Mornington Peninsula Area Information Guide

WELCOME to

MORNINGTONPENINSULA The

Mornington Peninsula

JUST BRILLIANT GUIDES

MORNINGTONPENINSULA WELCOME to

The Mornington Peninsula Rich in natural beauty, the Mornington Peninsula has been captivating visitors for more than 130 years.

Attracted by gently rolling hills, kilometres of sparkling bay beaches, rugged surf beaches and stunning coastal scenery, holidaymakers have made the Peninsula Melbourne’s playground.

And there’s no doubt why this boot-shaped peninsula of 40,000 hectares between Port Phillip Bay and Western Port has become such a popular year-round destination. It offers so many things to see and do that an extended visit is a must.

The towns that have grown and prospered along both sides of the peninsula and through its hinterland provide an individual charm that has won the hearts of regular visitors.

The likes of Seaford, Mt Eliza, Mornington, Mount Martha, Dromana, Rosebud, Rye, Sorrento and Portsea on the bay side have retained much of their villagebay atmosphere, while offering the modern amenities people have become accustomed to. The same can be said for Western Port towns including Flinders, Shoreham, Somers and Hastings. A short ferry trip away from Stony Point is the unique ecological experience of

French Island. Inland, Somerville, Tyabb and Moorooduc have built on their rural production reputations with the surrounding areas now famous for vineyards that produce award-winning wines.

You can explore the region’s bountiful history at many old mansions and homesteads that dot the peninsula.

Beautiful gardens surround some, while others have extensive wetlands teeming with birdlife.

Naturally, the Peninsula is a treasure trove for nature lovers, with the Mornington Peninsula National Park brimming with flora, fauna and stunning scenery.

At Arthurs Seat State Park, taking in the scintillating panoramic view from the 302 metre peak is mandatory for visitors.

Safe swimming beaches, popular surf beaches and kilometres of walking tracks complete the picture.

The Peninsula is also famous for its golf courses, boasting some of the most scenic and challenging layouts in Australia.

And it’s easy to move around the peninsula, from the commercial hub of Frankston to the seaside villages and small inland communities.

For more information, please visit www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org.

Alternatively, drop into one of the visitor information centres dotted along the Peninsula.

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PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MAP FROM ROOM

Northern Peninsula You can meander through this very pretty part of the Peninsula, or you can visit the plethora of markets, galleries, gardens, cafés and restaurants in the region.

Along the coastline sits the bustling hubs of Frankston and Mornington, and the exclusive enclaves of Mount Eliza and Mount Martha.

Meanwhile, the countryside is home to the fine wineries of Moorooduc.

Moorooduc is a noted inland winemaking area, and its wineries feature some magnificent gardens and equally memorable restaurants.

For a list of wineries in the region, please visit www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org.

The Briars Park, located on Nepean Highway, Mount Martha, is renowned for its 1840s homestead, restaurant, bushland and wetland trails, koalas, wallabies, kangaroos and native birds. The homestead’s opening hours are between 10am-4pm, and 9am-5pm for the park.

An entry fee does apply.

Mornington boasts a weekly main street market and monthly farmers’ market, and a number of galleries, cafés and restaurants to enjoy. Mt Eliza has great shopping, while Mount Martha has a lovely foreshore reserve.

Frankston MORNINGTONPENINSULA Among the region’s better-known coastal areas is the Frankston Waterfront situated on Nepean Highway, Frankston.

An award-winning adventure playground, the waterfront boasts a pier and boardwalk, a spectacular bridge, family restaurants, boat launching facilities and fascinating artworks.

Sand Sculpting Australia Frankston invites both local and international artists to the waterfront annually to create awe-inspiring sand sculptures. From 26 December 2014 to 26 April 2015, onlookers will be privy to the latest instalment of sculptures known as the ‘Friends, Foes and Super Heroes’ exhibition.

Entry costs range from $13.50 for adults, $11 for concession and $10 for children between 3-12 years.

Frankston proudly celebrates its waterfront during the annual Frankston Waterfront Festival on 17–18 January, 2015. With a weekend of live music, market stalls, amusements and aquatic activities, what’s not to love about this summer festival. Frankston offers all the conveniences of a modern hub so for more information on things to see and do, please visit www.frankston.vic.gov.au.

Southern Peninsula Sophistication and style, and an air of the Mediterranean, makes you feel you’re a world away from Melbourne when visiting the Southern Peninsula.

Seaside villages such as Portsea, Sorrento, Rosebud and Rye started the love affair between Melburnians and the Mornington Peninsula many years ago.

You can dine, wine, golf, shop or embark on an adventure – and at the end of the day just slip into a day spa for a soothing natural mineral water soak.

Point Nepean, right at the tip of the Peninsula, is the best-known feature of the Mornington Peninsula National Park. Opened daily with vehicle access between 8am and 5pm, please visit parkweb.vic.gov.au for more information on Point Nepean.

The Sorrento Pier is the starting point for lots of tours and activities, including the Sorrento-Queenscliff ferry, which can take you and your vehicle across to Queenscliff and the Great Ocean Road. There’s plenty more to do in the Southern Peninsula, with beach and bush trail rides, dolphin swims, scuba diving, sea kayaking and fishing all available here.

Peninsula MORNINGTONPENINSULA Hinterland

The Peninsula Hinterland is serious food, wine and indulgence country, particularly around Red Hill and Main Ridge.

Flourishing olive groves, vineyards, cafés, restaurants, gourmet produce stores, local markets, galleries and farm gates with pickyour-own produce gardens are found along almost every road in this region. The Peninsula Hinterland has the largest number of wineries of any region on the Mornington Peninsula.

You can download a touring map that outlines the wine, food and farmgates open to visitors in this region. For a copy, please visit www.winefoodfarmgate.com.au and click on ‘Download Trail Maps’. Alternatively, visit the Mornington Peninsula Visitor Information Centre at 359B Point Nepean Rd, Dromana, and pick up a copy.

Western Port Bay People who fall in love with this coast of the Mornington Peninsula often wouldn’t go anywhere else for a beachside holiday.

Cape Schanck is right at the tip of Western Port Bay and huge Bass Strait breakers pound its cliffs. For amazing views and some interesting maritime history, visit the Cape Schanck Lightstation located at 420 Cape Schanck Road. Tour costs range from $16.50 for adults, $10.50 for children 5–16 years and $44.00 for a family ticket.

Make sure you take the walk to Bushrangers Bay during your visit to Cape Schanck and picnic perched on a rock.

While Phillip Island is renowned for its famous fairy penguins, French Island is home to one of Australia’s largest and thriving koala population. Passenger ferries run from Stony Point to French Island and Phillip Island regularly. For timetables and costs, please visit www.interislandferries.com.au or call 9585 5730.

Alternatively, Balnarring and Merricks are good places to stock up on Mornington Peninsula produce, while Flinders is also great for food, wine, farmgates and antique shops. Tyabb is home to Australia’s biggest antique barn, with lots of individual dealers if you are looking for that special item for your home.

MORNINGTONPENINSUL THINGS to

See and Do

AQUATIC ADVENTURES

ARTS & CULTURE

Mornington Peninsula is an aquatic playground boasting a number of water-based activities for visitors to the region. Take a swim at one of the beautiful beaches or try scuba diving, snorkelling, sailing, boating or fishing.

Mornington Peninsula is home to a number of great galleries that display both local and national art. Try the Frankston Arts Centre, the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery and the Gordon Studio Glassblowers in Red Hill. For more information on galleries, please visit www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org.

Enjoy a ferry from Sorrento to Queenscliff or Stony Point to French Island and Phillip Island. Alternatively, for a beach adventure, embark on a horse riding tour along the coastline. Get up close to the marine life with a seal or dolphin swim in Port Phillip Bay or take a sea kayaking tour to spot dolphins.

MORNINGTON PENINSULA GOURMET GUIDE You can find many delicious and fascinating wine, food and farmgate experiences hidden away all throughout the Mornington Peninsula. You just need to know where to look. Discover them through the Mornington Peninsula Wine Food Farmgate Trail.

The Wine Food Farmgate Trail features some of the best seasonal food and wine experiences. It is a great way to connect with chefs and restaurants, vignerons and vineyards, producers, growers and gourmet store owners. Discover the people, the products and the passion of the Mornington Peninsula. For more information, visit www.winefoodfarmgate.com.au.

PARKS AND GARDENS Eden Gardens in Mount Eliza is a noted landmark in the region. Visitors can peruse the homewares and plant sections, or take delight in its display gardens. You can even grab a bite to eat at the Dragonfly CafĂŠ. Eden Gardens is located on the corner of Nepean Highway and Canadian Bay Roads, Mount Eliza.

Heronswood, situated at 105 Latrobe Parade, Dromana, offers some breathtaking views across the bay. Built in 1866 in a gothic revival style, the house is surrounded by lush grounds boasting ornamental and edible plants, which visitors can meander through.

The Mornington Peninsula region encompasses over 25,000 hectares of national park, which offers the kind of tranquility that allows visitors to completely unwind.

For more information on parks, please visit www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org.

For more information on things to see and do, visit www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org.

Alternatively, drop into one of the visitor information centres dotted along the Peninsula.

AMORNINGTONPENINSU

Golf Golf enthusiasts keen to experience the best are discovering that the combination, accessibility, variety and sheer number of courses provide a package that is hard to resist.

With sand-hills and the coastal hinterland providing the perfect natural conditions for golf courses, world famous architects have delighted in the opportunity to work with mother nature to create wonderful examples of links, resort and traditional courses here.

The Mornington Peninsula is blessed with courses that both challenge and excite.

From an array of courses nestled on the peninsula in the east to the Flinders Golf Club with its breathtaking views of Bass Strait and Westernport in the west, the turf quality is second to none and said to rival that of the famed Melbourne sand belt.

With so many courses dotted along the coastline - 15 clubs with 19 links, parkland and resort courses - it is little wonder that the Mornington Peninsula is being compared with regions such as California’s Monterey Peninsula.

For more information on golf courses, visit www.golfmorningtonpeninsula.com.au.

Serenity on the

Peninsula

If you’re dreaming of a little well-earned indulgence, a getaway to the Mornington Peninsula is just the thing to lull you into a blissful state of relaxation.

With its pure sea air, relaxing hinterland and easy way of life, the Mornington Peninsula has created the total wellbeing experience.

The Mornington Peninsula is the first region in Victoria to offer naturally heated mineral water pools at Peninsula Hot Springs. Day spas have popped up at Mount Eliza, Mornington, Sorrento, Red Hill, Moorooduc, Rye, Flinders and Balnarring. Offering a range of massage, relaxation and beauty treatments, you can see why the day spas are popular among locals and visitors, alike.

There are day spas nestled among gum trees to gently relax mind, body, senses and spirit with organic facials and massages drawn from ancient cultures. And there are luxurious 5-star Mornington Peninsula spa retreats, each with signature treatments designed to restore your balance and vitality.

Peninsula Hot Springs is an award-winning thermal bathing and day spa centre that provides a tranquil, nurturing environment for visitors seeking complete rejuvenation. To download a Spa Dreaming Centre menu of all treatments and packages available, please visit www.peninsulahotsprings.com. Located on Springs Lane, Fingal (near Rye), the Peninsula Hot Springs is open daily from 7:30am until 10pm.

On the Mornington Peninsula, it’s called ‘six degrees of relaxation’ where you can take exhilarating walks along the clifftops and through the countryside, or explore magnificent historic gardens, enjoy dozens of water sports and stroll along beaches on three different coastlines. There’s so many different ways to relax!

While the 100 kilometre Mornington Peninsula Walk doesn’t conjure up images of a relaxing holiday, there are plenty of short walks you can do to get amongst the tranquillity of nature. Spot kangaroos and birdlife, gaze out to the great expanses of ocean, trek through bushland, and completely relax and unwind in nature.

To download a copy of the Mornington Peninsula Walk brochure, which outlines a myriad of other short walks in the region, visit parkweb.vic.gov.au.

A feeling of serenity underpins the Mornington Peninsula. Why not see it in a double decker bus? The Peninsula Explorer Bus boasts a hop on hop off tour with 18 stops along the Peninsula. Shop, walk, swim, taste and enjoy everything the Peninsula has to offer in one neat tour package. For more information, please visit peninsulaexplorer.com.

MORNINGTONPENINSULA

Fishing

SILVER TREVALLY

A Recreational Fishing Licence (RFL) is required when taking, or attempting to take, any species of fish by any method of fishing.

SNAPPER

An RFL covers all forms of recreational fishing in all of Victoria’s marine, estuarine and freshwaters. (Penalties apply for fishing without a licence). Fishing licences are available from most retail fishing tackle stores.

AUSTRALIAN SALMON Peak season: March – September Time and tides: Morning or late afternoon.

A few hours either side of high tide

BREAM

Peak season: October – May Time and tides: Morning and late afternoon. A few hours either side of high tide Peak season: October – May Time and tides: Morning or late afternoon. A few hours either side of high tide

SQUID Peak season: April – October Time and tides: Can be caught through the day and at night under lights. Run in tide is best Hot spot: Queenscliff Pier

YELLOW EYE MULLET Peak season: March – September Time and tides: Can be caught throughout the day Rising or run-out tide.

Peak season: June – November Time and tides: Morning to late afternoon. A few hours either side of high tide

FLATHEAD Peak season: October – March Time and tides: Can be caught throughout the day. A few hours either side of high tide

GARFISH Peak season: November – July Time and tides: Can be caught throughout the day

KING GEORGE WHITING Peak season: November – April Time and tides: Morning or late afternoon. A few hours either side of high tide Hot spot: Sorrento Pier

FISHING BY THE RULES It’s important to know the rules that apply to fishing. These include bag limits and minimum size limits for different types of fish. A bag limit is how many fish you are allowed to keep in one day.

A minimum size limit is how big a fish needs to be in order for you to keep it. There are also closed seasons on some types of fish. To learn more get a copy of the Victorian Recreational Fishing Guide.

For more information, please visit www.dpi.vic.gov.au.

Beach Safety Although the beaches are beautiful, there are some dangers associated with the open ocean. Every beach is different and it is advisable to find out about the day’s conditions before heading to the beach.

Here are some tips: • Always swim between the red and yellow flags.

• Read the beach safety signs.

• Ask a lifeguard for safety advice (if on duty).

• Swim with a friend.

• If you need help, stay calm and attract attention.

• Beware of rips and undertows.

• Seek advice from locals on current conditions.

• Use common sense.

For further information, fact sheets (available in 34 languages) and a free BeachSafe app available from iTunes, visit beachsafe.org.au.

Be SUN SMART When planning a day outside, Cancer Council Australia recommends you take five steps to protect against sun damage: Extra care should be taken between 10am and 3pm when UV levels reach their peak.

• Slip on some sun protective clothing that covers as much skin as possible.

• Slop on broad spectrum, water resistant SPF+30 sunscreen - put it on 20 minutes before you go outdoors and every two hours afterwards. Sunscreen should never be used to extend the time you spend in the sun.

• Slap on a hat, broad brim or legionnaire style to protect your face, head, neck and ears.

• Seek shade.

• Slide on sunglasses. Make sure they meet Australian Standards.

For smartphone users, a free SunSmart app is a great way to check the UV Alert when you are out and about. iPhone users can download it at the iTunes App Store, Android users at Google Play and Samsung users at Samsung Apps.

MORNINGTONPENINSUL C A LE N DA R Events of JANUARY

JULY

• Two Bays Trail Run Point Nepean Road, Dromana

• Mornington Bay Run Mornington

• Frankston Waterfront Festival Frankston Waterfront

OCTOBER

• Dressage meets the Mornington Peninsula Bones Park, Boneo • Sand Sculpting Australia - Frankston Frankston Foreshore

FEBRUARY • Sand Sculpting Australia - Frankston Frankston Foreshore

MARCH • Ironman Melbourne Swim starts in Frankston & ends in St Kilda • Sand Sculpting Australia - Frankston Frankston Foreshore

APRIL • Sand Sculpting Australia - Frankston Frankston Foreshore

JUNE • Taste of Sorrento Gourmet Food & Wine – a week long feast of gastronomical events and activities Sorrento

• Main Street Mornington Festival – Food, Wine & the Performing Arts Mornington • Hastings Business Festival Hastings

NOVEMBER • Frankston’s Christmas Festival of Lights Frankston

DECEMBER • Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm December through to April • Sunny Ridge Strawberry Farm Family Fun Day Main Ridge • Primose Fair Toorak College, Old Mornington Road, Mount Eliza • Christmas Carols Townships of the Mornington Peninsula • Sand Sculpting Australia - Frankston Frankston Foreshore

For more information on what’s on along the Mornington Peninsula, please visit www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org.

AMORNINGTONPENINSU Markets

ESSENTIAL services

MORNINGTON MAIN STREET MARKET Every Wednesday, 9am to 3pm Main Street of Mornington

HASTINGS STREET MARKET Every Thursday, 9am to 1pm High Street, Hastings

RED HILL COMMUNITY MARKET First Saturday of the month, September to May 8am to 1pm, Red Hill Showgrounds, Red Hill

RYE FORESHORE MARKET First Saturday of the month, 8am to 1pm Rye Foreshore near the pier

ROSEBUD MARKET Second Saturday of the month, 8am to 12noon Rosebud Primary School, Rosebud

MORNINGTON FARMERS’ MARKET Second Saturday of the month, 8.30am to 1pm Mornington Park, Mornington

BONEO COMMUNITY MARKET Third Saturday of the month, 8am to 12:30pm Corner Boneo & Limestone Roads, Boneo

TOOTGAROOK MARKET Fourth Saturday of the month, 7.30am to 12noon Tootgarook Primary School, Tootgarook

ROSEBUD SUNDAY MARKET First Sunday of the month, 7am to 2pm Point Nepean Road, Rosebud

MORNINGTON CRAFT MARKET Second Sunday of the month, 9am to 2pm Corner Racecourse & Mornington-Tyabb Roads

MOUNT ELIZA FARMERS’ MARKETS Fourth Sunday of the month, 9am to 1pm Corner Mt Eliza Way and Canadian Bay Road

DROMANA MARKET Every Sunday, October to May, From 8am Dromana 3 Drive-In, 113 Nepean Hwy, Dromana

BITTERN SUNDAY MARKET Every Sunday of the month, 8am to 1pm Frankston-Flinders Road, Bittern

POLICE/ FIRE/ AMBULANCE

000

ROSEBUD HOSPITAL 1527 Nepean Highway, Rosebud

5986 0666

FRANKSTON HOSPITAL 2 Hastings Road, Frankston

9784 7777

PENINSULA HEALTH 5976 9000 The Mornington Centre Cnr Tyalla Grove & Separation Street, Mornington The Mount Eliza Centre Jackson Road, Mount Eliza

9788 1200

MORNINGTON COASTAL MEDICAL CENTRE 958 Nepean Highway, Mornington

5976 3666

MORNINGTON PENINSULA DENTAL CLINIC 117 Tanti Avenue, Mornington

5975 5120

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