Food, Wine and Walking

Welcome to the Mornington Peninsula!  Arrive by 8.30am at Frankston train station (approx. 1 hour by train from Melbourne CBD) where you will meet your fellow travellers, RAW Travel guide and bus driver.

Then you’ll be transferred to nearby Mornington where we’ll have a coffee and thorough briefing with your leader about the week ahead as we take in views of the picturesque harbor. Today we start with an easy walk from the Mornington foreshore framed by red sandstone cliffs and iconic bathing boxes of Mills beach. We’ll follow a trail that takes upto the clifftop mansions and beautiful gardens of Beleura hill from where you can get great views of Port Phillip and then meet our driver and van. From here it’s a 20-minute transfer to the gateway of the wine region, picturesque Red Hill where we commence our next walk. The trail to Merricks follows an old railway line and is a leisurely downhill walk on a wide path past vineyards and avenues of cedar trees. Passing rolling pastures on either side you will get some beautiful views of Westernport Bay across to Phillip Island.

Walking into the coastal village of Merricks we will take lunch a the Iconic general store, with a delicious menu that reflects the seasons and local produce available. There is also some excellent local wines to be sampled at the informal cellar door experience here, showcasing some local favourites.

Afterwards we transfer to Point Leo Estate with its stunning architecture and sculpture park by the sea. This prestigious winery will open its Cellar Door to offer a bespoke wine experience that is both informative and entertaining with the highly awarded winemaking team, where you will sample fragrant white grape varieties in the sunshine, sipping on a red for the cooler days – or perhaps a bit of each! Afterwards we wander the beautiful Sculpture park which includes includes works by major international as well as major Australian artists, all with a stunning backdrop of views across the waters to Phillip Island.

With full bellies, we will return to our accommodation in Flinders where the evening is at leisure. Flinders is a charming hamlet that is home to bespoke art galleries, quaint cafés and restaurants, a chocolaterie and a great pub.

Meals: Lunch

After breakfast we transfer to stunning Arthurs Seat, the highest point on the Mornington Peninsula and a prominent feature on the Port Phillip Bay landscape due to its summit of 314-metres. Atop Arthurs Seat the views across the bay to Port Phillip Heads, the Melbourne city skyline, Mount Macedon and the You Yangs Ranges are spectacular.

We commence our walk through Seawinds Gardens winding down to Kings Falls.

Seawinds Gardens features William Rickets sculptures dotted throughout the park, Rickets was an Australian artist who embraced Aboriginal spirituality and respect for the natural world as his general message throughout his works. We have time to relax at Kings Falls, a naturally formed stone terraced escarpment.

We then head off to a historic Heronswood, home of The Diggers Foundation to enjoy our lunch and wander through the gardens abundant with heirloom flowers and vegetables.

In the afternoon we will visit a beautiful 10-acre farm which started its life as a dairy but now produces olive oil, cider and cordials. Enjoy a behind-the-scenes look and a wander through the olive groves. The grove has over 1300 trees featuring a range of olive varieties. In harvest season you have the opportunity to purchase the freshest oil that cannot be found in any shop. Enjoy a tasting of their award-winning apple and pear cider. It is produced with a fusion of heritage crops from their own farm with more modern varieties from their neighbours. On a sunny day there is nothing more refreshing than a quince pear and apple cider! And in the cooler months, how does a warmed spiced cider sound?

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

After breakfast, we head to the coast for some more cliff-top trails. We will be transferred a short distance via Flinders Blowhole to start our walk to Bushrangers Bay, a popular spot with local walkers. Stunning vistas and views of rugged Bass Strait coast accompany our walk, offering up lots of photo opportunities. The track is gently undulating, mostly sand and dirt underfoot. As we near the end, glimpses of the red-topped lighthouse that sits on the clifftop overlooking Bass Strait will appear through the trees. Cape Schanck Lighthouse is constructed from limestone blocks and has been in operation since 1859. Today it continues to provide ships with safe passage between Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne, though Bass Strait. We will descend down the boardwalk stairs to the edge of the Cape, the Southernmost tip of the Mornington Peninsula, stunning in any weather. After we finish at Cape Schanck we’ll head to our lunch at a local eatery.

We have a light lunch at a local bistro before our transfer to the historic seaside town of Portsea, an area rich in history and boasts having some of the oldest and highest limestone buildings in Australia. The site of Victoria’s first European settlement it is now a popular destination for tourists with restaurants offering menus inspired by the season’s local produce, organic meat, handmade cheese, daily fresh and ethically sourced fish, and plenty of recently harvested vegetables and fruit. Dinner is included tonight at a local contemporary restaurant.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast we will be transferred to the Stefanie Rennick Walk. Stefanie was a local conservationist working to prevent the spread of an African weed on the Peninsula. She promoted the establishment of designated walking tracks on the Mornington Peninsula to preserve native flora and implementing The Two Bays Walking Trail was one of her first projects.

The Stefani Rennick Walk leads us to a secret garden! Here we will enjoy a special morning exploring 55 acres of private gardens, combined with a native wildlife reserve, offering a unique and memorable experience. Take your time to wander through these gardens enjoying the 20,000 plants across 18 garden terraces. Each individual garden has been inspired by the creators’ travels around the globe as well as from our very own backyard. Developed over the past 18 years it truly is a botanical wonderland. You will be joined on your walk through the gardens by many animals who call this sanctuary home; from alpacas to miniature goats, native birds to peacocks, emus to the rare albino kangaroos just to name a few. We will have morning tea including Sorrento’s famous killer vanilla slice which many Melburnians travel to the Peninsula purely for this freshly baked sweet treat.

After our garden experience, we will head off for lunch to a bistro that prides itself on using produce supplied from local growers when in season. Much of the vegetables used in the restaurant come from organic markets in the area. In the afternoon we will have a meander along what is known as the ‘Millionaires Walk’. This clifftop stroll will make you feel like a trespasser as you literally walk through the backyards of some of the most prime real estate you could find. As we wander along, take in the views of beautiful homes and private jetties, seeing firsthand ‘how the other half live’ on this exclusive part of the Peninsula.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today we get to experience both sides of the Peninsula, as we venture out on the narrow and spectacular neck of Point Nepean at the southernmost tip.

Driving on to Portsea we will arrive at the entrance of the Point Nepean National Park, an area of outstanding natural beauty and historical interest. Walking along both coastal and bushland tracks we will pass a number of historic sites including the Quarantine Station, (Australia’s largest and most long-running) and many former military defences, which in WWII played an important role in protecting Victoria’s coast. Also on the walk to the Point, you’ll pass the memorial to drowned Prime Minister Harold Holt at rugged Cheviot beach. reaching the Point itself there are incredible views either side of you of Bass strait and the Narrow entrance to Port Phillip bay known as the heads, one of the most treacherous straits of water on the planet for ships to navigate in rough weather.

We finish at Sorrento back beach where we will be transferred to the contrasting bayside front beach for our farewell lunch at The Baths, an iconic Sorrento restaurant perched on the beach with the sand at your feet. We can reminisce about our walking adventure together while enjoying our farewell lunch overlooking Port Philip Bay.
We then transfer back to Frankston train station (or Mornington) to say our final goodbyes.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

IMPORTANT NOTE: All daily distances are approximate and the itinerary is subject to change. RAW Travel reserves the right to make necessary itinerary changes based on local conditions, track closures, group safety, extreme weather or unforeseen difficulties with local suppliers.

• 2 nights ensuite accommodation in a boutique hotel at Flinders
• 2 nights ensuite accommodation in a boutique accomodation at Sorrento/Portsea
• 4 hotel breakfasts
• 5 lunches including:
• – Gourmet lunch lunch at a prestigious winery (includes wine tasting)
  – The Baths in Sorrento (food only)
  – Bistro Lunches (local produce)
• 1 dinner at local Sorrento/Portsea Restaurant
• Secret Garden visit
• Refreshment and snack stops
• Farm and olive grove visit including cider, olive oil and cordial tasting
• Private transfers throughout plus pick-up/drop-off at Frankston train station
• Experienced RAW Travel walking guide
• Dedicated driver and support vehicle throughout
• All luggage transfers
• National park admission fees
• Full carbon offset for your trip and an Australian tree planted on your behalf

• Travel insurance
• Dinners other than those mentioned in the itinerary (can be taken at your accommodation or nearby restaurants and pubs)
• Beverages, other than mentioned in the tastings
• Items of a personal nature
• Single supplement (extra $745) – please enquire, limited single rooms available.