Mount Martha
Mount Martha — one of the quieter little spots on the Mornington Peninsula — sits between Mornington and Safety Beach, where Melbourne’s coastal suburbs begin giving way to beaches, bushland and winding coastal roads. Port Phillip Bay lies out front, Balcombe Creek runs behind the beach, and The Briars adds a substantial stretch of native […]
Safety Beach
Safety Beach is one of the quieter spots on the Mornington Peninsula, nestled between Mount Martha and Dromana on the shores of Port Phillip Bay. Its beach, about 2.7 kilometres long, follows the curve of Dromana Bay north towards Martha Cove, where the sand gradually gives way to marina waters and the cliffs around Tassells […]
Dromana
Dromana sits on Port Phillip Bay, wedged between Safety Beach and McCrae, with Arthurs Seat rising almost immediately behind the coast. That’s what makes this part of the Mornington Peninsula interesting to me: you can move from the beach and foreshore to elevated bushland, walking tracks and wine country without travelling far. Dromana Beach is […]
McCrae
McCrae sits between Dromana and Rosebud on Port Phillip Bay, with a lovely foreshore out front and Arthurs Seat looming behind. Don’t get too carried away expecting loads of attractions here. The main draws are McCrae Beach, McCrae Lighthouse and McCrae Homestead. Add Arthurs Seat to the plan, though, and what might otherwise be a […]
Rosebud
Rosebud just sort of nestles in on the Port Phillip side of the Mornington Peninsula, between McCrae and Capel Sound. The time I spent there didn’t exactly throw up a long list of must-see attractions, but one thing that caught my eye was how closely the town is tied to its foreshore. Its strengths are […]
Rye
Rye on the Mornington Peninsula has it all — the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay on one side and some of the wildest ocean coastline a short drive away. Then there’s Rye Pier, wonderful coastal walking, scuba diving, nearby natural hot springs and some of the best golf courses in the country. You could […]
Blairgowrie
Blairgowrie sits on the Mornington Peninsula, squeezed between Rye and Sorrento at one of the narrowest parts of the coastline. On the Port Phillip side you’ve got a sheltered beach and a long pier; cross the peninsula and you hit Bass Strait in all its wild form — surf, rocks, reef and coastal trails through […]
Sorrento
Sorrento lies near the western end of the Mornington Peninsula, between the sheltered waters of Port Phillip Bay and the wilder coastline facing Bass Strait. That’s what I find most compelling about the place: you can have a bay beach, a historic village and a rugged ocean coast all within easy reach of one another. […]
Portsea
Portsea is a small seaside village near the western end of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, about 110 kilometres from Melbourne. On one side you’ve got the calm waters of Port Phillip Bay; on the other, the more rugged Bass Strait coastline. Throw in Point Nepean National Park, old defence sites, coastal walking trails and great scuba […]
Flinders
Flinders is one of those places that captures me because it’s where the sheltered waters of Western Port meet the wilder coastline of Bass Strait. That contrast is what makes it interesting. On one side, you’ve got a tiny village, a beach and a historic pier; on the other, rock platforms, surf, cliffs and Mushroom […]