Best Time To Visit Phillip Island
The best time to visit Phillip Island is highly weather dependent, and after years of exploring spots like Summerland Beach, Cape Woolamai, and Churchill Island, it becomes clear that this coastline between Western Port and Bass Strait has its own rhythms. If you time your visit right, you can see migrating whales, catch waves at […]
Churchill Island Heritage Farm
Churchill Island Heritage Farm really drops into the narrative nicely. The first time I strolled down Samuel Amess Drive and crossed over to the island, I felt like I’d stepped out of Phillip Island and into a different time altogether. As someone who’s spent who-knows-how-long roaming the Gippsland region and beyond with nothing but a […]
Coastal San Remo
Most seaside towns look peaceful enough from a distance, but San Remo, sitting pretty beside the San Remo Bridge, is the real deal – a place where the salty air, the sight of fishing boats chugging along and the morning pelican feeding routine just gives you a sense that you’ve walked into somewhere with heaps […]
Bass Strait
Bass Strait – the kind of place you only really start to appreciate the moment a low-pressure system comes rolling in from the Southern Ocean and turns what was supposed to be a pleasant sail into a white-knuckle ride. I’m Oleksandr Honcharenko, and I’ve had my fair share of Bass Strait crossings – some smooth […]
Maru Koala and Animal Park
The first time I cruised into Maru Koala and Animal Park, I was chugging along the Bass Highway, heading towards Phillip Island. As Oleksandr Honcharenko, I stepped out of the ute and was hit with that unmistakable fresh eucalyptus scent – the real deal aroma you get where koalas and gum trees thrive. You come here for the wildlife presentations, the keeper talks, and to get up close […]
Seal Rocks, Phillip Island
I put this Seal Rocks, Phillip Island guide together after another afternoon battling the wind and squinting at rocky outcrops offshore. For the umpteenth time, I was struck by the fact that the Australian fur seals are the ones giving the orders around here. I’m Oleksandr Honcharenko, and after years of roaming some of Australia’s […]
Seaside Cowes
I’ve found that the best way to get a feel for a place is by wandering its streets with no real plan in mind, and Cowes has slipped into that same sense of aimlessness for me – dusty boots, coffee in one hand, and a gull trying to steal my chips. As someone who’s made […]
Westernport Bay
Exploring Westernport Bay wasn’t even on the radar when I accidentally stumbled upon it. I’d taken a wrong turn trying to avoid the Gippsland hills, and next thing I knew, my GPS had frozen, and I was staring out at this tidal mudflat shimmering in the fading light of an afternoon sun. And then there […]
Peaceful Newhaven
Newhaven had a gentle vibe that’s always made me think of Phillip Island’s softer side – a peaceful little town tucked into Western Port Bay where the tide creeps in at a snail’s pace & the breeze carries salt & eucalyptus scents. I ended up in Newhaven after a long run down the Bass Coast, the […]
Ventnor Beach
Many of my top Phillip Island memories are actually tied up with the quieter spots, and Ventnor Beach has been my go-to destination for years now. I’ve lost count of how many still winter mornings I’ve spent wandering its sand flats, watched as the high tide inched its way in like a slow creeping wave […]