Cape Schanck

We set out early to spend a day exploring the Mornington Peninsula. After a meandering drive South and a stop at Buddy’s Cafe, where we ate our first dim sim (we thought they kept saying dim sum in an odd way) which is just a slightly modified egg roll, we arrived at the beautiful Cape Schanck. 

It was a blue bird day and we pretty much had the reserve to ourselves. We were eager to start our hike, ahem… bushwalk to the historic lighthouse. It seems that a bushwalk is what Australians call any kind of walk that isn’t on pavement, like a simple walk through a garden or a hike.

At the beginning of our bushwalk we were greeted by a sign warning us of increased snake activity in the area. Luckily, we were good Boy Scouts and had a snake bite kit on us so we continued. A short, snakeless walk through a forest of dense and oddly, yet beautifully shaped trees brought us to a stunning overlook of the cape and the Bass Strait. 

We journeyed a little further to the lighthouse and its grounds which included the assistant lighthouse keepers quarters turned museum. Built in 1859, the lighthouse still has a functioning light but with modern tech. Ethan led the way from the lighthouse grounds down a boardwalk to the shore. Sure enough the warning sign was right, we nearly stepped on what we believe to be a Tiger Snake (Ethan didn’t notice until he had already passed it. We need him to sharpen those snake spotting abilities). 

A cautious pace from then on had us eventually reaching the rocky shore. Just as we finished exploring the left side of the cape and were about to head back to the car, a friendly Aussie couple informed us that the other side was much nicer and contained swimmable tide pools. We decided to check it out and we were happy we did, because they were right. It was much nicer: there were many clear and deep blue pools formed in the sea weathered rocks. They were too pretty not to enjoy so we topped off our time here enjoying the vibrant colors of the water, kelp and algae and taking a dip in the freezing but refreshing water. Cannonball!

After our exploration of Cape Schanck we drove to the town of Sorrento, passing by rolling hills of cow pastures and vineyards. We headed to Millionaires Walk, another place the friendly Australian couple (friendly trend continues) recommended to us. Once there, we ruled it was rightly named due to the many large houses and yachts anchored right offshore.The walk path goes along a seacliff and overlooks Port Phillip, a huge Bay with crystal clear waters. Australia loves commemorating (historical) events with plaques, no matter how small, so naturally there were plaques that one could read about an English explorer landing at this spot. 

Afterwards, we stopped and had a picnic at the park right beside Sorrento Beach. And although we have mentioned it before– the public facilities are quite nice. We enjoyed using the gas grill located in the park. 

From there we drove up to Arthurs Seat which is a mountain that overlooks the whole peninsula. Opting not to take the ski lift, we drove to the top of the Lombard Street-like road to take in the magnificent view. 

Our last stop was Brighton Beach to see the iconic Brighton Beach Bathing Houses. You have probably seen the colorful beach side shacks on a postcard somewhere, as they are famous for being both charming, and likely the most expensive building (shack) per square foot. One recently sold for about $430,000– it does not have electricity. It was a picturesque finish to a lovely day.