See it all by water shuttle

Happy new year to all Docklanders wherever you are and wherever you have been.

Great to see you all back and looking forward to a great 2012. Docklands is set to grow in popularity as a destination this year.

The exciting news to report this month is that Docklands is readying herself to participate in the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. On the weekend of March 3 and 4 there will be activities around Yarra’s Edge and NewQuay where local restaurants will offer tasting plates from $5 to showcase their particular cuisines. In Harbour Town there will be Cooking with Kids, so a really great weekend to be in Docklands.

The very best bit of news is that there will be a Water Shuttle Service operating from Federation Square to NewQuay, taking in all the Melbourne Food and Wine destinations. This will be a free service and open up access to everyone from wherever they choose to park or come in by public transport. You can park in Harbour Town all day for $5 then use the free water shuttle to explore Docklands and the river – what a great day for Docklands and Melbourne’s waterways. Keep your eyes (LIKE is good!) on our Facebook page “Docklands is Beautiful” because we will publish details there as we get closer to that first weekend in March. Twitter Beautiful_Dlands.

Docklands was abuzz in December and January. Once again there were fireworks put on by City of Melbourne. There has been the launch of the Twenty20 Big Bash Cricket with the Renegades out of Etihad Stadium.

Wonderland Fun Park held its Santa’s Christmas Spectacular with the man-in-red himself! Look out for its next extravaganza it is calling water balls. They are giant inflatable balls. Children can run, roll, spin and flip on top of the water without getting wet.

Did anyone go down into Harbour Town over the festive season? Harbour Town has run eight-hour sales, shopping spree giveaways, family fun and activities. There has been live music all through January at the Piazza stage every Saturday and Sunday.

Who came to Docklands on Australia Day? Out on Harbour Esplanade you would have seen the 3D chalk art expo by Jenny McCracken. She brought her Year of the Dragon to life through some clever chalk pavement art. There was a moment of horror as we learned the artwork was to be washed off the pavement on Thursday night. A bit of last-minute diplomacy with the Office of Premier who sponsored the event and Melbourne City Council saw the deadline extended to Monday. Common sense prevailed and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

So, next door to the 3D art there was the Australia Day Fishing Experience. Here visitors could get advice on fish types, fishing techniques and sustainable fishing.

The last week of January saw the Crack a Fat Circus come to town with shows out of the Melba Spiegeltent. Direct from Brazil, Ruby and Sharon (Circo Medrano, Soleil, Knie, Oz) were joined by some of Melbourne’s most illustrious and radical performers.

February 3-5 sees the Melbourne Summer Boat Show come to NewQuay Promenade. It is Melbourne’s only on-water event featuring a colourful display of yachts, power vessels, trailer boats, personal water craft and more.

Look out for the Summer Japanese Festival or ‘natsu matsuri’. This is an annual event throughout Japan and comes to life this February at Docklands. Since its inception in 2010, the festival has grown enormously, doubling its attendance to reach 10,000 people in 2011. Look out 2012!

More information on these events can be found at http://www.destinationdocklands.com.au

Entertainment venues throughout Docklands have reported good business from the many people out and about enjoying the festive season. There are great places to stay in Docklands and there is no need to use the car whilst you are here. This is why more and more visitors are choosing to stay in Docklands. Not only is she a beautiful setting, she also has proximity to excellent cafes and restaurants and easy access to the CBD. Wait till we have a permanent water shuttle!

There was much excitement over my challenge to find the multitude of elephants in Docklands – I had quite a number of responses and I have rewarded those who responded correctly with free coffee vouchers from Le Cirque Cafe and a small gift kindly donated by Wonderland Fun Park.

My challenge this month is to find two places in Docklands. The first has some great gift ideas and flowers and the other is where you can get keys cut. Correct entries will win prizes. Email [email protected].

It may be something small and useful or it may be something big! Depends what I can dig up!