Buckley Falls Reserve

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My time in Geelong was a transformative experience. It was a time of my life where I had the opportunity to reflect on recent years, to take a look at where I was and where I was going; not so much a reboot or a reset but a critical appraisal, an evaluation, an attempt to make sense of reality from shattered, reforming and evolving dreams. It was where I first came to a more complete understanding of my strengths and a realisation of my weaknesses, where beliefs were challenged and fears were examined.

For that reason, whenever I return to Geelong I have to ride waves of nostalgia unlike anywhere I've visited before. Tinged by the seraphic hue of time and sentiment, memories of dizzying euphoria and heart-wrenching failure await every familiar corner and landmark. It's almost as if the time I spent in Geelong left ghosts, invisible to all save when I walk those streets again and find myself within the seductive, spectral embrace of their evocative melancholy. It's a peculiar experience, but I'm sure it's also a near universal one. Almost everyone has somewhere, someplace that they left but never left them.

If ghosts are dormant memories, location-locked, then Buckley Falls reserve is haunted.



Buckley Falls is named after the convict William Buckley who escaped from a penal colony near modern day Sorrento and lived with the local Wathaurong tribe for more than thirty years (further information is available here ).



Take Shannon Avenue South and take a right down Queens Park Road and the Barwon River and are impossible to miss. Alternatively drive west down Aberdeen street and the Reserve is also accessible.



Once within the Reserve, the paths are well marked out and a few walks are well maintained. Seating is available and it is a great place to sit and watch the river and trees for a while. It's perfect to visit when there is a mild breeze, both for the peaceful rustling of leaves and to keep the number of bothersome flies down when you're trying to relax.



The area provides many opportunities for photography, whether it is the waterfall itself, the river tumbling over rocks or the wildlife in the area.



If you're in Geelong for a few days, have exhausted the charms of the beautiful nearby beaches and are looking for some tranquillity by the riverside, is an ideal location only a short drive from the centre of the city that feels like you're driven far into the country.

It's a place whose charm grows greater with every visit, where minutes turn into hours. As difficult as it is to leave, return and it often feels like you've never left at all.

#day_trips
#escape_the_city
#nature
#near_geelong
#waterfalls
%wngeelong