Geelong to Geelong (moved from Altona)
16 November 2025 - 29 November 2025
Scootaville Victoria 2025 offers an opportunity for ex-service personnel to come together, reconnect with the community, to discuss any problems with their peers and to explore and bring attention to regional Victoria. Scootaville will celebrate what it means to be Australian and raise awareness of the hardships that service and ex-service personal face. With the help and generousity of the community and sponsors, Scootaville seeks to raise vital funds for Legacy and the Air Force Association (clink here for donation link) to assist families of lost or injured service members and homeless veterans.

David is joining some fellow ex-ADF men and women who will ride 110cc motor scooters on the round trip from Altona Geelong. Riding almost 1,700 km will take us 14 days and will be a fundraiser for Legacy and the Air Force Association (clink here for donation link). This is a rare opportunity to explore our beautiful country with our peers, overnighting in Benalla, Beechworth, Omeo, Sale, Tootgarook, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo, before returning to Altona Geelong on the 29th November.

The ride is presented by the Radschool Association Inc., which is a registered charity formed in 1999 to represent the men and women who were trained by the Air Force to either maintain or operate its electronic equipment. It encourages connection and mateship among its 1,400 plus members through its magazine, website, social media, reunions and special events like Scootaville.

Update:

11 Nov 2025 - Our start and finish location has been moved from Altona to Geelong due to an unexpected double booking of the Altona Scout Camp. The above map is still the orginal route and is not expected to be updated.

The final distance travelled on the scooter ridden by David was XXX km.

All Photos (credit to David, Trev, Mark .... and many more)

A promotional video (4:46 mins) was produced by Griffith University about this endeavor:

Reference:

• Past Scootaville blogs:
• Queensland: 02-20 September 2022
• Queensland: 22 August - 10 September 2023
• Queensland: 28 August - 15 September 2024
• NSW: 18 November - 04 December 2024
• Queensland: 22 August - 12 September 2025

How can you help?
We invite you to donate via the Scootaville page: https://radschool.org.au/donate/. Your donation is tax deductible. We greatly appreciate your generosity!

Raising much needed funds for:
  

Pre-start | 2026 Scootaville Vic | Day 1

Welcome from David and Lyn.

The format of our site is in three parts:

1. Blog server - our day-to-day travel blogs (this website)
2. Photo server - some of our key photos
3. YouTube channel - our videos (many linked directly from our blogs)

The site includes hundreds of searchable travel blogs. Some of our longer trips are listed below. 

General travel

• Bridge cams - Princess
• Unofficial Travel Awards
• Equator Crossings
• International Date Line

About

• David
• The Thalassophile (lover of the sea)
• The Musician - Uke resources
• The Presenter
• The Photographer
• The Ham (VK4DCP) - Ham resources
• The Vexillophile (flags)
• Lyn
• Countries visited: #1 to #25 | #26 to #50 | #51 to #75 | #76 to #100 | #101+
• Summary of cruises - Pre COVID-19 / Post COVID-19 

Thank you for visiting our website.

Best regards

David and Lyn
e-mail: brizzy@outlook.com.au

Cruise countdown

2026 New Zealand Cruise - Blog Starting Page

2026 European Odyssey River Cruising - Blog Starting Page

2027 Fiji Cruise - Blog Starting Page

2027 Circle Pacific Cruise - Blog Starting Page

Links to major adventures
2025 Pacific North America Cruise Blog - Apr 2025 to June 2025 Cruise #1 - Sydney to LA Repositioning Cruise #2 - Pacific Wine Country Rocky Mountaineer - Discovery Circle Cruise #3 - Voyage of Glaciers (Northbound) Cruise #4 - Voyage of Glaciers (Southbound)
2024 - World Cruise on the Coral Princess Blog - Apr 2024 to Aug 2024 Photos Segment #1: Sydney to Tangier - 35 Days Segment #2: Tangier to Dover (via Baltic) - 21 Days Segment #3: Dover to New York - 18 Days Segment #4: New York to Brisbane - 38 Days
2020 – Indian Ocean & South Africa Odyssey + Southern Australia Explorer Blog - Jan 2020 to Mar 2020 Photos
2019 - Hawaii, Tahiti and South Pacific cruise on the Sea Princess
Blog - Aug 2019 to Oct 2019 Photos
2018 - World Cruise on the Sea Princess
Blog - Jun 2018 to Sept 2018
Photos Segment #1: Brisbane to Dubai - 19 Days Segment #2: Dubai to London - 30 Days Segment #3: London to New York - 20 Days Segment #4: New York to Brisbane - 37 Days
2017 - Cherry Blossom cruise (a.k.a. China - Japan cruise)
Blog - March 2017 to April 2017 Photos
2016 - World Cruise on the Sea Princess
Blog - May 2016 to Aug 2016
Photos Segment #1: Sydney to Dubai – 20 Days Segment #2: Dubai to London – 35 Days Segment #3: London to New York – 11 Days Segment #4: New York to Sydney – 38 Days Home Leg: Sydney to Brisbane – 2 Days
2015 - Hawaii, Tahiti and South Pacific cruise on the Sun Princess
Blog - Jul. 2015 to Aug. 2015 Photos
2014 - South East Asia on the MV Voyager
Blog - Feb. 2014 to Mar. 2014
Photos Leg #1 Treasures of Asia Leg #2 Colours of the Indian Ocean
2012 - Caribbean cruise on the MV Voyager
Blog (by Lyn) - Nov 2012 to Jan 2013
Photos (by David and Lyn) Leg #1 Voyage to the Caribbean Leg #2 Caribbean Gems Leg #3 A Tapestry of Central America
2011 – Far East cruise on the MV Discovery
Blog (by David) - Dec 2011 to Feb 2012
Photos (by David) Leg #1 Treasures of the Orient and Vietnam Leg #2 Empires of the Sun Leg #3 South East Asia and Australia
2010 - Caribbean cruise on the MV Discovery
Blog (by David) - Nov 2010 to Jan 2011
Photos (by David)  Leg #1 Discovery of the New World Leg #2 Colonial Trails of the Caribbean Leg #3 Tales of the Old Spanish Main
2009 - Grand Voyage of Discovery from Mumbai (India) to London on the MV Discovery
Blog (by David) - Mar 2009 to May 2009
Photos (by David) Leg #1 India and The Persian Gulf Leg #2 Red Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Leg #3 Black Sea, Turkey and Greek Isles Leg #4 European - mainly the Mediterranean

Next was a visit to the Maffra vehicle museum. Some interesting vehicles from old to new; cars, motorbikes, push bikes and a train carriage; models of all types; and various engines. The turbo charged postie bike was something special.

Some shopping and lunch in Sale, before returning again for a photo shoot with the local newspaper. Also run into the ADF Careers people, so a few more photos.

Dinner at the Sale Greyhound Club.

There is a photo below of Helen working on Chuck’s foot. Someone on Signal messenger asked if there had been a fall. The fact is there has been two falls. 

The first was Helen when she stopped as she crossed a gutter and couldn’t touch the ground … down she went. Only her pride was damaged. The other was Chuck doing a u-turn in a service station and down he went … loosing some skin on his hand. Both travelling at less than 1km/h! It can happen to anyone.

Photos from Sale / Slideshow:

Sale
A city situated in the Gippsland region of Victoria and the council capital of the Shire of Wellington. It had an estimated population of 15,305 in 2022 according to the ABS. The total population including the immediate area around the town is approximately 19,000 according to shire website.
Source: Wikipedia

Day 4 | 2025 Scootaville Vic | Day 7

Keith and David swapped bikes to check the speed issues Keith was experiencing. Keith continued at the front and David as Tail-end Charlie. It soon became apparent that the bike is limited to a maximum of 82km/h, even downhill with a tail wind.

Photos from today / Slideshow:

Omeo
A town in Victoria on the Great Alpine Road, east of Mount Hotham, in the Shire of East Gippsland. At the 2016 census, Omeo had a population of 406. The name is derived from an Aboriginal word for 'mountains' or 'hills'. Omeo is affectionately known as the City of the Alps with many historic buildings remaining in the town.
Source: Wikipedia

Day 3 | 2025 Scootaville Vic | Day 5

Day 2 - Benalla to Beechworth
Monday, 17 November 2025

Today we travelled from Benalla to Beechworth staying off the freeway and enjoying the country roads. We were away early for our ride expecting to visit Glenrowan, Wangaratta, Wodonga and Yackandandah, a distance of 164km (as per the original map below).

Today’s adventure began with the refuelling of the bikes in Benalla, then an enjoyable photo stop at Glenrowan with the statue of Ned Kelly on the main street. 

Just as we were entering Wangaratta, the truck broke down (and no, Keith swears he didn’t touch it). Lots of phone calls by Trev and we eventually left the truck and headed for a now late smoko at the Wangaratta RSL. 

The truck rental people were planning to tow the truck to Wodonga which was not workable (the truck has all our gear on-board). Trev found a local mechanic who was able to fix the problem and he didn’t even charge us. So we rode the bikes around to his shop for a quick photo and to present him with a Scootaville challenge coin. 

Now late for lunch at the Bandiana Army Barracks Soldiers’ Mess (ie closed), we skipped the Bandiana Army Museum, Wodonga and Yackandandah, and headed straight to Beechworth. We only travelled 75km today.

Now we’re a couple of hours early for our accommodation at the Baarmutha Function Centre. The Centre’s caretaker wasn’t available and it took an hour to find him to open the doors. The golf club downstairs was great and opened its doors to help warm us up (it’s very cool in this high country and has been snowing nearby).

Dinner was at the charming and historic Hotel Nicholas, one of Australia's 50 oldest hotels.

Day 3 - Beechworth
Tuesday, 18 November 2025

A relaxing day where people went in all directions ... some went for a walk, some did their washing, others did some sight seeing, whilst others caught up with some sleep.

David’s morning started with a look around town, including the original gold vault. Then the Beechworth Historic Precinct before a good walk back to the hall.

This afternoon Trev, Mike, David and a few others caught up with the “Cap Lady” who can help with future ventures in the area.

Dinner was at the Bridge Road Brewery. Consensus was that last night’s Hotel Nicholas dinner was much better.

Photos from Beechworth / Slideshow:

Beechworth
A town located in the north-east of Victoria, famous for its major growth during the gold rush days of the mid-1850s. At the 2021 census, Beechworth had a population of 3,290. Its many historical buildings are well preserved and the town has re-invented itself and evolved into a popular tourist destination and growing wine-producing centre.
Source: Wikipedia

Glenrowan
A town located in the Wangaratta local government area of Victoria. It is 236km north-east of Melbourne and 14km from Wangaratta and near the Warby Ranges and Mount Glenrowan. At the 2021 census, Glenrowan had a population of 1,049.

Glenrowan is a popular rest point for those travelling on the Hume Freeway. In the township of Glenrowan, off the highway, tourists can rest, walk and examine the famous Kelly siege sites.
Source: Wikipedia

Day 1 | 2025 Scootaville Vic | Day 4