Travel Guide Mornington Peninsula - The perfect Sunday Drive

Cape Shank Lifehouse - Mornington Peninsula

Just over 1hr from the Melbourne CBD, Mornington Peninsula is the perfect day trip!

Location: Arthur's Seat- the midpoint of Mornington Peninsula and the perfect place to decide where you're off to next!

My experience

On Saturday night I made a plan. I was going to get up early and see as much of the Mornington Peninsula as I could. The weather was not going to be perfect, but it was close enough to Melbourne that it didn't really bother me. I charged the batteries for the tabs, laptops, camera and the new addition to my kit (an early Christmas present) the Phantom 4, and wrote up a sketchy itinerary. On Sunday morning at 11:30am I cursed at myself for sleeping in!

Determined to stick to my plan as best I could, I wrestled with a tired Princess and by 12:30pm I was in the car. While not technically on the Mornington Peninsula, our day trip started at The Hamptons Bakery for lunch, and honestly, if you are ever in the City of Bayside, do yourself a favour and stop in. The coffee is wonderful and the food is amazing!

The beach drive down Nepean Highway through Frankston is the nicest way to see the bay. The first stop was Mount Martha Pillars, a local hotspot known for cliff jumping. I personally can't think of anything more crazy than jumping off a cliff, into what looks like, shallow waters but hey, each to their own! Even on the overcast day that it was, there were teens hanging off the rocks yet I didn't see anyone jump!

Next we stopped in at Safety Beach. Our plan was to take GoPro footage driving through the tunnel, and drone footage of the river above for the video clip. We attempted to get this footage twice, once when we got there the first time, and the second attempt was on our way home, yet both times we forgot to press record! Although we didn't get the footage, there are a few photos of the area which show it's beauty and the blue bottle found on the beach!

Our next stop was Arthur's Seat. I remember going on the chairlift when I was a little girl, and although the chair lifts are no longer running, they are currently being refurbished so hopefully next time Princess can share my memories. This time, we just got to see the stunning views on the drive up, and down the mountain as well as various lookouts along the way. The views stretched to Melbourne CBD, out to Port Phillip Heads and all over the Mornington Peninsula. The Picnic area at the Arthur's Seat Summit is great for kids to run around and play in. There's even a few trees to climb for the bigger, adult kid!

Next on the itinerary was Cape Schanck, roughly 15min from Rosebud, Cape Schanck is a beautiful spot to watch waves crash over the cliffs. There is an easy walk to the lookout and lighthouse, or a longer walk around the cape if you would prefer to take in the full experience. Usually the water doesn't look as spectacular when it's overcast, however the blue and green hues on the cape contrasted with the reddish cliffs, which left rock pools throwing off a dark green tinge higher up the cliffs than I would have expected.

On the way home, we drove through Sorento and watched the ferry leave the pier, then through Schnapper Point in Mornington. The last sweeping glance of the bay was experienced while driving into Frankston before we got home right on sunset.

Please watch the following clip with footage of our day trip and share this page so others can be inspired to head down to Mornington Peninsula.