Open for Business in the Peninsula

There is a further easing of restrictions by the Victorian Government beginning on 1st June 2020. You will be able to stay in tourist accommodation like ours! The Beach Club cottages now accept bookings. However, the Beach Club communal BBQ and laundry must remain closed.

You can visit the Mornington Peninsula now!

We will continue to update the following list of places which are Open for Business. Social distancing rules still apply, see the Government website for more details.

Public Places & Parks

  • Beaches – Open!
  • Playgrounds and Skateparks – Open!
  • National Parks – Open except for the Point Nepean National Park and its visitor centre.
  • Fishing from boats, piers and beaches – Allowed!
  • Diving from the Rye pier – Allowed! See the popular octopus garden.

Enchanted Adventure Garden

Peninsula Hot Springs

  • Bath House bathing and café will re-open from Sunday 7th June 2020 at noon
  • Spa Dreaming Centre bathing, spa and café will re-open  from Friday 12th June 2020
  • Essential information before visiting, advanced booking is necessary, and information on our stay and bath package.
  • What to expect at the reopening of the Hot Springs.
Bathing at the Peninsula Hot Springs
Bathing at the Peninsula Hot Springs

Wineries and Restaurants

  • Pt Leo Estate – Restaurant and cellar doors opens from 1st June 2020.
  • St Andrews Beach Brewery – Restaurant opens from 1st June 2020 through booking only.
  • Crittenden Estate – Restaurant opens from 3rd June 2020.
  • Trofeo Estate – New wine room now opens for tastings.
  • Hotel Sorrento – Open from 4th June 2020.
  • Dromana Estate – Open for wine tasting on weekends 12-3pm.
  • Foxeys Hangout Winery – Open for wine sales and take-home food 11am–5pm Fri–Sat–Sun-Mon. Sit-down lunches start Monday 1st June.
  • Paringa Estate – Open on Saturday & Sundays from 11am-5pm for wine tasting, maximum 30 minutes. Wear very warm clothes for your visit. Bookings recommended.
  • Green Olives at Red Hill – Open for dine-in tapas and wine from Wednesday 3rd June.
  • Montalto Vineyard – Restaurant opens from 6th June on weekends only. Wine sales, “Heat and Eat” pizzas available for take away.
  • The Vanilla Slice Cafe – Open for take away.
  • Sisco Pizza Restaurant– 800m from the Dolphin and Starfish, opens Wed – Sunday for takeaway pick up.
  • Two Bouys – Open for take away, Winter Wine Weekends scheduled on 6-7th June.

Cinema

Dromana 3 Drive In Cinema
Dromana 3 Drive In Cinema

Golf

More to come, please stay tuned!

We are staying upright with you

The Australian spirit is innately positive and together, we will find a way through this. One day, the sacrifices and difficult decisions that the vast majority of Australians are making today, will be referenced for many generations to come.

Wishing you all good health and well-being throughout this time of uncertainty.

As for Mornington Peninsula Cottages, much has temporarily changed, but many things remain the same. We have followed Government advice and have used this time to conduct the much needed maintenance work, and also to help our community.

It had been a very wet autumn, we worked on our gardens and oiled our decks on the dry days. We also updated our decor of our interior. We had offered our cottages to our local medical workers to stay free of charge, for a much needed timeout, or simply to keep a distance from the vulnerable. Last but not least, we gave a deep clean to all of our cottages and linens used.

We will continue to work very hard at getting ready to re-open the doors to the general public when given the green light. None of us know when, but we assure you that as soon as the time comes, we will be ready and looking forward to the most important aspect of this amazing property, YOU!

On behalf of the entire team at the Starfish Cottage, Dolphin Cottage and the Beach Club Cottage, we miss you all terribly and we cannot wait to see you all again.

Fresh Mussels and Ocean 8 Pinot Gris 2017

If you have been following blogs from The Cottage Chef, you must be aware that she like simple recipes using the freshest ingredients. This is true for both at home and at her cottages. She also like to promote local produces from the Mornington Peninsula.

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Ocean 8 Pinot Gris 2017 pairs with mussels, freshly harvested by The Peninsula Fresh Seafood.

Lately The Cottage Chef visited the seafood truck again, and this time she got some mussels that were just harvested. With mussels literally just pulled out from the sea, they should be enjoyed in the simplest way possible.

Some readers may think of just boiling them, not bad actually. Although The Cottage Chef doesn’t believe boiling = boring, but a small dose of magic to enhance its favour won’t hurt. It happened that the nearby Ocean 8 winery had recently released their 2017 Pinot Gris, which will make an interesting pairing. The Cottage Chef has been a long time fan of Ocean 8. We will write another post on Ocean 8 later, it is one of the smaller wineries of Mornington Peninsula making great Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Pinot. Ocean 8 should never be missed by wine lovers.

Back to the dish, The Cottage Chef bought 1.5kg of mussels, cleaned. In a large sauce pan, put in a few garlic cloves chopped, 2 tablespoon of butter, put in the mussels and stir a few times. Pour in a cup of Ocean 8 Pinot Gris, cover and bring it to boil. Turn down the heat after it boils, put in a small grab of parsley finely chopped, stir and cover again, let it  simmer for 3 minutes.

Last but not least, enjoy the rest of Pinot Gris with the mussels.

P.S: A touch of chilli will be fantastic, the Ocean 8 Pinot Gris loves it actually.