Food Tours · Tour

Across the Bay by Ferry, Bellarine to Mornington

Melbourne has two wine peninsulas facing each other across Port Phillip Bay, and almost every tour picks one. This one does both, and crosses between them by boat, which is the only sensible way and also the best part of the day. Geelong first, and the waterfront esplanade, which is a good place to start anything. Then the Bellarine. Scotchmans Hill, a French provincial barnhouse set among its own vines, for the wine tasting. Then lunch at Jack Rabbit, which has the view everybody talks about and which locals go to and stay at. The crossing is next: out onto the bay with a Devonshire tea, watching for dolphins, which live in Port Phillip and are seen often enough to be worth looking for. The Mornington Peninsula on the other side. St Andrews Beach Brewery, which was a world-class horse training facility before it was a brewery, and where the beer paddle is served from the stable doors while the brewers work behind them. Then Arthurs Seat and Murrays Lookout, for the panorama back across the bay to the city. And finally the Mount Martha bathing boxes, the painted huts on the sand that are the local symbol of summer. Ten hours. Ten people at most, in English, with an air-conditioned vehicle, the wine tasting, a glass at Jack Rabbit, lunch, the beer tasting and all fees. Snacks and tips are your own.