Flinders Village, the Mornington Peninsula…… beautiful one day and perfect the next…

It is ”blowing a hooley” here in Canberra today. I first read the expression ‘‘blowing a hooley” from bloggers who live on Islands or coastal landscapes, where you expect severe wind. However, in Canberra, a landlocked city, we are joining the coastal crew today.

Given the changeable weather all over Australia, it is nothing short of a miracle that we recently had a wonderful holiday at the very tip of Australia, in a small village called Flinders, along the coastline of Victoria.

Flinders is a beautiful and historic coastal village overlooking Western Port and Bass Strait on the Mornington Peninsula ..an hour’s drive from Melbourne. We visited this area a few years ago, and I’ve always wanted to return because the landscape is stunning and the clear air is a photographer’s dream. The first few photos were taken on our first visit.

This golf course would be a challenge for golfers on wild windy days
Views stretching across the coastline of Victoria
One of the earliest buildings in Flinders.

There are many bushwalking trails in this area and we decided to walk along the pretty fern gullies to the coast to see the lighthouse at Cape Schanck… I’m wondering how people could live in a lighthouse, without going slightly mad from the winds, which would be perpetual.

We were lucky enough to go for this walk on a gloriously warm sunny day.

When I looked at a map of the coastline there were some interesting names, Mushroom Reef Marine Sanctuary, Bushrangers Bay, Cape Schanck, a town called Rosebud…..so much history in this area…

The countryside on the drive back to Flinders

The village itself has a General Store with an ever cheerful staff, and we spent a lot of time buying food there because it had such a range of tasty ready-made food. Nearby there are some craft shops, small restaurants, and a well known chocolate shop with delicious ice-cream. What could be better on a holiday!

In the early days of the twentieth century, the clean air, and (usually) mild climate made the village a popular destination, especially for people who live in Melbourne.

This quiet village atmosphere has over time attracted many people from Melbourne to build holiday homes in the village.

I enjoyed many early morning walks watching the sun rise, as I walked around the quaint beach roads and houses tucked away from the winds.

The gardens of these homes were full of plants that could survive sandy soil and salty air. Piet Oudolf would have been proud of the use of grasses by many homes owners…

The small coastal roads wind around interesting gardens, and houses dotted on coastal cliffs…

This was a family holiday, which made it extra special, and our holiday house was not far from a lovely lookout where we could watch the sunrise …

and the sunset….

We were lucky to strike those sunny, warm days in such a lovely part of Australia.

Many thanks for taking the time to read my blog, and I hope you are able to enjoy some fine days wherever you are in the world today.

Copyright Geraldine Mackey: All Rights Reserved

14 Replies to “Flinders Village, the Mornington Peninsula…… beautiful one day and perfect the next…”

  1. What a great time you had in such a pretty place. When I lived in Gippsland in the late 50s I had friends who had a holiday home on the peninsula at Shoreham and used to visit them often. Your post brought back long forgotten memories!

    1. I’m so glad that it brought back memories, Shoreham is quite close to Flinders, and as you say, it is a pretty area, with lots of green rolling hills and quite English looking countryside. A lovely area to know someone with a holiday home!

  2. Looks like you had amazing weather. It must have been a real treat to have the family time together in such a beautiful and relaxing place.

    1. Yes Sylvia, it is a peaceful place, I was afraid it would be raining and/or windy and we would be playing card games in the house for days!

  3. Thank you for taking us along on your adventure because that is certainly another beautiful part of your country. It is interesting how climates change from one part of an area to another. The grasses are beautiful, and I can imagine them swaying in the winds.

    1. Thanks Judy, I agree the grasses fitted the climate there, they seemed to wave beautifully in the wind, and in that climate they would be “easy care” for holiday homes.

  4. What beautiful views! I do wish I had visited this delightful village when I lived in Melbourne. Sounds like the perfect holiday, especially with family.xxx

    1. Thanks Dina, it was a great holiday! I hope you are recovering from that nasty coughing virus in time for spring planting.

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