it turns out, that was quickly explained. While I snapped a few shots and the boys investigated the baubles, Sarah read the note, whipped out her iPhone (well, opened the Internet browser. The phone itself seems to be firmly enough attached to her hand that it may need surgical removal at some point) and pulled up the blog address provided.
The mystery tree decorators were the Jansen family, the link was to their blog Perennial and it seems that they and the kids had decided some bauble bombing was in order and that the Barwon was the place to do it.

A Christmas message

Rather than repeat the story, I would suggest you go and have a look at the blog for yourself or better still if you're a local, go for a wander and have a look at their tree and then leave a comment on the blog. The kids (Sam and Milly) are dying to hear what people think of their tree!As for us, with the light fading fast and the bats gliding overhead, we completed our loop and headed for home.
I did stop at one point once we had crossed back to our side of the river to take some shots of the possum who lives in the trees near the boat sheds, but it was rather dark by that stage, he was too high up the tree and I discovered that it was very hard to get a clear shot in virtual darkness whilst writhing continually in an attempt to dislodge the dozens of mozzies which had suddenly materialised when I stopped to take my photos.

Moorabool Street at Dusk

Well, the temperature wasn't quite so warm today and I needed a run to offset the impending effects of Christmas. It also occurred to me that there was an extra photo I needed to take, so I plotted my route to finish at the "Christmas tree" and had the support crew meet me there. While they waited for me to drag myself around 12km of scenic river views, they did a little housekeeping, replacing a few fallen baubles and straightening up the tinsel.
Finally, I staggered to my goal and we dragged out the camera.


Sarah, Connor and Fionn under the tree


 Happy Christmas Jansens! From the Mitchells!

What's news?

Over the last week or so for one reason or another the Barwon seems to have been in the news.
Recent articles reported first on the opening of the "new" Troop Loop running track at the beginning of July. At about the same time it was announced that the controversial "William Buckley" pedestrian bridge over the river at Barwon Heads had won an award at the Victorian Architecture Awards. A decision which still causes disagreement amongst the local community. And then there was a flurry of media interest in the proposed removal of elm and ash trees along the river at Fyans Park, which continues to the present with an article posted yesterday - 14th August,  2012 - describing the adverse effects of so called "woody weeds" on our river systems. Today the Geelong News featured a letter  titled "River is no place for ash trees" and the Geelong Times carried an article featuring Councillor Strech Kontelj and John Bampfield, a former parks officer involved with planting the trees in the late 1950s. Its headline  "Let the tees grow, says their grower" gives an indication of the article's leaning. Directly beneath it is a letter to the editor pleading the opposite viewpoint.
On 7th August a small article appeared in the Geelong Advertiser with the headline Trail tracks way to cycle safety. The article concerned the "opening" of a new section of track providing an off-road path for pedestrians and cyclists between Barrabool Road and the boat ramp opposite the rowing sheds. Prior to its construction this cyclists and pedestrians shared the roadway with motor vehicles, so it is definitely an improvement.

Partially completed track under the Moorabool St Bridge in April, 2012

I was however, a little surprised that this small section of track required an official "opening", especially considering it had been to all appearances completed and available for public use since some time in early May if my memory serves me correctly. The article also made the interesting claim that this new section of track takes pedestrians and cyclists off "the busy Moorabool Street Bridge". Given that the track and the roadway it removes traffic from run under the bridge in question, I fail to see how this provides an alternative to crossing the bridge itself. In fact, the new track also provides sealed access to the top of the bridge where pedestrians and cyclists can use the perfectly safe, purpose-designed path which was added to the bridge for exactly this purpose in time for the World Cycling Championships back in September 2010.

The finished product, looking upstream under the Moorabool St, James
Harrison and McIntyre Bridges

The next mention of the Barwon in the news was this Monday 13th August, 2012 when the Advertiser declared: Man rescued from Barwon when it appears that a man in his 60s slipped after crossing the weir at Buckley Falls - despite signage indicating that the weir should not be used for crossing the river - whilst attempting to retrieve a remote-controlled boat. The man was carried downstream and become stranded on a rock. All ended well however, with his rescue about two hours later by the SES.