Drivers briefing at 9.00 am at the Geelong Conference Centre and first car away at 9.30 am, well that is what Bulletin 4 stated. Sup. Regs. Just read, start at 9.00 am with a showbag package given to every driver.

Not all of this happened!

We arrived at 8.45 am to join a long queue of cars. As we parked our car we noticed some of the drivers were walking up to the marshalls for the briefing, only to discover there was not to be one, and the first batch of cars were being waved off. Four items were passed through the window.
The thought of The Bellarine Area and wineries encouraged me to concentrate on the notes and mark off each paragraph as finished, so as not to loose my place when looking up for road signs.

We had been allowed one and a half hours for sightseeing during The Run before lunch. The first of these stops was at Point Lonsdale which had a good parking area and views of Lonsdale Bay, The Rip and Port Phillip Heads. A photographers delight. A lighthouse on the Point attracted quite a number of people to stretch their legs and some even to venture down to the beach. A long way down and a climb back up.
A lot of drivers suggested the next stop would be for coffee and a look around. Just around from Point Lonsdale is the Queenscliff isthmus, at the south-eastern tip of the Bellarine Peninsular overlooking Port Phillip Bay.

With lots of drivers stopping, this made Queenscliff an instant MG parking lot, so we decided to skip coffee and use the allotted stopping time later on. At Saint Leonards further up the coast The Esplanade started passing beach houses all the way to Indented Head, where a tricky right turn was being marshaled by members of The Geelong Club.

We had a quick chat with them and found out we were the first car to pass this check point. Our skipping coffee was beginning to look like a good idea. Jim had a plan on how to use this time up before lunch. Travelling along The Esplanade having a look at beaches and yacht clubs we arrived at Portarlington. A quick stop at a Bric-a-Brac shop to look for a small memento, I found a nice piece of Chinese soapstone.

Following the Geelong road to Clifton Springs, where lunch was due at 12.30 pm, it was 11.30 pm when the first winery on our list was found, but alas it was it closed, so onto the next one. Up a rough road and an even rougher driveway, we found a small winery and restaurant  with a wonderful view along the coast and across to Point Wilson. Now we can use our ‘coffee time’ for wine tasting.

A reasonable list of wines, good to very good quality, so some bottles were put in the MG. We headed off to find the Golf Club where our lunch was being served.
At the Golf Club, marshalls helped to park cars and direct us to the function room, which was filling up fast.

Three different times were used on the lunch vouchers to help out the kitchen staff. Two kinds of  roasts were served around the table, plenty of meat and seasonable vegetables, followed by rich desserts.

There was plenty of time after lunch to go to the Motorkhana or continue sightseeing, before heading back to get ready for The Presentation Dinner.